Pahrump Valley Trojans test themselves in Las Vegas heat, top Silverado

The Pahrump Valley Trojans left Nye County for a June 3 test in Las Vegas that was about far more than summer reps. In temperatures that climbed past 105 degrees, Pahrump Valley High School players competed at UNLV’s Fertitta Football Complex against schools including Silverado, Desert Hills, Canyon Springs, Yuma Catholic, Sierra Vista and Spring Valley, and came home with a 12-7 win over Silverado.

For a program trying to gauge itself before the 2026 season, the setting mattered as much as the scoreboard. The Trojans worked through Dan Mullen’s Elite Football Camp and Big Man Camp, moving between 7-on-7 periods and line drills in a faster, more physical environment than a typical local practice. Quarterback Hunter Wydick, running back Preston Dockter, wide receiver and defensive back Paul Walker, junior Lucas Gavenda and defensive coordinator Mike Colucci were all part of the action as Pahrump Valley rotated through the camp work.

The camp also put the Trojans inside a broader college-football atmosphere at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, where summer football sessions have become part of the Rebels’ annual routine. UNLV’s camp schedule has included Elite Prospect Camp, 7-on-7 and Big Man Camp sessions, along with specialist and youth offerings, all designed to develop local talent and bring players onto campus for competition. That backdrop gave Pahrump Valley a direct look at the pace and size of the next level, while coaches got a better sense of which players could handle the heat and the strain.

That evaluation came in punishing conditions. Las Vegas weather data showed a June 5 high of 108 degrees, and average June highs in the valley sit around 96 degrees, making early-June work above 105 especially severe even by local standards. At UNLV’s Fertitta Football Complex, which opened in October 2019 and was built to develop student-athletes, attract elite recruits and maximize performance, the Trojans were not just practicing. They were being measured.

For Pahrump Valley and the Nye County School District, the trip offered a clear snapshot of where the Trojans stand before fall football begins. Beating Silverado 12-7 did not affect a standings column, but it showed Pahrump Valley could compete in the kind of heat, speed and contact that often decide who is ready when the season starts.