WINNEMUCCA - It's becoming a November rite of passage for the Lowry High School football team to gas up the charter bus and travel south to Overton to play Moapa Valley.
For the third consecutive season, the Buckaroos are headed to the farming and ranching community for a state semifinal game with the hopes of a different outcome from the last two seasons.
"We have been down this road before," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "Moapa is a very good football team and they are always at the top and have a good coaching staff. We have our work cut out for us. You have to be good to play in six straight state championship games. If we can stop their run attack we will be OK. They are very similar to us."
In 2010, the Buckaroos led the Pirates 20-14 in the fourth quarter and had the ball inside the Moapa Valley 15-yard line at the start of the final period, but watched as the Pirates scored three touchdowns in the final 9 minutes, 29 seconds of the game to win 35-20.
Last year Lowry could not capitalize on six opportunities inside the 25-yard line in a 19-6 loss.
"After facing Lowry High School two years in a row, we have a great amount of respect for them and their coaching staff," said Moapa Valley head coach Brent Lewis. "Tim does a great job with his kids. They play hard. They believe they can win every game, and most importantly, they are very well coached. We know that we are going to have to play disciplined football to beat them."
Lowry (10-1) set a school record for wins this season, after a 47-14 home victory over Churchill County in the opening round of the Division I-A playoffs on Friday, Nov. 2.
After losing its second game of the season to Truckee, Lowry has reeled off nine wins in a row, the third longest winning streak in 11-man football in Nevada right now. Moapa Valley (11-1) has played in the last six state championship games and won the Division I-A state title in 2007 and 2008.
The Pirates have played a tough schedule this year, with the new realignment in southern Nevada. The only loss Moapa Valley suffered on the season was a 23-14 defeat to Blue Ridge (Lakeside, Ariz.) on Aug. 18 in Phoenix. Moapa Valley currently has the longest winning streak in 11-man football in Nevada at 11 games.
"We expected to return a very good football team after last season," Lewis said. "It came as no surprise to us that we were able to compete at a high level in the new league. We did, however, expect the league to be better. I think that with time, the old 4A (Division I) schools that make up the Division 1-A will get better and compete better, simply because of the numbers. The schools we are competing against have four times as many kids than we do. I think the kids in Las Vegas will start to see that they can have success by being in this new 1-A."
Moapa Valley enters the game as the highest scoring team in Division I-A this season with 591 points, an average of 49.2 points a game. Lowry enters the contest with the second best offense in the I-A with 426 points in one less game (38.7 points a game).
"They are an athletic team that likes to rely on their run game," Billingsley said. "They have a bunch of guys that can beat you. We just have to stop the big plays they are capable of producing."
It may come down to the defenses, with the Pirates giving up the second fewest points in the I-A at 131, while the Buckaroos are third and have allowed 146 points.
Moapa Valley has shut out three opponents (Clark 66-0, Sunrise Mountain 54-0 and Pahrump Valley 65-0). Lowry held six of its opponents to seven points or fewer.
In the last two years, Moapa Valley keyed on Lowry's running game without the threat of a major passing attack from the Buckaroos.
That may change in the third matchup, with the emergence of junior quarterback Calvin Connors. Connors is 71-for-117 on the season for 1,020 yards and 13 touchdowns.
His three main targets this year have been Jesse Studebaker, Brandon Okuma and Robert Stepper. The trio has combined for nine of 13 touchdown receptions and nearly 900 yards receiving.
The running game of Lowry can't be ignored and after relying and the legs of Jace Billingsley and Johnny Hernandez last year, a number of players have stepped up this season.
The Buckaroos ran for more than 4,000 yards a season ago, but that number is down to 3,350 in 2011. Ten different players have run the ball for Lowry and four have over 500 yards on the ground, with Brandon Okuma leading the way with 949 and 10 touchdowns.
Connors has turned in to a dual-threat quarterback with 697 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns. He is also a big part of Lowry's special teams with punt and kickoff returns.
Senior Michal Arenas has garnered 531 yards and 10 touchdowns, and sophomore Beau Billingsley has 502 yards and six touchdowns. His older brother Michael Billingsley has 54 rushes for 383 yards and three touchdowns
"I do believe that Lowry is playing their best football right now," Lewis said. "Their running game is firing on all cylinders right now. We have to find a way to keep Connors in the pocket and limit their big plays. That will be the same case for Lowry versus us as well. Both schools have high-powered running games that are led by very good offensive lines."
The roles may be reversed this year as Moapa Valley has gone from a dual passing and running game to a squad that primarily pounds the ball on the ground.
Josh Repp leads the Pirates at quarterback but has just thrown 80 passes this season. He has 38 completions for 783 yards and nine touchdowns. Lance Hilton has also seen time at quarterback as well, going 12-for-24 with 194 yards and one touchdown.
Just like the Buckaroos, the Pirates use their offensive line and running backs to pound the ball at its opposition.
Moapa Valley has racked up 3,799 yards on the ground, led by senior Conner Mortensen, who has rushed for 1,576 yards and has scored 27 touchdowns on 142 carries. Sean McConnell has added 802 yards and eight touchdowns. Kasen Hughes and Jared Repp have picked up 514 and 456 yards on the ground, respectively.
"The game will be decided in the trenches, but I also think that special teams play will be very important," Lewis said. "Last year Lowry played on our end of the field all day, but our defense was able to make enough plays to keep them out of the end zone. The defensive and offensive fronts will play key roles in the game."
Weather may be a factor for Saturday's game with cooler weather coming into the area. The last two times the teams played temperatures were in the 70s.
"The weather is going to play a role," Lewis said. "Winds are supposed to blow 25-30 mph and the normal 75-80 degree weather will be in the 50s. Field position will be key in the game. The wind may neutralize the limited throwing games of each team. We are excited for the challenge as I'm sure Lowry and their staff is as well. It should be a hard fought 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.
"Hopefully, we can go out and do some good things,"
Billingsley said. "This would be a big win for us. Everyone is fired up about playing and excited about going down there. The community is excited right now. We have to win the turnover game and jump on them early. We want to force them to make some mistakes and get them out of their game plan."
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