Even if he sometimes wears a tutu, PCHS coach Mike Brooks is a man of few words.
After cheering for the soccer girls at their homecoming game, Brooks traded the costume for his usual gameday garb.
The Pershing County Mustangs football team hosted the Yerington Lions on Friday night under the lights of Yanni Field.
The game ended in Pershing County’s first league loss of the season — a 23-8 defeat.
“We had a tough one,” said the coach. “Yerington played well and made the big plays. We did not. Sebastien (Bash) Donaldson and Zeke (Jackson) played great. Bash ran the ball well and did some nice things as defensive end. Zeke had a long catch and a defensive interception. We didn’t have much else go our way.”
Pershing County now stands at 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the 2A Northern League.
Yerington improved its record to 4-1, overall, and 4-0 in the league. Battle Mountain, Yerington, Pershing County and Incline jostle for the top four spots with four games left until the Nov. 8-9 divisional playoffs.
Homecoming festivities warmed the crowd on the chilly night.
Eighth-grader, Hannah Gonzalez, sang the National Anthem. From the grandstand, Steve Evenson announced that the senior float won the school wide contest. Its Alice in Wonderland theme featured a mad hatter, tables full of teacups and balloons.
Right out of the gate, the first quarter turned topsy-turvy for the three-time defending state champs.
Yerington’s Koby Shramek opened by kicking in a pair of field goals.
Quarterback Donavan Coplin followed up with a 12-yard rushing touchdown. Koby Shramek kicked in the PAT and the quarter ended 13-0, with the Mustangs headed down the rabbit hole.
In the second quarter, Shramek did it again — kicking in a 27-yard field goal. The half ended with the Mustangs down 16-0.
As the temperature dropped the spirit squad threw on their warm-ups.
Pershing County’s youngest cheerleaders joined the high school girls for a halftime performance under the lights.
The winter guard waved and tossed their flags. Spectators raced to the concession stand for tri-tip and hot chocolate.
The royalty marched onto the field, the girls shivering in their shimmery dresses and high heels.
Fireworks exploded and lit up the sky. It was everything a homecoming night should be and more.
But it didn’t get much better for the Mustangs. Yerington’s Dante Reviglio slammed in a 40-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter. Shramek added the PAT, bringing the score to 23-0.
In the fourth quarter, Pershing County’s Colton Wanner lit up the scoreboard for Lovelock with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Quarterback Ricky Reitz rushed for the 2-point conversion, bringing the final score to 23-8.
Pershing JV falls
to Yerington JV
The JV Mustangs also had a tough night, losing to Yerington 53-7. Noel Zaldivar ran in a touchdown for Pershing County.
According to Coach Dan Murphy, Brayden Wagner and Seth Provstgaard played well on both sides of the ball.
“We dug ourselves a hole by letting Yerington JV score two early touchdowns,” said Murphy. “We played more to our ability in the second half.”
On Saturday, the Mustangs head to Silver Springs to challenge the Nighthawks (1-3).
Pershing County hosts the Coral Academy of Science (1-2) on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m.
They’ll travel to Longhorn country for a showdown against top-ranked Battle Mountain (4-0) on Oct. 24. Regular season grinds to a halt on Nov. 1 with the Mustangs hosting North Tahoe (0-5) at 7 p.m.
Lovelock showered their heroes with affection, but the loss still rankled.
“In his four years of high school football, this was Bash’s first league loss,” said Lacy Donaldson, football mom. “He played his tail off and will continue doing so the rest of the season. He’s a Mustang.”
“We got beat,” said Donaldson. “Yerington was the better team that night.”
