The first Moapa Valley possession in the class 3A high school football state championship game ended with an interception. The second possession ended with a lost fumble.
Virgin Valley’s first possession lasted just one play — a long touchdown reception. Soon, it was a two touchdown deficit for Moapa Valley.
“At halftime, we told our guys that we had just played our worst half of football the entire year, and I thought (Virgin) played their best half,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said. “You have to hand it to Virgin with how it came out and played. We certainly didn’t do it the easy way, did we?”
Moapa Valley took Virgin Valley’s best punch in the first half and into the third quarter, eventually getting back on track and scoring 27 unanswered points to close the game in a 27-14 victory.
The Moapa Valley defense proved to be the difference, including Jayme Carvajal’s 24-yard interception return for a touchdown with 2:06 remaining to seal the win.
Peyton Neilson’s second short touchdown run gave Moapa Valley a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
But Virgin Valley brought the ensuing kickoff back to near midfield and appeared to complete a pass to advance the ball to the Moapa Valley 30. That’s when Moapa Valley forced a fumble, which was recovered by Dustin Gordon.
It was that kind of night for the Moapa Valley defense, which also twice kept Virgin Valley from scoring when it advanced the ball to inside the Moapa Valley 10.
“What about that defensive stand? That was huge for us,” Lewis said. “I can’t say enough about my defense, man.”
Neilson’s first touchdown run came with 45 seconds remaining in the first half to trim the deficit to 14-7 at halftime. He also hooked up with Gordon with a 25-yard scoring strike to even the score at 14-all in the third quarter.
“Feels good to come back,” Neilson said. “We’ve been down in the past and knew we could get back in the game.”
It was the 17th all-time state championship for Moapa Valley dating back to the school’s inception in the 1940s. And many supporters from the Overton community made the journey to Allegiant Stadium to support the team, as the Moapa Valley section was packed with easily a few thousand fans.
Someone even joked that nobody was home Thursday in the Valley.
“I tell you what, it’s going to be a celebration when we get back to the school,” said Lewis, who won his fourth championship.