Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
From left, Moapa Valley High School football players Andrew Huerta, Zach Hymas, Cole Mulcock and R.J. Hubert July 21, 2014.
Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014 | 10:15 p.m.
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The Moapa Valley High football team needed one half today against host Desert Pines to get going.
You can’t blame the Pirates for the sluggish start, which resulted in a three-point halftime deficit.
They had their scheduled altered this week because of Monday floods and storms that caused $5 million in damage to Moapa Valley, Overton and Logandale. Because Interstate 15 was closed for cleanup and repairs, the Clark County School District moved the game from Friday to today.
In the second half, Moapa Valley showed why it’s considered a state favorite, using five touchdown passes from senior Zach Hymas in a 43-30 victory.
Moapa Valley’s defense struggled at times, possibly because its coordinator missed the game. Jeff Keel attended a ceremony at Southern Utah University, where he was honored for being one of the college program’s all-time best players.
“It was a little bit stressful,” Moapa Valley coach Brent Lewis said of the week. “We played like it in the first half. We were terrible.”
The second half went much smoother, giving Moapa Valley a crucial victory in the Division I-A Sunrise opener. Moapa Valley and Desert Pines are the best teams in the league, meaning Moapa Valley is in the driver’s seat to win the Sunrise and have home-field advantage in the playoffs until the state championship game.
Hymas completed 15 of 20 passes for 183 yards and five touchdowns. RJ Hubert was his favorite target, catching eight passes for 114 yards and four touchdowns. Cole Mulcock had four catches for 47 yards and a touchdown.
Moapa Valley also had success rushing the ball, with Kaleb Bodily gaining 117 yards on 20 carries. But with Desert Pines bringing nine defenders to the line of scrimmage, Hymas and Hubert thrived with one-on-one coverage.
“We started chucking it,” Lewis said.
In the other game delayed until tonight because of the storms, Del Sol beat host Virgin Valley of Mesquite 28-13 on three touchdowns runs and more than 100 rushing yards from Daniel Tyus. Ervine James had the other Del Sol touchdown.
Del Sol improves to 3-0 overall, 1-0 in the Division I-A Sunrise.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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