The Lowry High School varsity football squad beat the North Valleys Panthers 28-25 last Friday in Reno to pick up its second league victory.
After a scoreless first quarter, North Valleys got on the board first by throwing a touchdown pass nine minutes before the half.
Just a minute later, the Panthers took a punt return 70 yards to make the score 12-0.
The Buckaroos got on the scoreboard with a rushing touchdown and extra point but North Valleys answered to make it 18-7 at the half.
Lowry scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to pull within a touchdown of the lead. In the final quarter, Lowry came out strong and took a 21-18 lead over the Panthers on a Brendan Domire touchdown toss.
The Bucks promptly fumbled and North Valleys scored to regain the lead 25-21.
With only a minute to go in the game, another Domire touchdown pass gave Lowry the win 28-25.
“We had some injuries early, but we did a good job coming back late," said LHS coach Taua Cabatbat. "We dug a hole for ourselves, but our kids play well when they are behind. They have shown in the past that they can come back and be in ballgames when it is rough.”
The win moved Lowry to 2-3 in league play, 3-3 overall.
Elko is currently tied with Churchill County (Fallon) with an unblemished 5-0 record.
Truckee (4-1) is tied with Spring Creek (4-1), while Lowry, Fernley, and Sparks are all locked at 2-3. North Valleys (1-4), South Tahoe (0-5), and Dayton (0-5) round out the Northern 3A.
The top six teams qualify for the postseason. The top two teams in the final regular season standings get first-round byes in the playoffs.
The No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed and the No. 4 seed will host thge No. 5 seed in the first week of the postseason.
“This league is real competitive this year, we are in a stretch right now where we need to win games,” Cabatbat said. “We put ourselves in a hole losing our last three games before this win. If we want to make the playoffs, we need to win games.”
Lowry played South Tahoe at home on Friday; results were not available at press time.
“South Tahoe is a passing team, we are going to have our hands full on Friday," Cabatbat said. "Our defense's are geared to more run-stopping. This game puts us in a unique position where we can get a lot of reps and work on our pass defense and whatever we need to do to put pressure on the quarterback.”
The Buckaroos travel to Dayton for a 7 p.m. match-up on Friday, Oct. 5, then return home to take on Elko at 7 p.m. on Oct 12.
The final conference matchup finds them at Churchill County on Oct. 19 for a 7 p.m. contest.
