The Moon Valley Rockets defeated the Washington Rams 18-15 Friday night in a Class 4A non-region game.

Washington’s defense was aggressive the entire night. It forced two punts early and opened up scoring on an interception returned for a touchdown by Trey Hughes.

Moon Valley (3-1) would respond and eventually a 12-7 lead, but not without Rams frequently in the backfield. Safety Gabe Garcia took away the deep game for Moon Valley, defending four passes over 20 yards.

The second half was no different for the Rams defense.

The wind wreaked havoc all night and knocked down two punts inside the 35-yard line, giving Moon Valley great field position. Both times, the Washington defense remained stout.

With Moon Valley at the Washington 30, Hughes knocked down a pass in the end zone. The Rockets went to the ground the next two plays, but failed to move the chains. A high snap on fourth and three secured the defensive stand for Washington.

It would not have the ball long, however. Quarterback Philip Pardia was flushed out of the pocket and forced a pass downfield that was intercepted by Ricky Rivas, his second of the night.

Once again, the Washington defense needed to hold its ground, and tithey did just that. The defense penetrated the backfield on all four downs, and sacked Moon Valley quarterback Isaiah Southwick twice.

“Our kids played hard,” Washington coach Tim Mayfield said. “We hit hard, we tackled ... We did the things we had to do. It was good for our guys to perform that well.”

The Washington offense was not as strong, and could not get anything going. The Rams (0-3) were forced to punt for their third straight possession, putting the defense on the field once again.

“We’re struggling on offense,” Mayfield said. “We can’t seem to get first downs, and we can’t seem to move the ball. We’re going back to the drawing board on that one. We’ll look at the film and see where we’re at.”

This time they could not make the stop.

With the ball at the 1, Moon Valley running back Liarrys Cox made a play that defined heads-up football. He fielded a snap that bounced of Southwick’s hands, pulling the ball out of mid-air and taking it in for a touchdown, his second of the game.

“It was a broken play,” Moon Valley coach Seth Millican said.

“This kid picked the ball up and saved my butt.”

Cox said he was thinking about how great the win would be for his team in the moments leading to the play.

“I just saw the ball and went for it,” he said.

Washington forced another fumble late in the game and scored with three minutes remaining, but it was too little too late and Moon Valley hung on to secure the 18-15 victory.

Mayfield was happy with the win, but said his team needs to improve.

“I liked that our defense played hard,” he said. “We need to execute on offense. Execute on offense and we’re a much better team.”