Monument Valley defeats Whitehorse in triple OT thriller

_by Leo Platero_

Whitehorse’s Josiah Begay was hit at the goal line and stopped inches from the goal in the third overtime, helping Monument valley preserve a thrilling 36-34 overtime victory on October 12 in Monument Valley.

“We didn’t get going until the end of the third quarter,” said Raider head coach Lance Knight, “In the first half we couldn’t sustain any offense or defense and our turnovers resulted in their touchdowns. I think we were shellshocked.”

Whitehorse dug themselves in a big hole and trailed 22-0 at halftime. After a stern lecture, they came out and began to assert themselves by causing six fumbles. Four of them resulted in touchdowns and eventually ended up in a tied 28-28 score.

“It was an exciting homecoming game,” said Cougar head coach Jim Dandy Jr., “We converted our two points in the third overtime to pull out an exciting win.”

Monument Valley High School celebrated its 25th anniversary. It’s homecoming theme was “Building Bridges from the Past to the Future.”

In the first quarter, Whitehorse couldn’t sustain a drive and had to kick the ball away. Cougar slotback Devon Denny caught a 7 yard pass and ran into the endzone for the first score. It was 8-0 after senior Kendrick Chee caught an extra point pass for two points. The Cougars pulled out the welcome mat from under the Raider offense and defense. The Raiders were looking more like Keystone Cops.

On a second and eight in the second quarter, Josh Nelson ran up the middle, shedding tacklers as he went into the endzone to extend the lead to 14-0. Freshman Gilbert Gillis then picked up a fumble and outran the Raiders 51 yards in front of the cheering homecoming crowd to take help Monument Valley take a 22-0 halftime lead. At this point, it seemed like Monument Valley want to win more than Whitehorse.

With less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, Whitehorse completed a 45-yard scoring drive when Bryon Grant caught a 14-yard pass to make the score 28-8. All of a sudden, Whitehorse was dominating on both sides of the ball.

Senior Mikie Reyes had a quarterback sack and the pigskin slipped out. Lineman Ellison Whitehorse swooped up the ball and ran 55 yards to score to make the score 28-14.

Whitehorse was not done yet, as the Raiders kicked to the Cougars. Reyes caused another fumble. This time, Mitch Primeaux galloped 60 yards and Jarin Martin kicked the PAT to make it 28-21. Another kickoff to the Cougars, who again coughed up the ball after a Reyes hit.

Quarterback Trevor Martin hit Josiah Begay for a 30-yard touchdown and it was all tied up, 28-28, after a PAT by Jarin Martin. The stunned homecoming crowd sat on their hands in disbelief.

It was in the fourth quarter and overtime that the fireworks began.

In the first and second overtime, both teams couldn’t score. In the third ovetime, Byron Grant caught a touchdown pass and it was 34-28 in favor of the Raiders. The Raiders went for two points. It seemed that Josiah Begay scored as he dove, but he was hit in midair and fell six inches short of the goal line.

The pressure was on the home team as both players and fans held their breath. Devon Denny scored on a run and the lone senior Kendrick Chee pulled in the winning two point conversion. The game was over and written into the record books and the beat goes on.

“We have a young team, with only two seniors and one junior. The rest are sophomores and freshmen,” said a jubilant Coach Jim Dandy Jr.

The Cougars have two games left on the schedule, the first at Monticello on October 16. In two weeks, they host the Rock Point Cougars and Coach Marvin Johnson for the finale.

Whitehorse is all finished with their football schedule. The only thing to do is go home, turn in the football equipment and wait untill next year with ten games on the schedule according to Coach Lance Knight, who is also the athletic director for Whitehorse High.

The Black and Gold says goodbye to seniors Trevor Martin, Bryon Grant, Mikie Reyes, Donatello Jones, Tyson Dennison, Varian Silas and Ellison Whitehorse.