Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Mojave deals Moapa Valley first defeat, 38-20

Las Vegas Sun HS Football Media Day 2017

Christopher DeVargas

Members of the Mojave High School football team, from left, Tawee Walker, Dylan Mleynek and Xavier Delong pose for a portrait at the Las Vegas Sun’s high school football media day August 2, 2017, at the South Point.

Mojave used a simple offensive game plan and timely defensive plays to topple Moapa Valley, 38-20.

Junior running back Tawee Walker powered the Rattlers to the upset victory, as he ran for more than 200 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.

“Our game plan was real simple,” Mojave coach Abraham Gonzalez said. “Offensively, we established our run. We just wanted to run up the middle and pound them.”

Once Walker staked Mojave to its lead, the Rattlers leaned on their defense to seal the win. Senior safety John Harper and senior cornerback Quincy Smith each intercepted passes in the end zone in the fourth quarter to extinguish Moapa’s hopes.

Mojave is now 3-1 on the season, while Moapa Valley is 2-1.

“Beating a team like Moapa Valley, it just kind of gives us that stamp of approval that we are a formidable team to play against,” Gonzalez said. “This is what we’ve been building toward. Now we have a bye and we start conference play in two weeks. We can build on this.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.