WINNEMUCCA - Tell me if you have heard this one before. The Lowry High School football team is preparing the charter bus to head to southern Nevada for the Division I-A state semifinals.
After playing at Moapa Valley for the past three years and suffering three losses, Lowry will face a new opponent this fall in Faith Lutheran. It is the first-ever meeting between the Crusaders and Buckaroos.
"Every year it seems like we won't get back to this point, but we keep doing it," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "We are used to this trip by now and it's not Moapa Valley for once. We are playing some our best ball right now and we are hot at the right time. That's the way it should be. You should be playing your best football at this time of the year."
Faith Lutheran is under the direction of first-year head coach Vernon Fox. Fox, a Fresno State graduate, played eight years in the NFL as a safety for Detroit, San Diego and Washington. The Crusaders were just 5-5 a season ago but enter Saturday's matchup with the Buckaroos at 10-2.
There was some fanfare when Fox was hired at the school, but he says that has subsided as the year has gone on.
"It created a stir for a little while," said Fox. "Once we got into the season I just wanted to be one of the guys and start building a program. I have a great coaching staff and the kids have bought into what we want to do as a school and a program."
The Crusaders dropped their first two games of the season to Lutheran (Colo.) and Virgin Valley, but have won their last 10 games. Faith Lutheran has a potent offense, scoring 411 points in 12 games.
"We got off to a slow start," Fox said. "We were trying to find our identity at the beginning of the season. We worked some things out after that and we have been getting better every week."
The Buckaroos have won 10 games for the second time in school history and have two five-game winning streaks on the season. Lowry won its first five games of the year, before losing 26-6 at Elko on Friday, Oct. 4. That proved to be the wake up call for the Buckaroos, who have outscored their last five opponents 198-54.
"That was the turning point for us," Billingsley said. "We went there the first time and flat out got beat. We came back with a different attitude, made some changes, and we have played well since then."
Except for the hiccup in the loss at Elko, the Lowry offense has been unstoppable this fall, scoring 441 points on the season. The defense has been a bright spot as well, allowing 116 points in 11 games. The Buckaroos shut out Truckee, South Tahoe and Sparks and held Spring Creek and Battle Mountain to six and seven points, respectively.
While the Crusaders can put points on the scoreboard, they have also allowed 225 on the season, including 41 in their victory over Desert Pine last week.
Faith Lutheran is a dual threat squad that runs a number of formations. Senior quarterback Jacob Deaville will line up under center or sit in a shotgun formation. Deaville has thrown for 1,519 yards and 12 touchdowns and four interceptions. He is 79-for-139 on the season.
His favorite target to throw the ball to is senior wide receiver Vinny DeGeorge. DeGeorge has 32 receptions for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. Mark Rubalcaba and Trent Dolby are also receiving threats with 344 and 180 yards, respectively, on the year. Both players have three touchdowns.
"Watching them on film they are a good school," Billingsley said. "They have some nice, athletic kids. They do a lot of different things on offense that can cause some problems. I think it's going to be a great game and we wouldn't expect anything less."
The Crusaders are a running threat was well, with 2,194 yards on the ground. Senior Kennan Smith leads the ground attack with 919 yards and 19 touchdowns. Fabian Lagudi has 690 yards and 13 touchdowns on 107 carries. Deaville can do damage with his legs as well, running for 368 yards.
"We came in and wanted to be as balanced as we could," Fox said. "We have some talented kids on the team and we wanted to go with the strengths that we had."
Lowry has put up over 4,200 yards of offense, with 3,100 of that coming on the ground. The majority of that comes from Calvin Connors, Brandon Okuma and Beau Billingsley.
Connors, the senior quarterback for the Buckaroos, leads the team with 922 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns. Billingsley, a junior, has ran for 895 yards and seven touchdowns and Okuma, a senior, has eight touchdowns and 743 yards. Elijah Frei and Thomas Schwartz have ran for 284 and 156 yards, respectively, and have combined for nine touchdowns.
"We have nothing but respect for Lowry," Fox said. "Watching them on film, they are a big and physical team. They are athletic with some nice players. They are well coached and they are doing something right to be here."
Connors is just off his pace by 70 yards from a season ago in the passing department. He is 55-for-86 for 951 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has one more touchdown this year than a season ago.
His main targets this year have been Billingsley, Josh Shaver, Robert Stepper and Okuma. The foursome have combined for 11 of the 15 touchdown receptions and 996 yards receiving.
With both teams injury free, Faith Lutheran is looking to advance to the state title in search of its first championship in football.
"Everyone is excited about this season and the game on Saturday," Fox said. "This run we are on has brought the school together. We just have to go out and play our game. We fully expect to come out and win the game."
A win Saturday gives Lowry its first trip back to the state championship since 1992, when it lost 17-0 to Moapa Valley in Las Vegas' Sam Boyd Stadium.
"We have been in this position before and have been able to win this game in the last three years," Billingsley said. "We have a bunch of seniors that have been working for four years to get to this point. We have been on the road for the last weeks and have beaten some good teams. We are not afraid of the bus trip and going down there. We are excited to play. We just want to stay on the roll we have been on."
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