WINNEMUCCA - After slaying the mighty dragon in Truckee a week ago, the Lowry High School varsity football team quickly learned they have be ready to play every week.
The Buckaroos (2-0 Division I-A, 3-0 overall), went on the road to Reno for the first time this season and found themselves trailing 16-0 to Wooster after a quarter of action. A touchdown late in the first half brought Lowry within nine points at halftime and the Buckaroos dominated from there, outscoring the Colts 23-0 in the second half to win 30-16.
"We were not very well prepared and didn't have that good of practices leading up to the game, and that is on me as the head coach," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "This was the best thing that could happen to us. We as coaches and the players learned we can't take anybody lightly. We will be better prepared and we will not overlook anybody again."
Wooster used the arm of quarterback Hunter Triplett to move the ball the ball on Lowry in the first quarter. The Buckaroos held the Colts to a 25-yard field goal by Alex Anguiano midway through the first quarter to a take a 3-0 lead.
Following an interception by Lowry quarterback Calvin Connors, Wooster drove back down the field and increased its lead to 10-0 off a touchdown pass from Triplett to Anguiano.
The Buckaroos were forced to punt on their next possession, which led to a second touchdown pass from Triplett to Anguiano. That touchdown play came on fourth down, giving Wooster a 16-0 lead after the missed extra point.
After struggling on offense for much of the first half, Lowry got on the scoreboard with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Connors to Josh Shaver, which cut the lead to 16-7 at halftime.
"Wooster had us scouted well and they were ready to play and we were not," Billingsley said. "Once we got that first touchdown, we were able to settle down a little bit. We were still struggling, though. We would create big plays but have it called back by a penalty. We were just sloppy all the way around."
Lowry began to get its offense rolling in the second half, with the opening drive resulting in a 25-yard field goal by Connors to close the gap to six points. The Buckaroos had to settle for the field goal after a touchdown reception by Beau Billingsley was called back on a penalty.
After throwing for over 100 yards in the first half, the Buckaroo defense clamped down on Triplett. Lowry's Troy Hardy and Alec Mayo came up with key interceptions to stop Wooster drives.
The Buckaroos tied the game at 16-16 late in the third quarter on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Connors to Robert Stepper. Lowry had a chance to take the lead but missed the extra point.
"We started smoothing things out in the second half," added Billingsley. "The coaching staff challenged the kids at halftime to show us where that team that beat Truckee a week ago was."
Lowry took the lead for good in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on a 55-yard run by Connors and Thomas Schwartz sealed the victory with a touchdown run late in the contest.
Connors (122) and Billingsley (115) each rushed for more than 100 yards. Elijah Frei and Schwartz had 42 and 18 yards rushing, respectively. Connors was 5-of-8 passing for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Stepper had two receptions for 45 yards, Billingsley three catches fir 35 yards and Nate Eldodt, Tytus Millikan and Shaver each had one reception.
"It was frustrating as a coach to know we were a part of what happened," Billingsley said. "It was a bad week all the way around. That will be fixed before we play South Tahoe."
Lowry returns to its home field tonight to host South Tahoe at 7 p.m. The Vikings come into the game at 0-3 and lost 53-7 to Churchill County last week.
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