It wasn’t pretty at times but the Battle Mountain High School football team did just enough to get by Yerington Friday night with a 27-8 victory to advance to the 2A state semifinals this Saturday in Needles, Calif.
When the two schools played in early October, Battle Mountain easily won 42-10. It appeared the same fate awaited the Lions in the opening round of the playoffs after the opening kickoff.
“It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done,” said BMHS coach Mitch Domagala. “It was one of those trap games. We already played them once and beat them pretty handily. I think everyone had their eyes on Needles. It was a scary thing all week. It was still a comfortable win. Yerington brought a great effort but you never thought the game was in danger.”
Battle Mountain squibbed the kick just a few yards and recovered the ball. One play later, Cody Ostler broke free for a 38-yard touchdown and the Longhorns led 7-0, 13 seconds into the contest.
It turned out not to be that easy, as Battle Mountain found it tough going on offense for much of the first half. After the opening score, Battle Mountain punted twice and threw an interception.
The one thing working in Battle Mountain’s favor was its defense, as Yerington had little luck sustaining drives on the night.
The Lions had success at times running the ball but could not finish off drives.
A fumbled snap on a punt midway through the second quarter led to a 34-yard field goal by Nestor Miramontes and a 10-0 lead with 4:05 left in the first half.
Yerington kept its upset hopes alive on its next drive, which included a 30-yard pass from Donavan Coplin to Erik Garcia. That play put the Lions in Longhorn territory and Justin Barnes capped off the 62-yard drive with a 4-yard run to make the score 10-8 with 1:17 left in the first half.
With just 77 seconds left in the half, Battle Mountain drove 65 yards for an important score. The drive was aided by a 41-yard pass from DJ Martinez to Aldo Castellanos. Ostler completed the drive with a 7-yard run with 16 seconds left in the half to give Battle Mountain a 17-8 lead at halftime.
Ostler finished the night with 154 yards on the ground on 26 carries and two touchdowns. Miramontes added 17 yards on the ground on a fake punt.
“That was big for us to score right at the end of thew half,” Domagala said. “Yerington had just cut the lead to two points. I had to raise my voice a little at halftime. It wasn’t our best performance but we got through it. Defensively, I thought we did a good job.”
Battle Mountain all but sealed the victory, two minutes into the third quarter, when Ostler scored on a 52-yard screen pass from Martinez to increase the advantage to 24-8. However, that turned out to be the final touchdown on the night for both teams.
Martinez was just 5-of-22 on the night for 112 yards and a touchdown and interception. Castellanos and Ostler each had two catches and Kade Quintana caught one ball for 12 yards.
Miramontes added a second field goal on the night with 5:31 left in the third quarter to finish off the scoring. Both offenses struggled to move the ball the rest of the night.
The victory moved Battle Mountain into the state semifinals and another meeting with Needles, Calif., on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Longhorns are looking for the same success as they did last year, winning 36-30 in overtime in southern California.
Needles comes into the game 8-2 on the season. The only losses were to Phoenix Christian 42-22 in August and a 35-14 loss to Lincoln County. Lincoln County also beat Battle Mountain to start the year, but Needles also owns a win over Lincoln County this season. Lincoln County plays at Pershing County on Saturday.
“The biggest thing ahead of us is a long bus ride and we have to have a good week of preparation,” Domagala said. “We have been there, done that before. This nothing new for us. Its deja vu all over again for us.”
