Pahranagat Valley, Spring Mountain ready for 1A showdown

Pahranagat Valley’s football team has opened defense of its Class 1A state title strong, winning each of its first five games by at least 32 points.

Spring Mountain has emerged as the likeliest challenger, reeling off five straight wins.

But neither team has faced a test like the one awaiting them Friday.

Spring Mountain (5-1, 3-0) visits Pahranagat Valley (5-0, 3-0) at 7 p.m. Friday with first place in the 1A Southern League and postseason seeding on the line.

“This is the big game,” Spring Mountain coach Aaron Masden said. “It has major implications in the conference and seeding going into the playoffs.”

Pahranagat Valley’s biggest test in recent years has come from Tonopah, which won the 2007 state title and lost 22-18 to Pahranagat Valley in the state title game last season.

But with the Muckers (1-4, 1-1) slumping to open the season, Spring Mountain could pose the biggest threat to Pahranagat Valley’s crown.

“This is as big a game as we’ve played in a long time,” said Panthers coach Ken Higbee, whose team has won three of the past four 1A state titles. “In the past, it’s been Tonopah. This year, it’s Spring Mountain.

“Our kids are going to have to come out and execute. I think it’s going to be a real barnburner.”

Pahranagat Valley is coming off a 48-0 win at Henderson International in which junior quarterback Cody Hosier passed for 287 yards and four touchdowns. The Panthers shut out a Wolverines team that entered averaging 38.5 points.

“Our ability to tackle has been a good thing,” Higbee said. “The kids are playing really fundamental football.”

Pahranagat Valley, though, is yet to face as complete a team as Spring Mountain.

The Eagles boast a balanced offense led by running back James Maestas (454 yards, seven touchdowns rushing) and quarterback Robby Lindbloom (320 yards, six TDs passing).

“Their tailback (Maestas) does a nice job; he’s got real good wheels,” Higbee said. “(Lindbloom) throws a pretty good ball. They’re starting to jell.”

Spring Mountain’s 3-4-1 defense has recorded 19 sacks in six games, including seven by defensive end Markess Harris.

“That’s the main key in the defense,” Masden said of the Eagles’ pass rush. “If we can get penetration — especially up the middle — that’s going to screw up the timing of a lot of offenses.”

But Spring Mountain, coming off a 38-0 win at Sandy Valley in which the coaching staff rested several regulars, hasn’t matched up against an offense like Pahranagat Valley’s.

The Panthers’ offense might not be on par with last season’s unit, which set a national eight-man scoring record in a 128-74 win over Coleville (Calif.) in a 1A state semifinal.

But Pahranagat Valley hasn’t had a problem scoring, topping 50 points four times.

In his first year as a starter, Hosier has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 904 yards and 19 TDs with only three interceptions.

“We’re going to play our brand of football and be really physical,” Masden said. “We’ll try to keep the quarterback contained and make him try to carry the load. Hopefully we can force some mistakes and get some turnovers.”

The two teams saw each other at a three-way scrimmage involving Indian Springs in August, but both coaches said much has changed since then.

“They’re a day-and-night different team,” Higbee said. “It’s in organization. Their coaches do a phenomenal job of getting those kids from ground zero to football players over the course of the season.”