Best season for Trojans

Gustavo Bahena

Players of the Silver Valley High School football team gathered for a photo during a practice, Nov. 19.

The Silver Valley High School football team played its best season, going 10-2 for the year.
The Trojans won their league, Desert Mountain, with a 7-0 record. Although their season came to an end when Saddleback Valley Christian (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), won their match, Nov. 21, it was the first time the Trojans had advanced to a second-round playoff game for CIF Southern Section High School Football.

Approximately 60 percent of the players on the team came from military families stationed at Fort Irwin, said head coach John Stewart.

The players showed a commitment to getting better every week, said Stewart. They were very dedicated and passionate about being on the field.

Quarterback Brittain Blackman, 17, is a military family member of Sgt. 1st Class Walter Blackman of Tarantula Team, Operations Group, and achieved second in passing within the league. The senior credited his teammates and coach with the Trojan’s achievements. He said the offensive line gave him plenty of protection and the running game was supported by two backs, who each ran for approximately 1,000 yards.

“Overall he’s put in a lot of hours of work into the program,” Brittain said about Stewart. “He definitely built his program around the talent.”

Johntavious Jones, 18, played running back and is a military family member of Staff Sgt. Derick Yates, section non-commissioned officer in charge of the Food Inspection Section with Fort Irwin Veterinarian Services. Johntavious played in 2013 and gave credit to his teammates for an improved season this year.

“This year is a whole turn around,” Johntavious said. “We just had so much talent.”

Yates said his family attended all the home games and most of the away games. He is proud to see his son develop as a player and know that he has academic plans to attend college to be an electrical engineer. The football program teaches discipline, teamwork and esprit de corps, said Yates.

Stewart explained that he expects players to do well in their academics and encouraged them to attend tutoring, which was planned into their practices.

“This year … our varsity team had a 2.75 team GPA … with a couple kids on there with a 4.0,” Stewart said.

Stewart thanked the support from the school staff and expressed his desire to keep coaching here.

“I love working with the military families,” Stewart said. “I love giving those kids a good experience while they’re here.”