WINNEMUCCA - It's interesting to see how a team responds from suffering its first loss of the season. That scenario faced the Lowry High School junior varsity football team on Friday.
The Buckaroos were handed a 31-20 loss to Fernley on Thursday, Sept. 20, only their second defeat in their last 14 games. Lowry responded well from its defeat, beating Dayton 41-0 in Winnemucca to improve to 3-0 in Division I-A play and 4-1overall.
"It was a good win for us," said LHS head coach John Brooks. "I didn't think we would win like that. Dayton has played teams tough this year. We had every chance to win that game in Fernley and let it get away. I was interested on how we would come back from the loss. The kids worked hard in practice and it showed in the game."
Lowry scored on three of its five possessions in the first half and also picked up two points on defense.
Dayton caught a break at the start off the game, as its kickoff bounced off a Lowry player and the Dust Devils were able to recover the ball.
The miscue did not cost the Buckaroos, as the Dust Devils' drive ended on downs.
Lowry quarterback Christian Gray quickly went to work with two completions to Colin Doyle. The combined running of Cody Mecham and Thomas Schwartz also contributed on the drive, which was capped off by a 25-yard run by Gray for a 6-0 lead after the missed extra point.
"Our defense was put in a tough spot right off the bat," Brooks said. "We held up and did not give up any points and our offense was able to move the ball well."
Following a punt by the Dust Devils, the Buckaroos mixed up the passing and running game to drive 58 yards for a second touchdown of the opening period. Gray connected on passes to Kyle Tarr and Wyatt Lester, and for the second consecutive drive, Gray scored on a rushing touchdown, this time from two yards out.
Dayton mishandled the ensuing kickoff, pinning itself deep in its own territory. The Lowry defense took it from there, with a quarterback sack and a tackle of a Dust Devil running back in the end zone for a safety and a 14-0 advantage.
Lowry's offense sputtered midway through the first half with an interception and punt, but the Buckaroos responded near the end of the second quarter on a 2-yard run by Mecham with 44.5 seconds to play.
The Buckaroos drove 55 yards in a little less than two minutes for the 22-0 lead. Schwartz began the drive with a 25-yard run.
It was much of the same in the second half, as Lowry scored on three of its four possessions. The Buckaroos took advantage of a bad snap on a Dayton punt and needed to move the ball just 45 yards for a 28-0 lead. Gray finished the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Mecham.
"Our offense did a good job," said the coach. "The line blocked well, our running backs ran hard and Christian looked good again. He had the one mistake with the interception, where he should have thrown the ball away."
The Buckaroos quickly got the ball back and drove 55 yards for their next score, this one a 2-yard pass from Gray to Tarr for a 34-0 advantage. Lowry closed out the scoring with four minutes left in the game on a 1-yard run by Jose Bernal.
"Something must have happened between then and now, because I was expecting a much better game," Brooks said. "I will take it and we are back in the win column."
Lowry returns home to face Elko at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in the Buckaroos' homecoming game.
"We will get a solid test in Elko," Brooks said. "We should get some injured players back and that will help. We need some tough games right now. We are headed into the toughest part of our schedule."
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