On Friday, October 18th, the Trojans faced off against the Paradise Honors Panthers. Last year the Trojans took on Paradise Honors in the high scoring semifinal game of the state playoffs and came up short 56-72 in a heartbreaking loss. Valley was coming into this game hungry and wanting revenge from last year. The Trojans kept it a close game and took the Panthers into double overtime, where the Trojans threw a pick to unfortunately seal the loss for Valley. 

Valley came out slow in the first half, only scoring six points, but luckily the defense kept the Trojans in the game and continued to give them chances. Sophomore cornerback Noah Lewis (10) came up clutch to start the second half with a 62-yard pick. Lewis had this to say about his interception. "To be honest, I thought I was going to take it back for a touchdown, but I'm glad I was able to put the offense in a good position to score and keep us in the game." 

The Trojans trailed the whole game until they stunned the Panthers in the fourth quarter when Junior Caleb Goldman scored a rushing touchdown late in the game to make it 14-14. When asked about the overall sensation of the touchdown Goldman said, "it felt great to tie the game and go to overtime because it set us up in a good position to take the win." The Trojans were in an evenly drawn matchup and at this point, it was anyone's game.  

Going into overtime neither team was dominant, with both of the teams' defenses and offenses evenly matched. When junior captain Hudson Pickett was asked about what the overall mindset was going into overtime, he mentioned that "going into overtime against Paradise Honors was nerve wracking, yet exciting. After finishing the season 11-2 last year and losing to Paradise Honors in the semifinal game, this rematch meant a lot to us. I was confident in our team to pull through in the end."  

The Trojans battled hard, taking the Panthers into double overtime, but eventually fell this time around as well, 14 – 20, in one of their most nerve-racking games of the season. Even though the Trojans fell short, they fought hard all game long and never gave in. All the Trojans can do is hope to come back stronger and better prepared as they face off against the Payson Longhorns in their next game.