With the season quickly coming to an end, the Lowry High School football team was looking to celebrate senior night on a high note this past Friday against Sparks.
The Buckaroos had opportunities to win their second game of the year, but fell short to the Railroaders 18-12 in a contest that was full of penalty flags.
“This was a tough one,” said LHS coach Taua Cabatbat. “We had our chances throughout the game. Mistakes and penalties hurt us. We just can not get over that hump right now.”
Sparks held the ball for nearly 10 minutes in the first quarter, including the opening drive of the contest that lasted six minutes. The Railroaders dropped a wide open touchdown pass in the end zone and had to settle for a 3-0 lead after a 31-yard field goal by Carlos Rodriguez.
The Buckaroos looked poised to go in front on its opening possession after a pass from Ren Mattson to Brady Lange and a run on third down by Victor Rosas. However, with Lowry inside the Sparks 35 yard line, the Buckaroos gave the ball back on a fumble.
That proved to be the lone productive drive of the first half for Lowry, who went three-and-out on its next three possessions.
The last drive in the second quarter was ended by the halftime horn. The Buckaroos had just three first downs in the first 24 minutes of play.
It wasn’t much better for Sparks, who punted twice and turned the ball over on downs as well. However, the Railroaders were able to increase the lead to 11-0 with 6:31 left in the first half on a 66-yard run by Jorge Dominguez.
The two squads traded turnovers to begin the third quarter and Lowry had a drive going on its second possession of the half but the drive ended on downs after a personal foul penalty.
Sparks attempted a bit of trickery midway through the third quarter, but the fake punt was stopped as the Lowry special team unit read the play well.
After struggling for much of the game on offense, the Buckaroos quickly closed the gap a couple minutes later.
On fourth and seven, Rosas took the hand off up the middle and scampered through the Railroaders defense for a 39-yard touchdown run. Lowry used the swinging gate to go for the 2-point conversion, but it failed, with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
Sparks held the ball for the last 4:04 of the third quarter and drove into Lowry territory, when the Buckaroos defense held and forced the Railroaders to punt. Sparks had a bad snap on the play, giving Lowry the ball in excellent field position.
“I thought our defense played well tonight,” Cabatbat said. “We gave up just the one big play.”
Moments later, Lowry appeared to go in front on a 47-yard run by Jacob Frazier.
But the play was called back by a penalty. The Buckaroos had too many men in the backfield and were lined up wrong on the play. The drive eventually stalled out on downs and Lowry still trailed 11-6.
The fourth quarter was filled with flags, and at one time costing the Railroaders 45 yards on one play. Sparks had driven inside the Lowry 20 yard line, but quickly self-destructed. The Railroaders were called for two personal fouls on one play and the Sparks coaches did not agree with the call and were flagged for another 15 yards. The drive backed up all the way to the Sparks 45 yard line.
The Railroaders eventually punted and gave the ball back to the Buckaroos at the 15-yard line. Lowry looking to capitalize on the momentum, saw Mattson throw a deep pass to Lange down the sideline that the senior could not handle.
Lowry decided to go for it deep inside its own territory and turned the ball back over on downs. One play later, Dominguez broke free for an 18-yard touchdown and an 18-6 lead with 3:13 to play.
With time quickly running out, Lowry drove 67 yards, aided by a long pass from Mattson to Austin Robison. That put the ball inside the 15-yard line, where Rosas scored on a 4-yard run with 1:45 to go, cutting the deficit to 18-12 after the missed 2-point conversion.
Lowry attempted an onside kick to get the ball back, but Sparks was able to recover the ball and run the clock out.
The Buckaroos (1-7 Northern 3A, 1-7 overall) close out their season on Friday at Fallon at 7 p.m.
The Buckaroos have been eliminated from playoff contention for the second year in a row.
Spring Creek (8-0 Northern 3A) has clinched the No. 1 seed for the regional playoffs.
Truckee and South Tahoe are both 7-1 and tied for second place. The two California teams end the season playing each other. The winner will be the No. 2 seed and the loser will host Fernley in the playoffs.
Elko and Churchill County are the fourth and fifth seeds and will play each other in the playoffs.
