WINNEMUCCA - As we head into the heart of the fall sports
season with league games beginning, one can get a small idea of how the year is going to play out.
The Lowry High School football team found out you just can't show up to a game and expect to win easy. Coming off blowout victories over Battle Mountain and Truckee, the Buckaroos struggled in their 14-point win over Wooster last Friday in Reno. The Colts, who gave up 61 points the week before to Churchill County, jumped out to a 16-0 lead over Lowry. The Buckaroos did score the final 30 points of the game.
Both coaches and players took the blame, noting they didn't prepare well for the game. Let's see if the Lowry team that played in the first two weeks comes to play tonight against South Tahoe.
The Lowry boys and girls soccer teams had the tough task of opening against some of the top teams in the league. The Buckaroo boys sit at 0-2-2 in the Division I-A North, but could easily be 2-2. Lowry held a 4-0 lead over Truckee, only to finish with a 5-5 tie and the Buckaroos played to a 2-2 tie against Churchill County earlier this week. With only four teams advancing to the regional championships, Lowry will have to get victories over Fernley, Dayton, Spring Creek and Elko before starting the second half of the league season.
The Lady Bucks actually have more points than their male counterparts, despite a 1-3 record in the Division I-A North. Lowry's upcoming games with Fernley (twice), Dayton (twice) and Sparks are winnable.
The Lady Bucks will need to at least split their first matchups with Elko and Spring Creek, if they want a chance at one of the playoff spots. The schedule is brutal at the end with games against South Tahoe, Churchill County, Truckee, Spring Creek and Elko.
I have a feeling that the Division I-A North volleyball league will be one that is up for grabs. It looks like Dayton, along with University of Nevada signee Madison Foley, is the odds on favorite to win the league. From there any of the three spots are up for grabs. Lowry was able to go 2-1 in its first three league matches, with the lone loss to Dayton. Beginning tonight in Truckee, Lowry will see where it stacks up in the league. The Lady Bucks close out the first half of the conference season with matches against Churchill County, South Tahoe (defending state champion), Elko and Spring Creek.
The Lowry girls golf team showed in the first week of action that it is one of the league favorites. After taking a week off, the league was back in action this week in Spring Creek and Winnemucca.
If the group continues their strong play, there is no reason for them not to reach the state tournament.
The Lowry cross country team spent its first two weeks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with meets in Whittell and North Tahoe. The group travels to Boise, Idaho, this weekend for the Bob Firman Invitational, which is one of the top meets in the West.
It's tough tell what team has what, with coaches putting runners on different plans. In the early going, the Buckaroos have had a young group of freshmen boys shine in the first two meets. With still more than a month to go before the regional championships, coach Kathy Norcutt has plenty of time to arrange her team for the race at Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno in November.
It was fun to go back up to McDermitt last week for its first football game since October of 2011. The Bulldogs did not field a team last year due to a lack of players.
McDermitt, who is playing as an independent this season, took on Silver Stage of the Division III North. The Nighthawks, who have had number troubles in the past, are also playing as an independent.
The Bulldogs played tough with the Nighthawks for a half, but Silver Stage was able to pull away with four touchdowns in the third quarter.
I still don't know why Silver Stage is playing as an independent, as they featured around 25 players on the squad. It's time for the Nighthawks to go back and play in their league.
The McDermitt volleyball team is a young one comprised of all freshmen and sophomores and have a new coach in Austin Mayo. The girls have taken to Mayo and his style of coaching.
After picking up their first win this past Saturday against Austin, the Lady Bulldogs jump into Division IV East action this week against Wells and Jackpot. That should be a good test to see where the young team stands among the other league schools.
Leaving the high school scene and about 170 miles west to Reno, the University of Nevada football team is licking its wounds after a 62-7 loss to Florida State this past Saturday.
The Wolf Pack actually led 7-3 in the first quarter and trailed 17-7 at halftime before the Seminoles stepped on the gas pedal in the third quarter. Nevada was down to its third quarterback, which is not good when you are playing the No. 9 team in the nation.
It was the same story when Nevada played UCLA in the season opener. The Wolf Pack played well in the first half but did not have the horses to compete with the Bruins.
First-year coach Brian Polian was handed a brutal schedule that includes road trips to Fresno State, Boise State and San Diego State. The one silver lining, Nevada was able to get Oregon, the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, off the schedule.
Nevada will have to do some work in the next 10 weeks if it wants to extend its bowl streak to nine.
Winnemucca Publishing sports editor Tony Erquiaga can be contacted via email at t.erquiaga@winnemuccapublishing.net.[[In-content Ad]]
