The Saturday Sept. matchup between the Virgin Valley High School Bulldogs and the Miners from Sunrise High School will be a battle on the field. The Miners will need very little motivation other than Coach Chris Sawyers, words of encouragement. Sawyers coached the Dawgs for two years before moving on to Sunrise Mountain. The Miners split wins the last two years with the Dawgs. The Bulldogs won 21-14 in 2016 and the Miners upset the Dawgs in Mesquite 22-21 last season. The Miners come in with a 2-1 record, losing to Moapa in their season opener 13-12 and defeated two 4A opponents in their last two starts. The Miners crushed Eldorado 52-7 and Spring Valley 39-13. The Miners are led by a strong rushing attack which has averaged over 220 yards per game. Leading the way is Trayvon Ward who has 414 yards and four touchdowns. The offense is balanced with quarterback Tyree Hayes completing 60 % of his passes for three T.D.
The Bulldogs will counter with their own stud on the ground. Jayden Perkins matches Ward with 399 yards on the ground plus 229 yards on receptions. Bulldog Q.B. Cade Anderson has passed for 366 yards and 7 T.D. The Dawgs will have to bring their “A” game, if they’re going to win. Coach Sawyers always has some special plays he creates for this game. He will spread the field and open up the Bulldog defense. The difference could be the play of the Bulldog pass defenders and Q.B. Anderson’s accuracy and legs as Sawyers will have his defenders blitzing the Dawgs. The game is a tossup with the winner making fewer mistakes.
