FERNLEY - While its freshmen and varsity counterparts had the opportunity to play a game already, the Lowry High School junior varsity football team hit the field for the first time this past Friday night in Fernley.
What awaited the Buckaroos was a strong Vaquero squad that figures to be one of the best in the Division I-A North. Fernley scored 28 points in the first quarter en route to a 52-0 victory.
"They were a quick team," said LHS coach Greg Scott. "It was finally nice to get on the field and play instead of hitting each other for a few weeks. There are some things we need to go back and work on. The kids got their first taste of game speed and now we have go make some adjustments."
Lowry went three-and-out on its first possession, and looked like it was going to do the same to Fernley's offense. However, the Vaqueros converted a third-and-nine play with a long pass and scored two plays later on a 22-yard run by AC Reyes to start the scoring.
The Buckaroos threw interceptions on its next two drives and the Vaqueros needed to move the ball just 28 yards to up the lead to 21-0. Ren Arroyo ran the ball in from three yards out after the first turnover and Sam Ramirez scampered for a 20-yard score on the first play, following the second interception.
"We would get going and we would just stop ourselves," said Scott. "Brady (Lange) did a god job. He was in a tough spot, playing quarterback for the first time. He is one of those kids that does anything you tell him. It was just the little thing knowing the position."
Fernley tacked on a fourth touchdown with 2:21 left in the first quarter on a 16-yard run by Arroyo. Lowry had three other possessions end without points in the second quarter and Fernley followed with 14 more points to increase the advantage to 42-0 at halftime. Ramirez scored on a 2-yard run and Arroyo connected with Reyes for a 22-yard touchdown reception.
The Buckaroos' defense stepped up in the third quarter, stopping two fake punt attempts. After throwing an interception on the initial drive of the second half, Lowry had its best drive of the night after the second failed fake punt. Alan Mayorga and Dominic Diaz used their feet to move the ball to the Fernley 11-yard line before seeing the drive end on downs.
On the ensuing drive, the Vaqueros drove down the field and capped off a drive that started at the 8-yard line with a 25-yard field goal by Ramirez with 2:20 left in the third quarter to make the score 45-0. The game was played with a running clock from there under the NIAA 45-point mercy rule.
The Vaqueros added a final score in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard run by Chayce Diebler.
"I was happy with the way we played in the second half," said the coach. "We made some adjustments and played better. When all you do is play yourself, you don't know what you have until you get out here."
Lowry will be at home on Friday to play Truckee at 4:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
