Monument Valley and Whitehorse begin fall sports season

It’s been a pretty monumental past few weeks for the Monument Valley and Whitehorse high schools.

Cougar and Raider sports teams have participated in competitions for the first time in almost 19 months since activities were shut down due to COVID-19 in March 2020.

Monument Valley

For Monument Valley, the volleyball team has opened the season with two wins and one loss.

In the season opener in Kayenta on September 1, they suffered a tough sweep at the hands of Monument Valley, AZ.

But the Cougars bounced back for a win over Navajo Pine, NM the following night, turning the tables to beat the Warriors in straight sets.

Then, this past Wednesday, September 8, it was a much-anticipated matchup when Whitehorse came to Monument Valley for the Battle of the Drum.

It was the first contest between the two rivals since the Cougar girls basketball team retained the trophy in a 58-35 win over the Raiders in the 1A fifth-place semifinals on February 28, 2020.

And Monument Valley wasn’t interested in giving up the Drum again, beating their northern rivals in four sets in front of an excited home crowd.

This week, the Cougars were set for two more matches. They played the Shiprock Northwest Falcons on Tuesday, September 14. They’ll face the Mancos Bluejays this Friday, September 17.

It hasn’t been as smooth a start for the Cougar football team. They opened with a 53-0 loss at Navajo Prep in Farmington, NM on August 20.

This past Friday, September 10 they battled hard in Pinon, AZ, but fell to the Eagles 32-22 to fall to 0-2 on the season.

Monument Valley is right back at it this Thursday, September 16 when they travel to Kayenta to take on the Monument Valley, AZ Mustangs.

The Monument Valley cross country team is also in action this season, as reported by Jessica Walker in last week’s edition of the San Juan Record.

She’ll be covering cross country for San Juan, Monument Valley, and Whitehorse high schools throughout the season.

Whitehorse

The Whitehorse volleyball team is 1-4 to start the season. The Raiders opened with two home losses to Tohatchi, NM August 26 and to Shiprock Northwest the following night.

But they traveled to Shiprock and beat the Warriors 3-2 in a rematch on August 31.

In their most recent two matches, Whitehorse suffered losses to Green River, 3-0 on September 2 and of course this past Wednesday to Monument Valley in the first Battle of the Drum meeting of the year.

The Raiders are set for a busy weekend, with a match in Mancos this Thursday, September 16, a Region 23 rematch in Green River on Friday, September 17, and a trip to Price to take on Pinnacle in a region match Saturday, September 18.

The Whitehorse football team is 0-1 following a tough 48-0 road loss to the Tuba City, AZ Warriors.

The Raiders will visit Monticello on Wednesday, September 22 to take on the Buckaroos.

And the WHS cross country team is also competing this season. Check future issues of the San Juan Record for coverage from Jessica Walker.