Green Valley football rallies to win Henderson Bowl over Basic

The Henderson Bowl prep football rivalry between Basic and Green Valley was decided Friday night on a field goal attempt — for the second straight season.

Last year, Green Valley’s rushed attempt missed. This year, Basic’s 51-yard attempt had the distance — but sailed wide left.

The endings reaffirm what many have long felt about the rivalry between Henderson’s oldest schools: It’s the best in Nevada.

The Green Valley Gators’ thrilling 25-24 victory will go down as one of the best games in the series — and only because of the ending.

The Gators trailed 18-0 at halftime and struggled to match Basic’s intensity.

“I apologized to the team at halftime because I didn’t do a very good job of getting them ready to play,” coach Bill Powell said of his halftime speech. “Our offensive coordinator — Max Johnson — stepped in and said, ‘you know what, football is a game of four quarters.’”

The flow of the game changed less than two minutes into the second half when defensive back Elyjah Cobwell stepped in front of a pass and returned it about 30 yards for a touchdown.

Just like that, Green Valley had the momentum.

“We talked about getting one play to get us back in the game, because to our credit today, I thought we played great defense in the second half,” Powell said.

The Gators would score 19 unanswered points — including touchdown receptions from Trey Glasper and Evans Williams — to take a one point lead in the fourth quarter. 

Basic’s offense had been held in check the entire second half and the sense was the Wolf Pack wouldn’t be able to move the ball. But this, after all, is Henderson Bowl.

Basic pieced together a beautiful scoring drive, where Elijah Jones galloped over a defender for a 20-yard touchdown run for a 24-19 lead with 1:35 play. The momentum was back for host Basic — finally.

Then, the Oregon State commit Glasper took over in a game that’s near and dear to his family. Dad, Jamar, is one of the Gators’ best all-time players, leading the charge in the late 1990s when Green Valley dominated the series.

Trey Glasper caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Michael Lewis for the winning points with 49 seconds remaining. Lewis had more than 200 passing yards and two touchdowns.

“Being able to score that winning touchdown is really a blessing,” Glasper said. “I’m just grateful that I’m able to come out here with my brothers and bring the Henderson Bowl back to Green Valley.”

Glasper was billed as the best player on the field and didn’t disappoint with seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns. 

“Trey Glasper is the man, so you know, we made sure to get him the ball,” Powell said.

This Henderson Bowl will go down as legendary, just like the impact of father and son in rivalry that seems to never disappoint. Trey Glasper was one of the first Green Valley players to grab the game’s trophy, hoisting it up to teammates in a wild celebration.

It’s the type of postgame fun some of the players have waited their entire careers to be included in — and something the Gators certainly cherished.

“I wanted to pay tribute to this rivalry and respect it,” said Powell, a veteran coach from California who is in his first year helming the Green Valley program. “We have 29 seniors. This night’s for them. They were fortunate enough to win a playoff game last year, but this feeling is so different. I’m really, really happy for the kids to be part of (tonight).”