Pahranagat Valley wins eighth straight state title, ties national record

DAYTON — Tabor Maxwell stood in the middle of the throng of joyous fans surveying the scene in front of him.

And, just for a moment, the junior quarterback for Pahranagat Valley's football team was speechless.

"Wow," Maxwell said after a brief pause. "It's just incredible. I'm just going to enjoy it now."

Maxwell accounted for four touchdowns on a picturesque Saturday afternoon at Dayton High, and Pahranagat Valley pulled away from Whittell in the fourth quarter to secure a 54-28 victory in the Division IV state final.

It was the eighth straight state title and the 93rd consecutive victory for the Panthers (12-0), who matched the national record for the longest winning streak in 8-man football. Shattuck (Okla.) won 93 straight from 2003 to 2009.

The streak is tied for the third-longest in prep football history, regardless of classification. De La Salle (Calif.) owns the overall record with 151 straight wins from 1992 to 2003, and Independence (N.C.) notched 109 victories in a row from 2000 to 2007.

Pahranagat Valley's last loss was a 26-24 setback to Carlin in the 2007 Class 1A state semifinals.

"I'm not going to lie, it is a pretty cool thing," Panthers junior Christian Higbee said. "But we can think about it for about a week and then we're on to next season. We're ready to go. We're 0-0 again. That's the way it's got to be, otherwise it gets too much in your head and you tend to collapse."

Maxwell finished 13-for-21 for 208 yards and three passing touchdowns to go along with a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Higbee had 138 yards and two scores on 22 carries, and David Ingram had 161 total yards and a score as the Panthers wore down Whittell (11-1) with a punishing ground game.

Pahranagat Valley racked up 235 rushing yards and held the ball for 8 minutes, 32 seconds in the fourth quarter.

"We knew that our line was going to do what they do every week," Higbee said. "We have the best line in the state, in my opinion. I give all my credit to my line, and I'm sure all the other running backs would do the same."

Whittell scored on all three of its third-quarter drives and cut the Panthers' lead to 38-28 with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter as quarterback Colin Buchholz hit Aubrey Felton for a 13-yard touchdown and then found Palmer Chaplin for the 2-point conversion.

But Pahranagat Valley answered on its next possession, marching 54 yards in eight plays to regain control.

"That's the best team we've played this year, but I think we stepped up in really big moments," Maxwell said.

Higbee had a 26-yard run down to the Warriors' 21-yard line, and Maxwell tossed a 1-yard touchdown to Shawn Wadsworth on fourth-and-goal with 9:26 remaining in the game. Ingram added the 2-point conversion run to give the Panthers a 46-28 lead.

"You've got to give credit to our kids up front and kids running the ball in the trenches," Pahranagat Valley coach Ken Higbee said. "There's times that you've got to be able to do that. We throw the ball a lot, and that really is our strength. But I'll tell you what. When it comes down to it, you've got to be able to put drives together like that."

Wadsworth had a team-high five receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two interceptions. Pahranagat Valley's defense held the Warriors' vaunted running game to 129 yards, nearly 188 yards below its season average.

Dismas Womack led Whittell with 69 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, and Corey Huber, who entered the game with more than 1,600 yards on the ground, managed only 49 yards on 14 attempts.

Pahranagat Valley went ahead 30-6 with 4:06 remaining in the second quarter as Wadsworth took a shovel pass and jetted 22 yards for his first score of the game. Maxwell was intercepted late in the half, giving the Warriors a chance to get back in the game, but Buchholz was stuffed on three straight sneaks from the 1-yard line to keep Pahranagat Valley up by 24 points.

"We lost a lot of key players from last year, and a lot of people had to step up," Maxwell said. "We've really grown together as a team and a family, and we've done really well this season."

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.