If you are a fan of the old Western Athletic Conference or the Big Sky, last Friday night in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., was the place for you.
The Lowry High School football team and South Tahoe combined for 877 yards of offense, with the Vikings having nine more yards than the Buckaroos.
However, the score was a little more lopsided and that was in Lowry’s favor, 61-38. The Buckaroos improved to 5-1 in the Northern 3A and 6-1 overall and clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive season.
Lowry looked poised to blow the game open, scoring twice in the first seven minutes of the contest. The Buckaroos drove down the field on their opening possession and capped off the 65-yard drive with a 16-yard run by Anthony Peterson.
After forcing South Tahoe to punt on its initial possession, Lowry got the ball back and drove 63 yards. Chance Huitt ended the drive with a touchdown pass to Tyler Neu for a 13-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
It was the first of three touchdowns receptions for Neu.
However, the Vikings answered with three of the next four scores to lead 20-19 midway through the second quarter. The Vikings’ Jake Tarwater closed the gap to 13-7 on a 12-yard pass late in the first quarter. The momentum was short-lived, as Peterson took the ensuing kickoff back for a 76-yard touchdown and a 19-7 lead after the missed extra point.
The back-and-forth offensive show continued early in the second quarter, as Tarwater threw his second touchdown of the night, bringing South Tahoe within five points at 19-14 with 9:20 left in the first half.
The Buckaroos turned the ball over on downs on their next possession and the Vikings countered with another score, this time, a 32-yard pass from Tarwater to Mason Hage. That gave the Vikings their first lead of the night at 20-19 with six minutes left in the first half.
“It started off kinda rough for us,” said LHS coach Taua Cabatbat. “It went back-and-forth for a while. We had not seen a passing team like that all year. We knew it would be a challenge for our defense. They are a young team that will get better. They made some mistakes and we took advantage of that.”
Lowry used a 41-yard run by Peterson on its next drive to put the Buckaroos deep in Viking territory and moments later, Huitt connected with Peterson on a 14-yard pass to give Lowry a 26-20 lead.
The craziness continued on the next play, as South Tahoe fumbled the kickoff and the ball rolled free to the 1-yard line where Lowry recovered. However, two penalties by the Buckaroos moved them back to the 15-yard line. But that did not stop Lowry from scoring, as Huitt connected with Neu on a 13-yard pass and a 33-20 lead at halftime.
Lowry made the first defensive stop in the third quarter and Peterson followed with a 57-yard touchdown run on the Buckaroos first play of the second half.
After another stop, Lowry drove back the field and Huitt and Neu connected for a third time, increasing the advantage to 47-20 with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
There was still time for two more touchdowns in the third quarter, as James Adams found the end zone on a rushing touchdown with just over a minute left to play to make the score 47-26. Adams finished with 171 yards rushing on 22 carries.
With :07 left in the third quarter, Peterson made his way into the end zone again to push the lead to 54-26. Cole Jones added Lowry’s final touchdown in the first quarter to lead 61-32. South Tahoe scored in the final minutes to account for the final score.
Huitt was 6-of-9 passing for 123 yards and four touchdowns. Neu had four catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns. Preston Snow and Peterson each had one catch.
Peterson ran for 184 yards on 13 carries, while Snow had 91 yards on eight carries. Jones added four carries for 24 yards and one touchdown.
“Offensively, we looked good, they could not stop us,” Cabatbat said. “We got a lot of contributions from everyone.”
Churchill County leads the league at 5-0, while Lowry is second at 5-1. Fernley is 4-2 and Elko, Truckee and Spring Creek are tied at 3-2. Truckee holds the tie-breaker over Elko. Spring Creek and Truckee still have to play.
Lowry is off this week. Dayton did not field a football team this year. The Buckaroos travel to Elko on Friday, Oct. 18, for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“This a good week for us to have off,” said the coach. “We have a few bumps and bruises and we can take care of those. Our focus is on Elko and go up there and try to get a win.”
