ELKO - The Elko football team showed it is more than capable of bouncing back.
After a humbling loss last week in Fallon, the Indians came out and beat Lowry 26-6 Friday night at Warrior Field. It was their first win against the Buckaroos since 2010.
"I think they expect to win," Elko head coach Luke Sellers said of his team's response after a loss. "We talked all week about turning the page. If you didn't like losing, what are you going to do about it in practice? What are you going to do to get better? We've still got to continue to get better."
The game was highlighted by three long touchdown runs by Jason Wilson, who finished the game with 219 rushing yards. Teammate David Jackson finished with 126 yards on the ground.
In the first half, however, neither team could get much going. Lowry's Beau Billingsley fumbled the ball after a 12-yard run on his team's opening drive, and Elko's Eric Van Kirk recovered to give the Indians the ball. The home team, however, could not capitalize on the field position. After moving the ball inside the Lowry 15, the Indians gave the ball back on downs.
"They shut us down all night on offense," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "They were putting all 11 guys on the defensive line and bringing them every time. If we got something going on offense, we would make a mistake and the drive would end."
The teams exchanged punts before the Tribe made its first significant miscue as the Tribe's James Carter fumbled a punt to give Lowry the ball on the Indians' 30. Lowry's ensuing drive was snuffed out after a sack by Elko's Angel Lievanos.
"I thought we executed a lot better, and we played with some emotion," Sellers said. "Our defense played really well. We got after their quarterback. We made him make decisions faster, and last week, we didn't do that."
After a couple more punts, the Buckaroos moved the ball into Elko territory and opted to run a play on fourth-and-4 at the Elko 44. The Tribe's Romero Avila dropped quarterback Calvin Connors for a sack.
Elko took over at its own 47. On second down, Jackson picked up 13 yards, and Wilson had a six-yard carry. Wilson took the next handoff, went right and then cut back to the middle of the field for a 38-yard run to the end zone.
"They are two pretty good backs," Billingsley said. "It's no secret what they are going to do when they have the ball. They took the ball and ran right through us."
In the first half, Lowry managed just 58 yards of offense.
Elko committed two turnovers on its first three possessions of the second half. Lowry's Calvin Connors intercepted a tipped ball in the end zone, and a few minutes later, the Buckaroos' Thomas Schwartz recovered another fumbled punt. The Tribe's defense responded by forcing a 3-and-out after each turnover.
Late in the third quarter, Wilson found the end zone on a 56-yard run much like his first. He went right before cutting back tot the middle for a long run.
"We were physical," Sellers said of his offense. "When you're able to run it up the middle with Jackson, it freezes the backers, and we could get outside with sweep. Our offensive line did a great job." The veteran coach also said his receivers did a good job blocking to get the back extra yards.
The Buckaroos (4-1 Division I-A North, 5-1 overall) found an answer to make it a game with a 21-yard run by Connors into the end zone. After a pass interference penalty, Connors took a snap and eluded a tackler in the backfield. He saw a wide-open field to his left and took off. He eluded a tackler at the goal line to score, but the Buckaroos failed on the point after attempt.
Elko did not panic. Instead, the Indians marched to midfield and handed the ball off to Wilson, who cut inside for an untouched sprint to pay dirt.
Elko iced the game in the final minutes with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone by quarterback Connor Altenburg.
Elko, which improves to 4-1 in league, travels to South Tahoe next week. If the Indians can run the table, they will likely host a first-round playoff game.
Lowry had 88 yards rushing and 47 yards passing in the game.
The Buckaroos will look to get back on the winning track when it plays Sparks on Friday night for their Homecoming game. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
"I don't know, maybe this is the best thing that could happen to us," Billingsley said. "We have some tough games left and we have to get refocused in the next few games. We have to come out, have a good week of practice and get ready to play Sparks."
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