The Battle Mountain High School football team got off to a quick start in its season opener at Lincoln County but could not hold on for the win in the end.
The Longhorns jumped out to a 14-0 advantage, only to see the Lynx score the final 30 points to claim the victory over the defending state runner-ups.
According to BMHS head coach Mitch Domagala, Battle Mountain started off strong and scored on its opening possession. After two running plays, D.J. Martinez connected to Aldo Castellanos for a 53-yard touchdown. Nestor Miramontes added the extra point for the 7-0 lead.
Moments later, the Longhorns’ defense stepped up, as Castellanos stepped in front of a Lynx pass and intercepted it. He returned it 45 yards for a touchdown and after Miramontes added the extra point, Battle Mountain held a 14-0 advantage.
That proved to be the final points for Battle Mountain, as Lincoln County closed the gap to 14-8 midway through the second quarter on a 38-yard touchdown pass. The Lynx added the 2-point conversion and Battle Mountain led by six points at halftime.
At the opening of the second half, the two teams traded possessions. The next time Lincoln County had the ball it scored on a 9-yard run and ran in the extra point to take the lead for the first time at 16-14.
Lincoln County scored midway through the fourth quarter on an 82 -yard pass play but was held out of end zone on the extra point making the score 22-14.
Battle Mountain had one last chance to tie the game but threw an interception late in the contest. Lincoln County scored on the interception return to end the contest.
Martinez led the Battle Mountain offense going 13-for-21 for 135 yards in the air with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The defense was lead by Daegan McClary with five tackles for loss and a total of nine tackles. Erik Martinez has 16 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Battle Mountain looks for its first win of the season on Friday when it travels to Silver Stage for a 4 p.m. kickoff.
"The kids played hard the whole game," said Domagala. "I thought they did a lot of things well, just made some first game mistakes. We'll learn from this and get better, hopefully we'll see Lincoln again down the road."
