The McDermitt High School football team started its second half of the league season last Friday night in Carlin, as the Railroaders were celebrating Homecoming.
This season, the Division IV East is playing home-and-home games to account for their six league games. Owyhee is playing as an independent this year and is ineligible for postseason play. That leaves McDermitt, Eureka, Carlin and Wells to battle for two playoff berths.
The Railroaders won the first match-up on Sept. 20 and earned the sweep, winning 40-20.
Carlin jumped on the board first with a touchdown run by Javas Reach and the Railroaders added the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage. McDermitt (0-4 Division IV East, 2-4 overall) looked as if it climbed on the scoreboard, but had a touchdown called back on a penalty. However, the Bulldogs kept the drive going and cut the deficit to 8-6 on a touchdown run by Sonny Crutcher.
Carlin took a 16-6 lead into halftime, as Cody Brown scored on a touchdown run. Both teams traded interceptions near the end of the second quarter. The Railroaders broke the contest open with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to lead 32-6. The first came two minutes into the second half on a touchdown run by Dennis Branning. The final score was by Leach on a running play.
McDermitt cut the Carlin lead to 32-14 on a touchdown run by Frank Muratore, but the Railroaders answered on a 17-yard run by Leach, his third of the night. With under a minute to play, the Bulldogs added a final touchdown to bring the score to 40-20.
McDermitt continues its three-game road trip tonight at Wells at 7 p.m. The Leopards won the first meeting 28-6 in early September.
Wells is currently tied for second in the league with Eureka at 2-2. Carlin is on top at 4-0. The Bulldogs need to win their final two games against Wells and Eureka and have Carlin beat Wells and Eureka to create a three-way tie for second at 2-4. The top two teams advance to the state playoffs in November.[[In-content Ad]]
