WINNEMUCCA - OK. I know it is way too early in the year for this but let's have a little fun at what the winter sports season could bring for the Lowry High School basketball and wrestling teams and the McDermitt High School basketball teams.
The Lowry boys opened its season last Saturday night against a good Division I North school in Reno. The Buckaroos won by seven points, avenging a loss to the Huskies from a season ago.
Lowry held Reno to 43 points, 27 percent shooting, including 3-for-22 from the 3-point line. You might see that out of the Buckaroos quite a bit this year. It is only one game and it was played on the last day of November, so it's not time to overreact.
It will be interesting to see how the Buckaroos play in the next two weeks. As I speak, Lowry is playing in a three-day tournament in Las Vegas hosted by Legacy High School. The Buckaroos played Arbor View last night. Arbor View reached the semifinals of the Division I Sunset regional tournament last year. Lowry will also face two teams from Australia.
In reality, the two December games that mean the most are Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21, at South Tahoe and Dayton, respectively. That weekend begins conference play.
The Buckaroos lost to rival Elko three times last year and want nothing more than to win a league championship. You can't discredit the rest of the Division I-A North, but it is a league of two teams.
To be honest I am not quite sure what to expect from the Lowry girls basketball team.
The Lady Bucks feature just seniors, with two sophomores and the rest juniors on the club.
Lowry was 8-17 a season ago, one of the few losing seasons you will ever see at the school. The Lady Bucks have missed out on the playoffs two of the last three years, after winning the state championship in 2010.
Up to now, Lowry has not had any scrimmages or games, but have put in a lot of practice time on the floor. The Lady Bucks are now under the direction of Chelsea Cabatbat, who was the junior varsity coach over the past six years. If the intensity of practices are an indication on how the girls will play, this group will be fun to watch.
Most of the girls have played under Cabatbat at the junior varsity level and know what she expects out of them. The first-year coach will have some help as well. Vince Mendiola, Cabatbat's father, will help out and he has won a state championship as a player and coach. Tammy Pollock has jumped on board to assist and she won a state championship with the Lady Bucks in 1992 as the head coach. Debbie Connors will also be on the bench to help out Cabatbat.
If this team can make it to the playoffs (finish in the top four of the league) the season will be a success. With just two seniors, Lowry is building for the future.
The Lowry wrestling team has won the last five state championships and look primed to make it six. A season ago, a few Division I-A South schools spouted off, claiming they were ready to dethrone the Buckaroos. We will just say Lowry beat one of those schools by 169 points.
At least Lowry drew praise from Pahrump Valley, when its coach said the Buckaroos were the school that other teams needed to match.
Lowry has an experienced group back with two state champions and a handful of runner-up finishes. Ten wrestlers who competed at the state tournament return.
The Buckaroos have won 75 consecutive dual matches which is the second-longest streak in Nevada history. That will be tested this weekend in Fallon.
Lowry will face a brutal schedule with its home tournament, the Reno Tournament of Champions, Sierra Nevada Classic and Rollie Lane Invitational in consecutive weeks.
You can't forget tournaments in Sutter, Calif., Spring Creek, Fernley and Yerington.
Coach John Brooks and his staff do an amazing job day in and day out. Many schools want to know what the secret to the success is. Plain and simple, this group works harder than everybody else.
It's a new beginning for the McDermitt High School girls basketball team. The Lady Bulldogs lost a strong group of seniors last year that reached the Division IV North regional semifinals.
Head coach Jaimi Wilkinson is basically starting over, with a group that includes just one senior. That senior has never played high school basketball before. The remaining eight girls are freshmen and sophomores.
The goal, as always, is to reach the playoffs, which this team can do. But, being such a young group, the current outlook is to look to probably two years into the future. Two years of maturity off and on the court is huge.
Wilkinson noted that this group might take some early lumps but will be better in January and February. If this team can come together, there is no reason for them not to be in the playoffs.
The McDermitt boys won just one game in the Division IV East last year and look to rebuild and get back on the right track under the direction of first-year head coach Austin Mayo.
Just two years ago, the Bulldogs went undefeated in league play and were in the state tournament. There are a couple of players off that state tournament team left on this year's squad.
Everything that could go wrong last year did. If the Bulldogs can refocus on the task on hand and bring energy to the floor they will be OK. They have the right players and are better than a one-win team.
If McDermitt can find a way to get wins over Carlin and Wells and maybe a Eureka they are in the playoff hunt. I will say, the games with Wells should be interesting. There is a lot of bad blood left over from the football season between both teams.
Winnemucca Publishing sports editor Tony Erquiaga can be reached via email at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.
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