WINNEMUCCA - After breezing through its first five games of the year, the Lowry High School football team got its wake-up call on Oct. 4, in Elko as the Indians humbled the Buckaroos 26-6.
It was well received, as Lowry finished out the regular season with four wins, including the season finale against previously undefeated Churchill County. The Buckaroos outscored their opponents 164-39 in that stretch.
After finishing in a three-way tie for first place in the Division I-A North, Lowry earned an opportunity to face Elko for a second time and show its doubters the first meeting was just an aberration.
The Buckaroos did just that, as senior quarterback Calvin Connors returned the opening kick 90 yards to lead Lowry to a 34-15 victory on Friday night at Warrior Field in Elko.
"We knew we were going to give them a better game this time around," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "We didn't play well at all the first time we played them and that was our wake-up call. It certainly helps your cause when you run the opening kick back and set the tone that way."
Lowry improved to 10-1 overall, tying a school record for most wins in a season.
The kickoff return by Connors proved to be all the scoring in the first half, as the offenses had a tough time getting going in the first 24 minutes of the action.
On the Buckaroos' second possession of the night, they moved the ball down the field, converting two third-down conversions. The first came on a run by Brandon Okuma and the second on a pass from Connors to Tytus Millikan. However, the drive stalled out near midfield with Elko coming up with a quarterback sack.
The Indians followed with a strong drive of their own, aided by a pass interference penalty on the Buckaroos. Elko moved the ball inside the Lowry 20-yard line, but saw the possession end on downs after an incomplete pass.
Okuma broke a run for 47 yards to put the ball inside the Elko 20-yard line the next time Lowry had the ball. Two plays later, Connors threw pass to Nate Eldodt in the end zone, and Eldodt came down with the pass but could not keep his feet inbounds. The Buckaroos turned it over on downs after that.
The Buckaroos were back in Elko territory late in the first half after Connors caught a 12-yard pass from Garrett Naveran. On the same play, Elko was called for a roughing the quarterback penalty, moving the ball to the 34-yard line. Lowry attempted a hail M ary at the end of the half but it was knocked away by an Elko defender to keep the score 7-0 at halftime.
"Both offenses bogged down a bit in the first half," Billingsley said. "We wanted to control the ball and the clock. We were able to move the ball but couldn't score."
The Indians hurt themselves with mistakes in the second half, starting with a fumble by James Carter off a Buckaroo punt in the third quarter. Carter dropped the ball while attempting a fair catch. With the ball at the 15-yard line, the Buckaroos scored five plays later on a run by Connors to make the score 14-0.
Elko grabbed some momentum late in the third quarter after blocking a Lowry punt. With the ball at the Buckaroo 41-yard line, the Indians scored four plays later on a 40-yard pass from Connor Altenburg to Jason Wilson, cutting the deficit to 14-8 after the 2-point conversion.
That was as close as Elko got, as Lowry scored the next 20 points to break the game open.
"They hurt us with a couple of big pass plays and they made it close with that score," added the coach. "I was happy with the way we came back after that."
Lowry responded with a seven-play drive, That ended with an Okuma touchdown run. It went from bad to worse for the Indians as they fumbled on their next possession
With a short field to play with, Beau Billingsley gave Lowry a 27-8 advantage with a 26-yard run in the early minutes of the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Connors hooked up with Robert Stepper on an 11-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 34-8. In the final minute of play, the Indians scored a meaningless touchdown in the final minute of the game on a 53-yard pass from Altenburg to Adam Bullock to account for the final points of the night.
Wilson, who had a 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the first meeting, was held to 10 yards on Friday night against the Buckaroo defense.
"We made some changes with our offensive and defensive lines midway through the season," Billingsley said. "It gave our guys a chance to rest and that made a big difference. I thought our defense played well."
Lowry will play in its fourth consecutive Division I-A state semifinal game on Saturday against Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Crusaders have won their last 10 games after opening the season with losses to Lutheran (Colo.) and Virgin Valley. They beat Desert Pines 48-41 this past Friday night. Moapa Valley travels to Fallon to face Churchill County in the other semifinal.
"They look like a good team watching them on film," Billingsley said. "They do a lot of different things on offense. They like to throw the ball all over the field."
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