FALLON - It was a statement win for the Lowry football team.
The Buckaroos slugged out a 21-14 win over previous unbeaten Fallon in the Northern Division I-A regular season finale for both clubs. Despite the loss, however, the Greenwave earned the No. 1 seed for Friday's first round playoff game against Fernley. Lowry, the third seed, travels to No. 2 Elko.
"It's hard to stop those guys," Lowry coach Tim Billingsley said. "We manned up on (Cameron) Matzen and Lecumberry had a couple picks and we were pretty happy with it."
Lowry, though, turned to quarterback Calvin Connors in the second half to outscore the Greenwave 21-7 and notch its third straight win over Fallon dating back to last year.
The Buckaroos not only handed the Wave their first lost of the season, but held an offense averaging more than 53 points per game to their lowest output of the season.
Lowry's physical style frustrated the Wave, and the defense picked off Fallon quarterback Morgan Dirickson twice - both by Tanner Lecumberry - to aid in the victory.
"We've got some good skill players back there," Billingsley said of his secondary. "We pressed them a little bit. We did a great job of scouting them."
Fallon, though, struck first in the second quarter when Dirickson hit Cameron Matzen for a 69-yard touchdown pass. Lowry's offense, however, struggled to find any holes in the running game as Fallon's defense held the Buckaroos scoreless through the first half.
But Connors and company turned up the heat in the third quarter. The slippery senior signal caller ran for 83 yards and frustrated the Wave defense with his evasiveness.
"I think we just had momentum," Connors said. "We came together as a whole and just pounded the ball."
After Lecumberry's second interception, the Buckaroos marched 80 yards in eight plays and cut the lead to 7-6 on a 39-yard TD run by Brandon Okuma.
Lowry took the lead early in the fourth quarter when Connors hit Lecumberry for a 28-yard TD pass. Okuma then took a pitch on a fake PAT attempt to give the Buckaroos a 14-7 lead with 10:41 remaining.
Fallon, though, turned up the heat on Connors as Evan Bitter picked off a pass to set up the Wave at the Lowry 25-yard line. After a personal foul penalty pushed Fallon back to the 37, wide receiver Tyler Bagby took a pitch and slung a ball to Matzen for the tying score with 7:43 left.
But Lowry answered with a physical, time-consuming drive capped by a 5-yard TD run by Beau Billingsley. After another personal foul penalty by Fallon, Connors converted a 4th-and-4 from Fallon's 31 with a 13-yard run with 1:55 remaining.
Fallon, though, had one more shot. As they did all game, Lowry's kickoffs avoided Matzen - who has seven punt returns for a TD - and found Bagby, who returned the ball to the Lowry 45. After Dirickson connected with Matzen for 22 yards to set up Fallon at Lowry 25, the Buckaroos defense stiffened. Kerry Buckmaster sacked Dirickson and three incompletions later the upset was complete.
"I thought it was a real good high school football game," Fallon coach Brooke Hill said. "That's what high school football is all about. You got to find a way to fight through adversity, and we haven't had much of that this year. It stings, but I give it Lowry because I thought they played well."
Connors tallied 190 yards on the ground, while Okuma added 96 and Billingsley 63. Connors also completed 4 of 12 passes for 52 yards.
Fallon, meanwhile, struggled to find any consistency on offense as the passing game was held in check by a ferocious pass rush and a stingy secondary.
Dirickson completed 7 of 24 attempts for 171 yards with one TD and two interceptions. Running back Trent Tarner added 94 yards on 17 carries. Matzen hauled in five passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Bagby tallied two catches for 55 yards.
"We manned them up," Connors said. "We went to a five DB (defensive backs) set and locked them up. It's something they haven't seen all year."
Lowry travels to Elko on Friday night for the opening round of the playoffs for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Buckaroos lost to the Indians 26-6 in Elko on Friday, Oct. 4. Fernley travels to Fallon in the other Division I-A North semifinal match up. In the Division I-A South, Desert Pine plays at Faith Lutheran and Virgin Valley travels to Moapa Valley.[[In-content Ad]]
