Virgin Valley female football player basks in Allegiant’s lights

A fewer hours aft Moapa Valley defeated rival Virgin Valley 27-14 successful the nightcap of the 4 precocious schoolhouse authorities title shot games Thursday astatine Allegiant Stadium, an email was received was Kristi Tausinga, 1 of the Virgin Valley parents.

It said, contempt the defeat, playing connected the Raiders’ tract was a imagination travel existent for a batch of young men … and 1 young lady.

Her daughter, Ana, a sophomore violative lineman, had gotten onto the tract for peculiar teams plays. Raiders unit deliberation she is the archetypal pistillate to play successful an authoritative crippled nether the translucent roof.

“The full acquisition was unreal from the locker rooms to the (crowd) sound and the (bright) lights,” Ana said. “The coaches told america to soak it each successful and beryllium successful the moment. The crippled didn’t spell however we wanted, but I wouldn’t person wanted to play determination with immoderate different squad than the boys I had beside maine and the coaches that were coaching.”

The 15-year-old began playing shot with boys successful 5th grade. She besides is simply a standout softball archetypal baseman and comes from an diversion household — her ma was a shot subordinate astatine Winslow (Arizona) High School and her cousin, Kesni Tausinga, was a starting antiaircraft lineman astatine Brigham Young.

“Coming up, she has fundamentally played with the aforesaid acceptable of boys,” her ma said. “This year, though, she has played with juniors and seniors she has ne'er played with before.

“I person to accidental they person been a large radical of boys — they’ve ne'er treated her differently. She has ne'er had to gain their respect; she has ever had it.”

Kristi Tausinga said Thursday really was the 2nd clip her girl performed successful an NFL stadium. When Ana was successful 5th grade, she won a Punt, Pass and Kick contention astatine Levi’s Stadium successful Santa Clara, California. But her ma said they made her deterioration a 49ers uniform.

Around the horn

— Thursday’s prep shot palooza astatine Allegiant Stadium brought backmost memories of the NAIA assemblage hoops tourney astatine Kemper Arena successful Kansas City, Missouri. For a tenable price, you could ticker sports each time successful a pro venue and beryllium thoroughly entertained.

When virtually the full municipality of Moapa Valley turned retired for Thursday’s Class 3A title game, it reminded maine of Fort Hays State (Kansas) oregon Rockhurst of Kansas City, Missouri, oregon Washburn of Topeka, Kansas, playing successful the prime-time evening crippled astatine Kemper.

The lone happening missing were the guys who called successful sick from the adjacent stockyards and would walk the full time successful the precocious platform betting connected Wisconsin-Stevens Point vs. Central Arkansas oregon the Georgetown from Kentucky.

Donnie Nelson, NIAA enforcement director, says archetypal prep shot rubric time extravaganza astatine Allegiant Stadium acold surpassed expectations. pic.twitter.com/xIl3QPOFxz

— ronkantowski (@ronkantowski) November 19, 2021

— Nice determination by the grown-ups astatine The Meadows who bought tickets for the full schoolhouse assemblage truthful it could be the 9 a.m. Class 2A rubric game.

The crippled ended earlier noon. As his dejected players boarded the squad autobus adjacent the Allegiant Stadium loading dock aft losing 35-26, manager Jack Concannon was asked if they had to spell backmost to classes.

“No, but these kids would if you fto them,” said Concannon, alluding to The Meadows’ 100 percent grounds of sending graduates to four-year colleges and universities.

The Meadows came adjacent aft putting itself successful a atrocious situation.https://t.co/R3puHXDDTp

— Mark Anderson (@markanderson65) November 18, 2021

— Las Vegas’ Noah Gragson volition instrumentality to the Daytona 500 successful February hoping to implicit immoderate unfinished business: enactment the Beard Motorsports No. 62 Chevrolet into the starting tract for NASCAR’s biggest race.

Gragson, 1 of 4 drivers who raced for the Xfinity Series title astatine Phoenix this month, was connected his mode to making his archetypal Daytona 500 commencement for 1 of the sport’s smallest teams earlier being collected successful a multicar clang successful the closing laps of his 2021 qualifying race.

Back to business. You ready, @NoahGragson?

NEWS: https://t.co/cfrxJXAx0G#Daytona500 // #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/rzOFaS6t8R

— Beard Motorsports (@BeardOil62) November 16, 2021

0:01

When Raiders antiaircraft lineman Quinton Jefferson picked up what appeared to beryllium a scissors from the Allegiant Field turf during past Sunday’s crippled against the Kansas City Chiefs, it brought backmost a representation of taking photos connected the sidelines of a tiny assemblage crippled galore moons ago.

Spotting what appeared to beryllium a overseas entity connected the field, 1 of the Fort Lewis College players handed a rusted arrowhead to 1 of the officials.

“Tough league,” the zebra said.

Why are determination aesculapian scissors connected the field? pic.twitter.com/XMuXA3r0sC

— Ben Brown (@BenBrownPL) November 15, 2021

Contact Ron Kantowski astatine rkantowski@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski connected Twitter.