MCDERMITT - It was a tale of two halves for the McDermitt High School football team in its home opener on Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs dominated the play in the first 24 minutes against Wells in taking a 6-0 lead at halftime. However, the Leopards bounced back in the second half to score the final 28 points to win 28-6.
"We did a number of things in the first half and we were controlling the game," said MHS head coach. "We just ended up beating ourselves in the second half. Wells got that extra touchdown and we just didn't have it after that. We are in condition, we just missed some assignments and that led to a couple more scores."
Wells played the entire game without a no-huddle on offense and was driving on its first possession when Sonny Crutcher intercepted a pass by Wyatt Gibbs.
The Bulldogs could not take advantage of the miscue and punted on their initial drive of the contest. That turned out to be a familiar site for both teams. Punts and drives stalling out in the first 24 minutes were common place.
McDermitt provided its best drive of the first half with 3:23 left in the first quarter, with a couple of runs by Crutcher, including one on fourth down to keep the drive going. However, the drive was cut short at the Wells' 19-yard line on downs.
A miscue on a punt by Wells deep in its own territory led to the first score of the day. McDermitt took over at the Leopards' 22-yard line but went quickly backwards after a holding penalty, incomplete pass and a fumble. The Bulldogs were aided by a penalty to keep the drive going and fourth and two, Crutcher connected with TJ Smith for a 14-yards touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 5:21 left in the first half.
Crutcher collected his second interception on Wells' next drive and McDermitt was back in business at the 30-yard line. Frank Muratore gained 13 yards on the next play and scored from 21 yards out, but the touchdown was called back on a holding penalty. The Bulldogs fumbled two plays later, ending the drive, but still led 6-0 at halftime.
"That was a big momentum shift," Egan said. "We get that score there and it's a different game. "We have to dig through that. We are not young and the kids are experienced. We just have to click. I felt we played good defense in the first half and we were moving the ball on offense."
Wells continued with its no-huddle offense to start the third quarter and climbed on the scoreboard on its initial drive of the third quarter. Gibbs capped off a 63-yard drive with a 12-yard run to tie the game at 6-6 after the missed extra point.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt on their first drive, and the Leopards quickly countered with a 62-yard run by Gibbs on the next play to lead for the first time at 14-6.
McDermitt had its best drive of the night stall out at the Wells 22-yard line on downs. Wells came back with a 58-yard drive and Gibbs found Britton Johnny for an 11-yard touchdown pass and a 22-8 advantage with 4:13 left in the third quarter.
McDermitt's next two drives ended with a punt and downs, and Wells added the final score of the game with 8:10 to play on a 6-yard run by Gibbs.
"Their quarterback pretty much beat us on his own," Egan said. "We just didn't tackle very well. We are a better team than we showed today. We just need to find that little punch. It's frustrating and hard to take."
McDermitt is back at home Saturday to play Carlin at 1 p.m. The Railroaders lost to Virginia City last Saturday.
"Carlin is always a tough team," Egan said. "We need to have a good week of practice and be ready to play. The season is still early and all we can do is build off this."[[In-content Ad]]
