With no clear cut favorite in the Division IV North this season, the McDermitt High School football team is looking to make some noise and battle for a potential playoff berth, just two years after not fielding a team.
The Bulldogs opened their season on Friday, Sept. 5, in Pyramid Lake and came from behind on two occasions to pull out a 20-16 victory in the non-conference match-up.
"It was a big win for us," said MHS head coach Richard Egan. "I am excited, the coaches are excited and the kids are excited too. We still have a lot to work on and we are going to put some new things in on offense. Right now we have to give our quarterback more time to throw the ball. We need to do a little better job of blocking and we will work on that."
McDermitt (1-0) had a pair of touchdowns called back on penalties in the second quarter and went scoreless in the first 24 minutes. Pyramid Lake struck first with a touchdown and 2-point conversion to lead 8-0 at the break.
"Those couple of penalties hurt us," Egan said. "Those are things we just have to clean up and we will be OK."
The Bulldogs came out in the second half and used a 65-yard touchdown run by Frank Muratore and a 5-yard run by Sonny Crutcher to go in front for the first time at 12-8 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs missed the 2-point conversion on both scores.
The Lakers reclaimed the advantage in the fourth quarter and held the lead until Muratore scored his second touchdown of the night. TJ Smith added the 2-point conversion to account for the final score.
"It's a good way for the kids to start the season," Egan said. "We are just looking at building momentum and look to improve every week."
McDermitt makes its home debut today at 2 p.m. against Wells in a non-conference game. The Leopards are 0-2 on the season, losing 62-20 to Round Mountain last week and 62-8 to Pahranagat Valley in the opener.
"The league is up for grabs this year," Egan said. "There is not one team that is going to be dominant. The boys know that right now. We have a lot of support and the kids are feeding off of that."[[In-content Ad]]
