Eagles play tough, but fall short

Boulder City High School football fell to Moapa Valley 26-22 during a televised home game Sept. 1.

Jumping out to an early 22-8 lead, the Eagles fell behind in the second half, eventually losing to the defending 3A state champion Pirates. Moapa Valley’s last loss was March 12 against Faith Lutheran during a shortened spring COVID-19 season.

“The kids played tough,” said head coach Chris Morelli. “We have a lot of two-way players that grinded it out and they did a fantastic job. Losing sometimes is a part of football and it’s something we just have to deal with. It’s a learning curve for these kids because a lot of them have never been in this position before. This was a great early game to see where we’re at as a team.”

Looking like a real contender this season in the 3A classification, senior Bruce Woodbury took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown to give the Eagles early momentum.

Full of big plays on the night, junior quarterback Jacob Bryant threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Brady Sorenson. He connected on 4 of 8 passing for 92 yards.

Using the running game to their advantage, senior Hunter Moore rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while junior Chase Jappe rushed for 38 yards on 12 carries.

“We knew going into this game that we could do things against them,” Morelli said. “Offensively we started out strong, but made a few mistakes, especially where we stalled drives in the second half. A few extra yards here, a first down there could have really changed the game and allowed us to eat more clock.”

On defense, senior Caleb Ramsey-Brown made five tackles with a sack and a fumble, and senior Brayden Cook made three tackles with a sack.“I told them today at practice, we have to be better than last week,” Morelli said. “Tomorrow we have to be better at practice than what we were today. We’re going to see how they respond.”

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.