The Lowry High School football team had a tall task to open the Northern 3A season this past Friday at Jerry Tobin Field in Winnemucca.
The Buckaroos entered their home-opener shorthanded due to injuries and were facing the 3A state runner-up from a season ago in Spring Creek.
Lowry kept the game close for much of the first half, when Spring Creek scored three touchdowns in a six-minute span of the second quarter and went on to win 35-7.
“The bottom line is we did a lot to take away their best player,” said LHS coach Taua Cabatbat. “He was the Offensive Player of the Year last year, so he is a great player. We did a great job on him. We wanted to make someone else beat us. Right now, we got some guys hurt and we are not playing with a full deck. We are not going to hang our heads. We are still a good football team. There is still a lot of season left and we are trying to win games. The kids played hard to the end and did not fold.”
The Buckaroos were able to move the ball on the initial drive of the night, with Anthony Barber picking up a first down on a run. Ren Mattson and Scottie Smith connected on a pass for another first down as well. Lowry drove into Spring Creek territory but the drive stalled out.
The Spartans held the ball for much of the first quarter, starting an 87-yard scoring drive that lasted over six minutes. Spring Creek had a 52-yard touchdown run called back by a penalty on the drive.
After the penalty, the Spartans converted a fourth-down play to keep the drive going and ended the possession with an 8-yard pass from Thomas Ledford to Dakota Larson for a 7-0 lead with 2:17 left in the first quarter.
Lowry was forced to punt on its next two possessions and that is where the Spring Creek took over the contest. The Spartans capped off a quick 52-yard drive in just under two minutes on a 27-yard run by Jason Painter, to make the score 14-0.
After another three-and-out by Lowry, Spring Creek needed just 80 seconds to extend the lead to 21-0 on a 32-yard run by Ledford.
The Buckaroos (0-2 overall, 0-1 Northern 3A) looked poised to put points on the board near the end of the first half. Lowry drove inside the Spring Creek 20-yard line, but saw the drive end on fourth down when Mattson was sacked. One play later, Larson broke loose for a 79-yard touchdown run and Spring Creek went into halftime with a 28-0 advantage.
“That is a big momentum shift right there,” Cabatbat said. “We have been moving the ball well in the first two games, but little mistakes cost us and end good opportunities for us. We need to be able to finish and put pressure on the other team.”
The Spartans created a running clock with 2:43 left in the third quarter when Painter scored on a 1-yard run to give Spring Creek a 35-0 lead.
Lowry prevented the shutout with :08 to play, as freshman Anthony Peterson scored on a 9-yard run.
“Right now we got young guys out there,” Cabatbat said. “Our freshman went off tonight. We had a sophomore that played well. Those kids are going to develop and we need keep developing what we want to accomplish. At the end of the season, all I can say is look out.”
Lowry will look to pick up its first win of the year on Friday, when Fernley comes to town. Fernley is coming off a 32-30 win over Churchill County. It was the Vaqueros’ first victory over the Greenwave since 2007.
“We got our work cut for ourselves,” Cabatbat said. “Fernley is a good team. This is where we need to start turning our season around."
