The Battle Mountain High School football team erased a three-game losing streak in a big way, with a 51-6 win over West Wendover on Friday night on the Utah/Nevada border. The entire game was played with 40 MPH winds.
“We played a solid game in some crazy wind,” said BMHS coach Mitch Domagala. “Our kids were able to focus on what they needed to do rather than the weather.”
Battle Mountain jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first quarter, with a little help from Mother Nature. Already up a touchdown after a touchdown run by Arturo Serrano, Cesar Tovar recovered a West Wendover punt that was blown back 22 yards in the wind. Tovar recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown and 14-0 advantage.
The Wolverines turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and the Longhorns quickly took advantage. Bryan Chavira connected with Gabe Naveran for a 20-yard touchdown pass and 20-0 lead after the first quarter. Despite the strong winds, Chavira was 16-of-24 passing for 227 yards and two touchdowns.
After trading punts in the early part of the second quarter, West Wendover went deep into the bag of tricks and scored on a 38-yard hook-and-ladder play to cut the deficit to 20-6.
What momentum West Wendover had, quickly ended as Chavira took the ensuing kickoff back for a 74-yard touchdown and a 28-6 lead after they made the 2-point conversion. The Longhorns appeared to have increased the lead further right before halftime on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Chavira to Mason Fuller, but it was called back on a penalty.
While the offense was putting up points, the Battle Mountain defense shined as well. The Longhorns allowed just 48 yards of offense to the Wolverines in the second half.
Battle Mountain increased the margin to 44-6 in the third quarter off a 15-yard run by Fuller, who also caught the pass for the 2-point conversion. The contest went into a running clock on a 28-yard touchdown pass by Chavira to Fuller. Serrano added the 2-point conversion to make the score 44-6 at the end of the third quarter.
Battle Mountain controlled the game on the ground from there, ending with Payton Ayers’ 6-yard touchdown run.
“Defensively we were solid,” Domagala said. “Our defensive line of Zach (Heese), Mason (Chopp), Cesar (Tovar) and Shilo (Burkhart) controlled the line of scrimmage the whole game. Our pass coverage looked much better.”
Fuller led the Longhorns with five catches for 75 yards and one touchdown. Naveran also had five catches for 39 yards and one score. The junior also ran for 37 yards on seven carries and one touchdown.
Serrano rushed for 77 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown and he caught four passes for 32 yards. Miles Piramide caught two passes for 39 yards and Payton Ayers had 18 yards rushing on seven carries and one touchdown.
Battle Mountain is 3-2 in the Northern 2A after winning this week’s game by forfeit over Incline. The Highlanders informed the league at the beginning of the season that they would forfeit games to Battle Mountain, Yerington and Pershing County.
Yerington leads the league at 5-0 and travels to Lovelock to play Pershing County (4-0) on Friday. The winner of that game will win the regular season title in the Northern 2A, while the loser will be second for the regional playoffs.
Battle Mountain will likely be the No. 2 seed for the regional games and travel to either Yerington or Pershing County. White Pine and West Wendover are both 2-2 in league play and fighting for the fourth playoff spot.
After losing its home game to Incline, Battle Mountain will still play this week and take on the Reed JV on Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Longhorns close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 28, at home against White Pine at 7 p.m.
