On Friday night, under the lights of Joe Yanni Field, fans watched the Pershing County Mustangs slam Coral Academy 41-0.
On Saturday afternoon, the JV boys hosted the Spring Creek Spartans and lost 32-18.
Over the weekend, spirit squads cheered victory and soothed defeat all over the state. Friday, each team brought a squad to PCHS.
The early spring chill numbed exposed fingertips by the end of the night.
Upbeat music blared from the sound system, KISS, AC/DC and John Denver.
Cole Brooks, 4, debuted as ball boy.
The Mustangs will try for another victory this Friday when they host the Incline Highlanders at 7 p.m.
The JV travels to Elko on Saturday.
Mustangs flummox the Falcons
Head coach Mike Brooks estimated that 20 cars with up to four passengers pulled into the 12th Street entrance for the varsity game.
They tailgated along the perimeter fences, honking for each touchdown as Shauna Bake announced from the grandstand.
“The kids were fired up to play,” said Brooks.
He credits the Mustangs’ off-season work for giving them the competitive edge. “Also, we are led by 11 seniors,” he added.
The soon-to-be grads include Nik Pavlov, Jessy Gonzalez, Guti Lopez, Raul Rincon, Colton Wanner, Haydon Burrows, Logan Oberman, Daniel Reitz, Victor Flores, Jordan Gentry and Zeke Jackson.
Eight juniors joined them on the field: Devin Moura, Esteban Vidrio, Diego Gonzalez, Brayden Wagner, Ashton Nolf, Ulises Corona, Mariano Gomez and Jose Jimenez. Sophomore JV players Blake Burrows, Noel Zaldivar and Wyatt Diaz helped out.
Diego Gonzalez kicked off for the Mustangs. At 6’ 2’’, the junior kicker and wide receiver is the Mustang’s tallest player.
“Make some noise for the first kickoff of the season,” shouted Bake. Within moments, Rincon made it to the end zone for the first touchdown of the year. Diego Gonzalez’s kick was good for the extra point.
Rincon quarterbacked the first half. Moura handled the second.
Early on, the Falcons recovered a fumble, but a herd of Mustangs was ready for them.
Pershing County’s Nolf brought down Cade Mcintyre. Burrows, Pavlov, Wanner, Gentry, Reitz and Jessy Gonzalez and others also got in on the tackling and blocking.
Rincon passed to Pavlov for the second touchdown of the day, ending the first quarter at 14 - 0.
In the second quarter, Rincon scored for the Mustangs again. Burrows ran in another six points. Wanner broke a couple of tackles for the Mustangs' fifth touchdown.
The extra-point attempt was no good, bringing the score to 34-0.
That’s where it stood at the half when the Falcons brought down Rincon just shy of the buzzer.
Announcer Bake thanked the officials for making the game possible.
Referee Darren Fleck is the president of the Northern Nevada High School Football Officials Association (NNFOA). Brooks and other administrators planned to review their attendance policies for fine-tuning as needed before the next game.
Bake also shared good news for Wolf Pack fans. The University of Nevada Reno basketball team had just defeated Colorado State 85-82 at the Lawlor Events Center, she said.
But at all eyes were on Lopez as he scored the sixth and final Mustang touchdown of the night. Diego Gonzalez kicked the extra point for 41-0.
That’s where the score stayed. So far, the Mustangs are 1-0 for the season.
Spartans defeat
Mustang JV
The JV team consists of seven sophomores and eight freshmen. The sophomores are Burrows, Diaz, Zaldivar, Eric Holtsclaw, Nikolas Jimenez, Wyatt Myers and Seth Provstgaard.
The freshmen are Conner Fecht, John Foughty, Eduardo Herrara, Brian Kauvaka, Aaron Kienbaum, Bryce Sherron, Xavier Weatherman and Tanner Woodard.
JV head coach Dan Murphy summed up the weekend. “We are so excited to be playing,” he said. “That being said, we are young and inexperienced. The more playing time we get, the brighter the future is for the Mustangs.”
