WINNEMUCCA - An 11-minute stretch in the third quarter determined the fate of the Lowry High School freshmen football team in its season opener against Truckee this past Friday night at Jerry Tobin Field in Winnemucca.
The Buckaroos used a touchdown with no time left on the clock in the first half to go in front at 14-13, only to see the Wolverines score 22 unanswered points in the third quarter to lead 35-14 and hold on for a 42-30 victory.
"We had the momentum going into the half," said LHS coach Brent Riemersma. "Truckee came out with a long drive in the second half and scored. We turned the ball over and they scored on that and we went into a little slump. I was proud of how we battled in the first half. We came back late in the game but just ran out of time."
The Buckaroos went three-and-out in their opening drive of the night and fumbled on the second, giving the Wolverines excellent field position.
Truckee took advantage of the Lowry mistake and scored on a 17-yard run by Ian Schimidig for a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game.
The Buckaroos' defense stepped up late in the first quarter and held the Wolverines on downs, taking at the 34-yard line.
Lowry used a mix of passes and runs to move the ball 66 yards, capping the drive with a 33-yard run by Jackson Brown. The extra point was missed, leaving the Wolverines ahead at 7-6.
Truckee quickly countered on its next possession, driving 66 yards with Tyler Davis finding Cole Harrity for a 17-yard touchdown reception.
The Buckaroos' next two drives stalled out on downs, but they were able to take advantage of a Wolverines' turnover with 52 seconds left in the half.
With no time left on the clock, Teichert found Joe Taylor in the end zone on a 17-yard reception. Brown ran in the 2-point conversion, giving Lowry a 14-13 lead at the half.
What momentum the Buckaroos had to start the third quarter was quickly halted by the Wolverines. Aided by a 15-yard penalty by Lowry, Truckee drove just 58 yards in a little over 90 seconds to reclaim the advantage at 21-14 and would not trail again. Schmidig capped the drive off with a 5-yard run.
Two plays later, Truckee's Riley Welch scooped up a fumble on the field and scampered 28 yards for the touchdown and a 28-14 lead.
The Buckaroos' next drive ended on an interception and the Wolverines took nearly four minutes off the clock and scored on a 1-yard run by Wulfe Retzlaff to make the score 35-14.
The teams traded touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, beginning with the Buckaroos' Darrin Nelson. He found the end zone with 6:23 left in the game on a 4-yard run.
However, Truckee countered 90 seconds later on a 14-yard run by Retzlaff to push the gap back to 20 points. Lowry had one last score in it, with Teichert connecting with Taylor on a 57-yard touchdown pass.
"We found out some things about us tonight," Riemersma said. "We might be more of a passing team. We came in this year thinking we will be a running team with our big line. We have big boys. If they can hold their blocks a bit longer we will run the ball well. When we held the blocks tonight, we got good running plays."
Lowry hits the road for the first time on Thursday with a 5 p.m. kick off in Sparks.
"We come back to practice and look to improve," added the coach. "Everyone has something to improve on and we will look to get better."[[In-content Ad]]
