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Preston Higbee hands off to Duston Stewart in the game with Beaver Dam.
Stewart, a senior, is the Panthers’ starting center but was given a chance to run the ball. He rushed for 62 yards on five carries and a touchdown.
On a senior night last Friday, Pahranagat Valley put together a 52-0 thumping of undermanned Beaver Dam.
The school record for points in a given quarter is 44, against Coleville, the famous state semi-final game in 2008. The Panthers scored 40 points in the first quarter and easily rolled along to earn the win in the third quarter after the game was called because of injuries to the Diamondbacks.
Beaver Dam (1-5, 1-4) only had nine players who suited up and when the second one was injured and unable to continue playing, officials stopped the game at 7:25 of the third quarter.
The Diamondbacks started the season with only 12 players on the roster and have been steadily hampered by injuries. One team member said when they faced Spring Mountain in early September, they only had eight who were able to play.
Pahranagat coach Brett Hansen said, however, he gives “all the credit in the world to Beaver Dam for showing up, even though they only had nine kids. They still fought and battled and kept wanting to play, so that’s a testimony to them.”
As it was senior night, the last home game of the regular season for them, Hansen gave the four senior linemen a chance to run the ball. “It was an opportunity to do that and show some appreciation for them,” he said, “and all of them scored a touchdown.”
Surprisingly, the Panthers starting center, Duston Stewart, led PVHS (8-0, 5-0 Class 1A Southern League) with 62 rushing yards and a touchdown on five carries.
Sophomore quarterback Preston Higbee finished 2-for-2 passing for 53 yards and two touchdowns. John Hansen had a 15-yard touchdown reception, and Brodey Maxwell had a 38-yard touchdown reception.
Haigen Huntsman had 53 rushing yards and a touchdown. Chris Thornton had a 56-yard rushing touchdown. Hunter Hollingshead had a 28-yard rushing touchdown, and Garrett Higbee had a 2-yard rushing touchdown.
This week, on Thursday, for Nevada Day, Pahranagat finished the regular at Beatty (5-1, 4-1). The Hornets lost to Spring Mountain last week 30-25, but the Eagles had to withstand a 19-point fourth quarter from Beatty to earn the win and remain in second place in the league.
Spring Mountain (6-2, 5-1) also finished the season this Thursday at Tonopah (5-4, 3-2). In all likelihood, this sets up the first round of the playoffs Nov. 3 with Beatty at Spring Mountain and Tonopah at Pahranagat Valley. This will be the 20th year in a row for PVHS appearing in the league playoffs.
In the 1A North-East, Eureka (5-3) is the No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Virginia City (8-0) beat Whittell (7-1) 44-20 last week to earn the No. 1 in the 1A North-west.
