RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Joe Serrano of Beatty tries to elude Mac Brown of Laughlin, in the Hornets' 40-30 non-league Class A football game Friday, at Beatty. The visiting Cougars led 40-0 midway through the third quarter, before Beatty rallied. RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Beatty lost 40-30 to visiting Laughlin, in a non-division Class A high school football game Friday. Joe Serrano, 30, of Beatty runs between Cougar defenders for a short gain. Advertisement

Four Nye County high school football teams opened their 2007 seasons last weekend.

One -- Pahrump Valley returned two interceptions for touchdowns, but homestanding Phoenix (Ariz.) Christian scored with less than seven minutes left to escape with a 24-20 victory Friday.

Two -- Beatty fell behind visiting Laughlin 40-0 early in the third quarter Friday. That's when Cougar head coach Jason Leonard decided to play backups the remainder of the game and avoid winning by Nevada's Class A eight-man football 45-point mercy rule. Beatty responded with an unstoppable offensive effort that fell short in a 40-30 setback.

Three -- Tonopah opened at home Friday against Hurricane, Utah, Diamond Ranch Academy, with the Muckers displaying the power that could lead them to another 1-A playoff berth. A 54-0 victory was the result of the Muckers' running and passing attacks decimating the visitors.

Four -- Round Mountain's youthful team lost 36-26 to Coleville, Calif., in an interdivisional 1-A game Friday.

Friday night's games this week have Pahrump Valley traveling to San Diego to play national power Torrey Pines; Beatty taking on visiting South 1-A power Las Vegas Calvary Chapel, and Round Mountain hosting perennial playoff team Carlin.

Saturday, it's Tonopah traveling to Las Vegas to battle South 1-A title threat Mountain View Christian (1 p.m. kickoff).

Phoenix Christian 24 Pahrump Valley 20

Quarterback Naje Singleton threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Nate DeSantiago with 6:47 left in the game to vault the Cougars past the Nevada Class 3-A Trojans.

"Phoenix Christian had some excellent athletes," said PVHS coach Brian Hug, "especially Singleton." The quarterback was 12-for-24 for 197 yards and two touchdowns. The Trojans' Kyle Abreu, a senior cornerback, returned one pick 95 yards for a touchdown, and freshman Zack Winn ran back another 45 yards for a PV score.

Pahrump Valley's other touchdown came on a five-yard run by fullback Benji DeSantiago.

Phoenix Christian, which trailed 7-0, 13-3 and 20-10, had to overcome six turnovers and 11 penalties to hold off the Trojans, playing with a sophomore quarterback, Nick Murphy making his varsity debut.

"It's like I told a Phoenix reporter, it's not how you start, it's how you finish ... and they finished strong," said Hug.

Laughlin 40 Beatty 30

In the first half, Laughlin gained 342 yards on 24 plays, five of which produced touchdowns.

Cougar quarterback Mac Brown ran 42, 37, 10 and 8 yards for touchdowns in the first half. with fullback Allen Layno sprinting 80 yards for another score; which is why the South Division team led 34-0 at intermission.

The Beatty resurgence in the second half started haltingly, as the Hornets drove 50 yards to the Laughlin 18, only to lose a fumble.

Another drive took Beatty to the Laughlin 1, but a loose ball was picked up by Layno, who dashed 95 yards for a touchdown that gave Laughlin a 40-0 advantage with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

Beatty, with a big and boisterous hometown crowd watching:

drove 57 yards on nine plays to get a touchdown by Junior Dare on a four-yard run;

closed to 40-14 when Dare dashed 38 yards for a touchdown to end a 53-yard drive;

recovered a fumble at the Laughlin 2 and got its third touchdown on a pass from Kyle Marchand to David Tom with 2:16 left in the game;

had Jose Mendoza sprint 42 yards for a touchdown with 0:36 remaining.

That Leonard chose to play out the game, regardless of the situation, drew praise from Gus Sullivan, the Beatty coach.

"We talked and he said 'Let's play; my kids need the work,' and that's what he did," said Sullivan. If Brown, Layno and Corey Cook (a tough, quick halfback) had been allowed to operate, Laughlin likely would have recorded a mercy-rule win. As it was, all 32 Cougars and all 25 Hornets got into the game.

"And I loved the way our crowd responded," said Sullivan. "They had our back."

Tonopah 54 Diamond Ranch 0

Junior Scott Thibodeaux debuted as quarterback for the Muckers and he didn't disappoint Mucker coach Curt McElroy or the team's fans.

Thibodeaux, who succeeded record-setting Mitchell Lehner at quarterback, rushed 13 times for 94 yards and three touchdowns operating the Muckers' shotgun-option offense. He completed six of 11 passes for 54 yards with no interceptions.

Halfback Kevin McElroy Valentine rushed for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 12 attempts. Steven Carnell gained 71 yards and scored once on seven attempts, and he caught two passes for 22 yards.

Defensively, junior middle linebacker Mike Dolfin had 18 tackles, including seven solo stops. Thibodeaux, playing a corner, had 12 tackles, including two solos.

"It was a solid win and a great way to start the season," said McElroy, whose 2006 team was Nevada 1-A state runnerup. "Diamond Ranch was unable to stop our ground attack. I was proud of our team ... they played very well together and held Diamond Ranch scoreless."

Coleville, Calif., 36 Round Mountain 26

Coach James Swigart has a youthful team that went up against a potential 1-A playoff squad in Coleville.

It won't get any easier for the Knights Friday, when they host Carlin's Railroaders, one of Nevada's top eight-man football teams.

Carlin spoiled Virginia City's return to prep football after a 60-year absence with a 27-0 win Friday. The Railroaders had 233 yards rushing and sophomore Blayne Newman returned four punts 124 yards.

Elsewhere

State 3-A champion Mesquite Virgin Valley had its scheduled opener against Enterprise canceled ... That Utah team had a game under contract with Juab, which threatened to go to the Utah High School Athletic Association if the contest wasn't played ... Enterprise could have been assessed financial penalties, as well as been disqualified from playoff consideration ... Virgin Valley will open its season Friday at Layton, Utah, Christian ...Defending state Class A champion Pahranagat Valley Alamo ran its undefeated streak to 25 games, with a 26-20 conquest of Wells ... State 2-A champion Yerington Rite of Passage crushed Incline 39-15 ... The Meadows blasted Beaver Dam, Utah, 42-8 ... Southern Class 3-A regular-season champion Overton Moapa Valley dominated North 3-A power Dayton 31-12 ... Future Pahrump Valley opponent Spring Creek defeated county rival Elko 39-6 ... Boulder City lost 25-16 to Class 4-A Henderson Basic ... Faith Lutheran, led by the passing combination of quarterback Max Done and wideout Connor Maloney, outscored Campbell Hall, Calif., 33-24 ... Nevada 4-A champion Las Vegas lost 45-12 to Pine View, Utah ... Mountain View Christian outlasted Indian Springs 26-18 ... Key games this week: Wells at Eureka, Thursday ... Faith Lutheran at Spring Creek, Bullhead City Mohave at Boulder City, and Hurricane, Utah, at Moapa Valley, Friday ... Alamo at Santa Catalina, Avalon Island, Calif., Saturday.