[to Die for] [k.b.k] State Champions

Im jake.. im pretty chill.. i like sports.. im a sophomore this year.. my favorite sport is football.. im on varsity.. i play Middle Linebacker #35.. but i also like to play basketball and baseball.. im not the best but i have funn.. and play hard.. i play all my sports for the moapa valley pirates.. if theres anything you dont know about me.. or want to know about me.. message me and ill let you know..MOAPA VALLEY!! STATE CHAMPIONS BABY!! After losing to Virgin Valley in Moapa on Oct. 25, coach Brent Lewis said his Pirates had the athletes capable to beat the defending champion Bulldogs.He was right.Moapa Valley defeated Virgin Valley 35-14 Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas for the 3A crown.“There’s no feeling like it, watching the ball hit the ground on that last play,” said senior wide receiver Bobby Vallet.“Just amazing, we didn’t know what to do – just throw your hands up. It’s over. All this hard work and you did it,” he added as he stood on the 50-yard line afterwards amidst a happy group of players, fans, and coaches.The Pirates did it in a game that was closer than the final score suggests. The contest looked to be going down to the wire until midway through the fourth quarter.Neither team scored in the first quarter as both ground each others’ running games to a halt.So junior quarterback Max Jenkins went to the air and completed two touchdown passes in a two-minute span – one to senior Joseph Rebman for 71-yards and the other to Vallet for 44-yards.But senior quarterback Doug Hafen answered Jenkins with an 81-yard touchdown bomb of his own to junior wide receiver Jonathan Gleave for the final score of the half. Hafen then ran in a 15-yard touchdown midway through the third.Moapa answered on the first play of the fourth quarter, as Jenkins connected with senior Bobby Valet for a 31-yard touchdown, making the score 21-14.The Bulldogs were driving and faced third and two at the Pirate 25 with seven minutes remaining. Hafen kept the ball for a one-yard gain, but a flag flew. The Bulldogs were called for holding, which created third and 16 instead of fourth and one.Hafen took the snap, looked to pass, scrambled, and forced a bullet down the middle that was picked off by Vallet and returned to the Bulldog 31. Three plays later, junior running back Brad Weiss ran in for another score to put the game out of reach.“It’s a funny game, you know, it all comes down to a penalty here and momentum there,” said Bulldog coach Kirk Hafen.Virgin Valley didn’t get close again, and Weiss spread the icing with a two-yard touchdown carry late in the fourth.The keyword here is “carry.”In the second half, the Pirates finally found a way to run the ball against the green and white.Weiss had 20 carries for 68 yards and senior running back Steven Jensen ran six times for 37 yards. Most of that yardage came in the final 24 minutes.“It took us a couple of quarters, but we were able to run the football,” Lewis said. “We just made the decision at halftime that we need to run the football.”He added, “We thought that had been our strength all year and we couldn’t go away from that just because they shut us down.”“It felt good,” Weiss said of finally gaining some running yards against the Bulldogs. “The first half, they made adjustments and we couldn’t run the ball. Second half, we straight-up just pounded it and wore them down.”The Pirates also pounded their way to their first state title in seven years by matching the Bulldogs physicality and slowing down their running attack.“We were more physical this time,” Lewis said. “Way more physical. They wore us down last time, I thought we wore them down this time.”Hafen agreed. “They seemed to be a little more quick up front,” he said. “We weren’t able to move them as well. They just outmanned us out front and did a great job. He had his team ready to go.”It was a disappointing end to a magnificent run for the Bulldogs, especially the team’s seniors. The coach’s son Doug Hafen finished his high school career completing 4 of 14 passes for 110 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also carried eight times for 34 yards and a TD.Despite Moapa’s adjustments, the Bulldog offensive line, made up of nine seniors, did its job once again creating holes for junior running back Colton Teerlink, who finished with 148 yards on 28 carries.Senior lineman Chris Spadero finished with 11 tackles.It just wasn’t enough.“This is tough because, you know, I’ve grown up coaching these kids since they were small, being with my boy and that same age group,” coach Hafen said before he followed his team to the locker room. “It’s tough going in and talking to them, which I have to do here.”He added, “They had a great season - won it last year and got here again this year, which is not easy to do back to back. I’m proud of them, and we just got outplayed today.”As for the new state champs, the Pirates seemed to mature into championship form over the season, particularly their quarterback.Jenkins completed 7 of 15 passes for 199 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He looked like a young man becoming comfortable leading the team, according to his coach.“He has gone through a progression these last three games and, I’ll tell you what, has really become a quarterback,” Lewis said. “I’m proud as heck of him.”Jenkins was humble about his performance. “I just threw them up and the receivers went and got them,” he said. “I’m just relaxing, calming down a little bit. I matured a little bit.”The defense matured too in order to challenge Virgin Valley’s power game. “They did really good,” Jenkins said. “That was what we were worried about, but they stepped up and did good.”Jensen, Vallet, Rebman, and Moapa’s 15 other seniors get to go out on top.“Last year we came up short, this year we came back and finished strong,” said Jensen, who also plays linebacker and led Moapa defensively all year. “It was good.”But Jenkins, Weiss, and others get to come back for another run. Weiss expressed appreciation for the departing seniors, but said the team should have enough to defend the title.“We should be back next year,” he said.“I’m just proud of these kids,” Lewis added. “I think our kids were really on a mission to get back here. And we weren’t just content to be here. We came with a purpose and we showed it today.”