Coming into this season, many believed the Northern 2A was up for grabs for a number of teams.
The Battle Mountain High School football team was looking lay claim to the top spot in the league when it traveled to Yerington this past Friday night.
Both teams entered the contest undefeated in league play and the winner, would likely grab the top spot for the postseason and the right to host two playoff games.
Battle Mountain got off to a slow start and trailed 13-0, eight minutes into the game and Yerington went on to win 43-20.
“We just got off to a slow start,” said BMHS coach Mitch Domagala. "The kids played hard. We struggled a bit at the start, but they kept playing"
Yerington opened the scoring four minutes into the game on a 2-yard run by Sean-Patrick Irvine. The Lions missed the extra point to lead 6-0. Moments later, Yerington’s Erik Garcia intercepted Battle Mountain’s Aldo Castellanos and returned 30 yards for a 13-0 advantage.
Yerington added to its lead two minutes into the second quarter on a 4-yard run by Irvine.
Battle Mountain got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter on a 33-yard pass from Castellanos to Jose Guizar. Cody Ostler added the 2-point conversion to cut the gap to 20-8.
After trading possessions, Battle Mountain threatened to score again after Guizar hauled in a pass from Castellanos and ran it to the 5-yard line.
However, a fumble on the next play was recovered by Yerington ending the Longhorns’ scoring threat. Yerington took advantage of the miscue and added another score on Irvine’s third touchdown of the night, making halftime score 27-8.
Battle Mountain climbed back into the game midway through the third quarter on a 24-yard pass from Castellanos to Terrance Fetterly. Castellanos was 19-of-38 on the night for 303 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
After giving up a safety late in the third quarter, Battle Mountain cut the gap to 29-20 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter on an 8-yard run by Cody Ostler. Ostler was held to just 34 yards rushing on 11 carries.
However, that was as close as the Longhorns got, as the Lions scored twice in the final minutes of the contest. A 15-yard run by Dante Revligilo extended the lead to 36-20 and Irvine added his fourth touchdown of the night with three minutes to play.
Battle Mountain hosts Pershing County on Thursday at 7 p.m. The winner of the game will secure a home playoff game on Friday, Nov. 7. The loser of the game will likely travel to the winner for the first-round game.
Yerington is in the drivers seat for the No. 1 seed in the Northern 2A and two home playoff games. White Pine (4-3), Incline (3-3) and Coral Academy (3-3) are fighting for the final playoff spot.
"We don't really have time to look back at this one what with Lovelock coming to town on Thursday,” added the coach. “These kids are resilient. They'll regroup and we should have one heck of a game this week."
