WINNEMUCCA - Coming off a loss to Truckee, the three-time defending state champion, the Lowry High School varsity football team was looking to get back on the winning track with its home debut on Friday night.
The Buckaroos (2-1 overall, 1-1 Division I-A North) gave up an early first-quarter field goal to Wooster, but dominated the rest of the way in a 31-3 victory over the Colts.
"They came out of the block with a great drive, and luckily we held them to a field goal," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "They are a nice football team and are getting better. Our defense stood their ground the rest of the way. Offensively we went for it fourth down a couple of times and did not have to punt. I was pleased with the performance and it was nice to play at home for the first time. We had one turnover, but it did not cost us. It was a good way to rebound after the Truckee game."
Wooster jumped on the board and led 3-0 in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal by Marlon Lopez. The Colts took over at the 44-yard line, when Lowry was stopped inches short on a fourth and five play. That was one of the few times the Buckaroos were stopped on offense, scoring three of the next four times they had the ball. The Colts used the legs of Jordee Salinas to move the ball down the field, when the drive eventually stalled out.
Following the Wooster field goal, it took Lowry just 92 seconds to drive 63 yards on four plays. Brandon Okuma ran the ball on the first two plays, followed by Beau Billingsley and Michal Arenas did the rest on a 15-yard run.
After forcing the Colts to punt on their next possession, the Buckaroos used up four minutes on the clock and upped the margin to 10-3 on a 25-yard field goal by Taylor Martin, with 9:10 left in the first half.
On the ensuing drive, Wooster had to work with a long field, after being pinned inside the 5-yard line. The Buckaroo defense held forcing a punt, and looked poised to increase the advantage, with a small field to work with. However, Lowry gave the ball back a few plays later on a fumble, one of its few mistakes on the night.
The Buckaroos made up for that miscue, taking nearly the final five minutes off the clock after forcing another Colts punt. Lowry mixed in the passing game with the run to drive 70 yards. The big play of the drive came on a 20-yard pass to Brandon Okuma on third at 16 from Calvin Connors.
"We were able to get the passing game going a little bit," Billingsley said. "Calvin made some good decisions and we are trying to become a two-dimensional team. He is a run and throwing threat for us. We like what he does at quarterback."
Okuma followed his 20-yard reception with a 20-yard run and with 31 seconds left in the half, Michael Billingsley capped off the drive with a 1-yard run for a 17-3 lead.
Lowry's defense forced Wooster to punt twice in the third quarter and the offense responded with two touchdowns to put the game out of reach. In the Buckaroos' initial drive of the third quarter, Connors used passes of 20 and 23 yards to Jesse Studebaker and Robert Stepper, respectively, to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Arenas.
The Buckaroos scored once again with nine seconds left in the half, on a 2-yard run by Connors on fourth and goal. A 33-yard pass by Connors to Studebaker set up Lowry with the good field position.
Lowry's defense held its ground once again in the fourth, picking up a turnover and forcing Wooster to punt. The Buckaroos had its chances to add to the lead late in the game, but Martin missed a 33-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and a late penalty with seconds left on the night prevented Lowry from scoring near the goal line.
"I was happy with the way our defense played," added the coach. "The way Wooster lines up is tough, since they go right up the middle. They have a good back that ran hard, along with some good receivers."
The Buckaroos had six players rush for more than 50 yards on the night and had 338 as a team. Beau Billingsley led the attack with 81 yards on 10 carries. His brother, Michael Billingsley, had 75 yards on 15 carries, while Arenas added 69 yards on eight carries. Okuma and Connors ran for 57 and 56 yards, respectively.
Connors was 7-for-11 passing for 131 yards and Studebaker caught two of those passes for 56 yards. Okuma had three receptions for 40 yards and Stepper and Beau Billingsley caught one ball each for 22 and 13 yards, respectively.
Lowry makes its second trip in three weeks to Lake Tahoe, with a Friday night game at South Tahoe at 7 p.m. The Buckaroos scored 77 points a season ago against the Vikings in a 77-21 win.
"We just have to take it one game at a time," Billingsley said. "Everybody is tough in this league and we have to prepare for the next team. It is another long trip for us, but we have to keep on going. We can't worry about what is down the road. We have to be focused on the team we are playing each week."
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