When the time finally read 0:00, a passerby might have thought Pahranagat Valley had lost the game. The scoreboard read Pahranagat 28, Coleville 74. It wasn’t equipped to show the actual score, as the Panthers defeated the Wolves in their round 2 playoff game, 128-74. It was the first meeting between the two teams since 1974, and proved to be a special game.
The Panther’s Senior duo of Taylor Poulsen and Brady Whipple combined for 5 rushing touchdowns on 308 yards and connected through the air 6 times for 241 yards and 5 scores. Whipple added two kick returns for scores.
“What a memory for everyone that was at this game. Whether they’re from Alamo or Coleville, what a game,” Coach Ken Higbee said following his 101st win, and his team’s record-scoring victory.
The teams combined for 118 points and 854 yards in the first half, en route to 1266 yards for the game and 212 points. At a score of 62-52 at the half, they were well on their way in the shoot out.
The Panthers took the opening kickoff and put together a 6 play drive that ended in a 20 yard touchdown pass from Poulsen (11-17-317,5 td) to Whipple (6-241, 5 td’s). Coleville answered with a 30 yard toss from Jason Peters (31-44-519 yds, 10 td, 1 int) to Emmi Sandoval (13-259 yds, 8 td’s) after just 4 plays.
The teams would trade scores their next 4 possessions, before the Wolves got a stop on a fumble recovery by Senior Will Goode. Each team added another score, with the Panthers crossing the line with :17 left in the quarter on a 43 yard catch and run from Poulsen to Whipple, their 4th of the quarter. It was 30-26 after 1.
The second quarter looked much the same as the first as Peters picked apart the top ranked 1A defense, scoring on 8 straight possessions. They got the score back to 54-52 with :19 seconds left, but Whipple returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards to get back to 60-52.
The Panthers converted their PAT, making it 62-52. Pahranagat converted 7 of 8 in the half and 13 of 17 total. Coleville was 2 of 8 in the half and 4 of 11 for the game.
Coleville lined up to receive the 2nd half kickoff and Pahranagat booted an onside kick they recovered. Four plays later, they scored on a 1 yard plunge by Chase Leavitt.
The Panthers found a way to keep the ball from Peters. Kicker Jason Choi, an exchange student from South Korea that had not played football before this season, kicked 5 more on-sides, recovering 4 of them. “Jason works really hard every day on placing the ball and he really came through for us today as an integral part of what we do, ” added Higbee.
The Wolves only got 3 possessions in the quarter and 1 score, while Pahranagat had 6 possessions and scored each time. They ran their lead to 106-60 at the end of 3 and a running clock helped to limit Coleville’s possessions.
The Wolves added two scores in the 4th, a 6 yard strike from Peters to Sandoval, their 8th of the game and a 71 yard kick return by John “Buh” Hamilton. Whipple capped the scoring for the Panthers on a 50 yard kick return after an onside attempt by Coleville.
“This just shows that you don’t win the big games without a defense. They found a weakness in the kickoffs and exploited it,” said Will Sandy, Coleville’s coach of 18 years. “Jason (Peters) seperated his non-throwing shoulder in the first series and we weren’t able to run him or play him on defense.”
” We had a heck of a run, but if we want to play with the big teams, we have to get stronger. We’re young and we need to get into the weight room. I hope the guys learned that tonight.”
Within that run, the Wolves broke several records. Peters broke many single game records as well as season records. He ended the season 198-321 for 3477 yards, 59 touchdowns and 8 int’s. His yardage and touchdowns broke the previous records of 3285 and 44. He also rushed for another 21 scores in 10 games.
Emmi Sandoval, playing in 8 games, had 75 receptions for 1686 yards and 31 td’s; the yards and td’s are state records, breaking the previous records of 1631 and 25.
The combination of Peters to Sandoval will be one we follow closely again next season, as Peters is a Junior and Sandoval a Sophomore.
Pahranagat’s win advances them to the state title game where they will face Tonopah, who defeated Carlin 71-30 to advance. The Panthers defeated Tonopah in the regular season 50-33. They will play their rematch at Arbor View High in Vegas, Saturday at noon.
The Muckers are the defending champs, while Pahranagat looks to win their 4th title in 7 years and their 12th overall.