FROM THE ROD POTEETE COLLECTION Rod Poteete, above, greets Mike Floyd after a key hit in a Southern Nevada Class A league game at Community Park. FROM THE ROD POTEETE COLLECTION The Trojans played at Community Park for several years before they got their own on-campus field. Advertisement

Rod Poteete coached varsity baseball at Pahrump Valley High School for 12 years. And while the Trojans never won a Nevada state championship, they were, with rare exception, in contention for league and regional titles.

Look at the record. In 12 seasons:

*The Trojans finished .500 or better 10 times, winning 153 and losing 82.

* Pahrump Valley won 80 of 114 league games at either the Class A or 2-A level. The Trojans were 1-A from 1975 through 1981, Class 2-A from 1982 through 1985 and back in 1-A in 1986.

* The Trojans averaged 8.6 runs per game, while allowing 5.3 rpg. The 1981 through 1986 teams were 99-39, outscoring rivals by more than a 2-to-1 edge per game.

* Pahrump Valley won league championships in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1985 and finished second in 1977, 1982, 1984 and 1986. The Trojans' worst finish was sixth, in 1975, their inaugural season. Two teams (1976, 1980) were third.

* The Trojans finished second in the state tournament in 1979, 1981 and 1983. The 1978 team lost its only playoff game, while the 1982 and 1985 teams were ousted in the semifinals.

* Pahrump Valley had a collective team batting average of .340 and its pitchers had an overall earned run average of 2.99. They had eight no-hitters and 12 one-hitters, to go with 28 shutouts.

* The Trojans were 22-5 in 1983, 18-6 in 1984 and 17-4 in 1981.

* The Trojans were 18-7 against perennial Class A power Mesquite Virgin Valley. They also dominated league player of the year selections.

Carl Kaucky, who will enter the Pahrump Valley High School Athletics Hall of Fame in September, was the MVP as a junior third baseman in 1978.

Charles Stevens, a HOF charter member, was the MVP in 1985 and 1986. Gary Nerger, another 2008 HOF selection, was the top player in the Class A league in 1981; Nerger caught every pitch of every inning in four years as a varsity catcher.

Other MVPs were pitcher Pete Sevilla (1979) and pitcher Dick Empey (1983, 1984). Over four seasons, Empey, a lefthander, struck out 374 batters. Kruse had a 0.93 ERA in 1982, In 1986, Stevens finished at 0.88, but the team record (1975 to 1986) was 0.74 by Mike Empey in 1978.

The 1981 Trojans, according to the 1987 National Federation of High Schools record book, had the eighth-highest team batting average in history. Finishing 17-4, the Trojans collectively batted .402, with six batters exceeding .400.

* Dick Empey, then a freshman, batted .492.

* Mike Kruse, a sophomore, hit .483.

* Junior Scott Yardley batted.479.

* Mike Floyd, a sophomore, finished at .475.

* Sophomore Bob Farthing closed at .415 and

* Nerger batted .400.

Pahrump Valley, which lost to Battle Mountain in the state 1-A finals in 1981, would have been a legitimate title threat in the 1982 season, but the Trojans had been realigned into Class 2-A. That season, Pahrump Valley finished 14-6 in all games, 7-3 in the league and lost in the state semifinals.

Poteete retired as a coach after the 1986 season and was succeeded by Andy Anderson, whose first team was 5-18 -- 0-14 against non-league opponents.