DON McDERMOTT MORE COLUMNS Advertisement

Words to contemplate while awaiting tonight's Southern Nevada Class 3-A League football game at Pahrump Valley High School, where the Trojans will play defending state champion Mesquite Virgin Valley ...

It is a critical game for both teams. Virgin Valley, of course, wants to maintain the momentum it gained from a 41-20 conquest of Las Vegas Faith Lutheran, one of the teams expected to challenge the Bulldogs for supremacy in Southern 3-A football.

Pahrump Valley has been working the last two weeks under the direction of Roy Goodell, a former Ely White Pine head coach. He got the job when Brian Hug, the Trojans' athletics director and football coach, was placed on administrative leave, pending the investigation of a public complaint.

Digress for a couple moments ... Dale Norton, the Nye County School District assistant superintendent in charge of the inquiry into that complaint, said the investigation of that complaint has been completed and that his report is under administrative review.

When results of that review will be announced was not known. When asked if there were any other inquiries underway, Norton said he could not comment.

Which means tonight's game is the first official start for Goodell as the Trojans' coach.

"Virgin Valley is a good football team ... make no mistake about that," said Goodell, "but we will be ready to play."

At halftime tonight, 16 people who have played critical roles in the progress of PVHS athletics will be inducted as charter members in the school's new Hall of Fame.

The 16 are Ray and Irene Wulfenstein, Ron and Charlotte Floyd, Rod Poteete, Al Giannotti, Donald Worden, Mike Floyd, Charles Stevens, Janelle Ward, Misti Ward Scott, Shari Longden Gals, Maggie Veloz Villa, Dick Empey, Larry Goins and Mike Kruse.

Most have been involved with PVHS athletics since the school opened in the early 1970s and based on my own research into Trojan performances over the last 35 years, they are richly deserving of such recognition.

One more digression of a personal nature ...

Two of my uncles, Eddie and Joe, served in World War II. So it was with great interest I watched the PBS presentation of Ken Burns' historic film, "The War."

Eddie was wounded at Anzio during the campaign to take control of Italy. Joe was on a B-17 crew that flew bombing missions over Germany; he didn't get a scratch.

I didn't really understand how significant Anzio was and how dangerous those B-17 missions were until I watched episodes concerning those events aired last week (and will be repeated over the next several weeks on PBS).

I do know, however, that it was Eddie and Joe who got me interested in the telling of stories. My uncle Eddie, in particular, liked to spend time with me relating those tales of the events that shaped his life -- and helped me decide what I wanted to do with mine.