Pahranagat Valley, Coleville set for shootout in 1A football state semifinal

Ken Higbee has seen his share of wild Class 1A football shootouts.

The kind of eight-man marathons resulting in scores somewhere between basketball and Arena Football.

But in his 14th year as Pahranagat Valley’s football coach, Higbee never has seen an offense like the one his Panthers are about to face.

Coleville (Calif.) visits Pahranagat Valley in a 1A state semifinal at 1 p.m. Saturday in a game that will determine who reaches the state title game Nov. 22 at Arbor View.

The Wolves (9-1), the North’s No. 2 seed, enter averaging 68.2 points per game. They’ve put up 80 four times, including a 96-54 win over Smith Valley.

“They’re coming in with really the most prolific offense I’ve seen in all the years I’ve coached,” Higbee said. “Their quarterback is quite an athletic specimen with a great arm.

“He’s got a good cast around him as far as the kids who block and catch the football, and that’s a pretty lethal combination.”

That quarterback, 6-foot-2-inch junior Jason Peters, has accounted for 70 touchdowns.

Add in 22 2-point conversion runs, and Peters has helped the Wolves score more points per game than Coleville’s boys basketball team last season (52.3).

Peters has passed for 2,958 yards and 49 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, and he’s rushed for 1,163 yards and 21 TDs.

How can the Panthers slow him?

“I think you mix things up so he doesn’t have the same reads every play,” Higbee said. “You apply a whole lot of pressure on him and make him throw off his back foot.”

But as Higbee points out, the Panthers “haven’t been too shabby on offense as well this year.”

Pahranagat Valley (10-0), which is seeded first from the South, averages 57.4 points.

Running back Brady Whipple has 1,155 total yards and 17 touchdowns on 87 touches.

Quarterback Taylor Poulsen has had a hand in 32 TDs.

With both offenses designed to get touchdowns rather than first downs, Higbee said a key to victory could be slowing the game.

“It’s a matter of ball control for us,” he said. “Control the clock and limit their possessions. It comes down to our ability to run the football and physically wear on them versus having the football in their hands.”

Tonopah at Carlin — Seeded second from the South, the defending state champion Muckers (7-3) visit North No. 1 Carlin (10-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tonopah will try to avenge a 36-32 loss at Carlin in its season opener and keep alive its hopes for a second straight 1A state title in the process.

“This has been the best week of practice all year,” Tonopah coach Curt McElroy said. “No goofing around, everything’s been taken really seriously. They’re going in there with a vengeance.”

The Muckers led the opener by 10 points going into the fourth quarter.

“They all feel the same way, that we could beat Carlin,” McElroy said of his players.

McElroy said much of his team’s defensive game plan hinges on trying to slow Carlin leading rusher Jorge Armendariz.

The junior running back had 158 yards of offense and a touchdown in the season opener and has rushed for 1,096 yards and 19 TDs on the season. He averages 12.6 yards per carry.

“We want to eliminate their rushing game,” McElroy said. “They like to get outside with (Armendariz). If he gets outside, your corners are forced to contain.”

Offensively, the Muckers will continue to rely on senior quarterback Scott Thibodeaux, who has had a hand in 31 touchdowns this season.

“I’m real pleased with our offensive line,” McElroy said, crediting center Roberto Miremontes and guards Ermilo and Jose Arias. “Those guys in the trenches, if it wasn’t for them getting those blocks, you wouldn’t have those yards.”