BATTLE MOUNTAIN - In the past few years, the Battle Mountain High School football team would grind the ball on the ground and wear out its opponents with a non-stop rushing attack.
As the calendar turned to 2011, the Longhorns have changed that philosophy and that was evident Friday night in Incline. Sophomore Daniel Itza threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns as Battle Mountain picked up its first win of the year, a 31-21 victory over Incline.
The Longhorns (1-0 Northern 2A, 1-1 overall) scored twice within the first seven minutes of the first quarter on two long passes by Itza. The first strike was a 46-yard pass to Joey Cook with 7:49 left in the period. Two minutes later, Itza connected with Hank Filippini. Ryan Salazar added both extra points, giving the Longhorns a 14-0 advantage.
Incline (0-1, 1-1) cut the deficit in half midway through the second quarter, as Patrick Murray threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Wright. It didn't take long for Battle Mountain to answer, as Itza hooked up with Kyle Bryant two minutes later on a 72-yard score and a 21-7 lead for the Longhorns.
Those were the final points for Battle Mountain until the 5:58 mark of the fourth quarter, when Salazar made good on a 24-yard field goal. In between those scores, Incline closed the gap to 21-13 with 2:12 left in the first half when Murray and Wright connected for a second score, this time on a 15-yard pass.
Salazar's field goal extended Battle Mountain's lead to 24-13. Just over a minute later, the Longhorns took advantage of a Highlander turnover as Salazar scored on a 25-yard run to extend the margin to 31-13 after his extra point.
Incline made one last effort to come back as Murray hit Jack Clouthier for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:12 left in the game, but the Highlanders could not get any closer.
In addition to the strong passing night, Battle Mountain still moved the ball on the ground with nearly 200 yards and racked up over 400 yards of total offense in the game.
Battle Mountain returns to its home field on Friday at 7 p.m. to face long-time rival Pershing County, who is coming off a 67-0 win over Silver Stage. The Longhorns beat the Mustangs 14-12 last season in Lovelock, but Pershing County went on to win the state championship as the No. 4 seed from the north.
Yerington, Pershing County and Battle Mountain look to be the top teams in the Northern 2A in the early part of the season, and the Longhorns host both schools in conference play this year.
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