It had been over two years since the McDermitt High School football team took a snap on its home field.
After not playing in 2019 and having the 2020 fall season moved to the spring, the Bulldogs stepped on the field this past Saturday with eight players — including no seniors.
The group of five freshmen and three juniors took on Carlin, who traveled just eight players as well. At the end of the day, the Railroaders claimed an 84-0 win.
“It was good to get back on the field,” said MHS Coach Richard Egan. “We are a very young team with not a lot of experience. The kids are learning on the field as we go. With such small numbers, it makes hard to run the stuff you want to.”
Carlin’s Toby Pinell and Josh Urie combined for five Railroaders touchdowns in the first quarter.
After turning the ball over on downs on its first possession of the day, McDermitt picked up a long pass play from Lane Barrett to Braeden Ramsey to put the ball at the Carlin 10-yard line.
However, the drive ended a couple plays later on a fumble.
Carlin went on to add two punt returns for touchdowns in the second quarter to lead 52-0 at halftime.
“We have a couple games left and are just looking to improve over the next couple weeks,” Egan said. “This is a good chance for the boys to gain some experience and get ready for a full season in the fall. For a lot of the boys, this is the first time they are playing football.”
The McDermitt football team includes, Lane Barrett, Braden Ramsey, Enrique Villalobos, Tristan Bitt, Joe Choate, Jimmy Choate, Jeremiah Horn, Eli Northrup and Nathan Jeffries.
McDermitt travels to Wells on Friday and concludes its shortened season on Friday, March 26 at home against Owyhee.
