Virgin Valley High School will officially name its on campus football facility for former Hall of Fame head coach Evan Wilson before Friday’s season opener against Canyon View, Utah.
The field, formally known as the Dawg Pound will be christened Evan Wilson Field in a ceremony at 6:30 p.m. preceding the kickoff at 7 p.m.
A reception for Wilson will be held before the ceremony from 5-6 p.m. inside the school library.
Wilson, who took his Bulldog teams to 12 state championship games, won eight state titles including the school’s first 11-man state championship in 1970. That year also marked the first time Virgin Valley had defeated rival Moapa Valley.
Before he was done, Wilson recorded 174 wins while coaching at both Virgin Valley and Boulder City. He was 137-28 at Virgin Valley and 18-10 at Boulder City.
His Bulldog teams reeled off 31 straight wins from 1981-84. The winning streak came in the middle of a run of five consecutive state championships from 1981-85.
Wilson, who has been inducted into both the NIAA Hall of Fame as well as the Southern Nevada Coaches Hall of Fame, was named the national Region VIII Coach of the Year in 1982 and was voted Southern Division Coach of the Year 10 times and state classification Coach of the Year eight times.
He also coached the VVHS boys track and field team to the 1982 state 1-A title.
Wilson and his wife Darlene have three sons (Jaydel, Trent and Richard) and four daughters (Paula Terry, Daylene Walker, Bernice Marchant and Eva Dawn Donohue) as well as 28 grandchildren.
The Bulldogs, coming off a 9-2 campaign from a year ago, will look to cap off Friday’s celebration with a win against the visitors from Cedar City, Utah.
