WINNEMUCCA - Following a rash of injuries to key players at Wooster on Friday, Sept. 13, the Lowry High School junior varsity football team spent its week of practice leading up to the South Tahoe game this past Friday by putting players into new spots on the field.
The changes proved to be of little trouble to the Buckaroos, who routed the Vikings 34-6 at Jerry Tobin Field in Winnemucca.
"We had a bunch of kids step up and play in different positions that they are normally not playing in," said LHS head coach Taua Cabatbat. "The kids came to play and did a great job. Our offensive line blocked well and opened up some holes. We had to move some receivers to running back and they ran the ball well. You can ask for a better game than we played for all the guys we have hurt."
Lowry (3-0 Division I-A North, 3-0 overall) used up nearly four minutes of the clock to drive 87 yards on its first possession of the night. Gabe Molina started the drive with a 15-yard run and Kyle Tarr followed with a catch and run that saw him run from sideline to sideline that eventually finish at the South Tahoe 22-yard line.
The Buckaroos continued the drive and Tristen Hanninen scored on a 1-yard run and added the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 Lowry advantage.
Ninety seconds later, the Buckaroos were back on the board when Sterling Dennis intercepted a pass from South Tahoe's Zachary Shearer and returned 50 yards for a 14-0 lead with 6:44 left in the first quarter.
Lowry made progress the next two times it had the ball but saw drive end on turnovers - one on a fumble and the second on an interception.
After forcing a South Tahoe punt midway through the second quarter, Lowry jumped back onto the scoreboard with an 86-yard drive. Dennis capped off the possession with a 54-yard pass play to Tarr for a 21-0 lead.
South Tahoe's only points of the night cane moments later as Andre Mack broke free for a 74-yard run to close the gap to 21-6 with 3:18 left in the first half.
"We looked good defensively," Cabatbat said. "South Tahoe didn't do much on offense except for that touchdown run."
The Vikings left the Buckaroos plenty of time left on the clock in the second quarter and Lowry took full advantage, with Dennis finishing off a 65-yard drive with a 2-yard run to give the Buckaroos a 27-6 lead at halftime.
Lowry scored on its only possession in the third quarter with an 86-yard drive that lasted more than five minutes. The Buckaroos made the score 34-6 when Dennis connected on a 14-yard pass to Tarr.
"All of our guys did a nice job," said the coach. "Sterling did a good job at quarterback. Kyle made some nice catches and Gabe and Tristen ran the ball well."
Despite only a 28-point lead by the Buckaroos, both squads agreed to a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Lowry travels to Dayton on Friday for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff with the Dust Devils.
"Hopefully, this week we can get some guys healthy and back on the field," Cabatbat said. "We will get ready to go to Dayton and see if we can go with a full unit."
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