Going into this past Saturday’s NIAA 2A State Semifinal in Las Vegas, the Battle Mountain High School football team knew that The Meadows loved to throw the ball all over the field.
That turned out to be the case, as the Mustangs’ Sean Grosse threw for 225 yards and four touchdowns to break an 8-8 first-quarter tie and lead The Meadows to a 43-14 win over Battle Mountain.
“I thought the kids played well today,” said BMHS coach Mitch Domagala. “They moved quick and played with a lot of emotion. Their quarterback is pretty good. He made a lot of plays.”
After completing a 90-yard touchdown pass with three minutes left in the opening quarter, the Mustangs took the lead for good on an 18-yard pass from Gosse to Tanner Wood with 7:07 left in the second quarter at 15-8. That started a 21-0 run in the second quarter that saw the Mustangs lead increase to 29-8.
After the first-quarter score, Battle Mountain found it tough sledding on offense for the remainder of the first half.
The Meadows moved the ball right back down the field and took a 22-8 advantage with 3:16 left in the half after a 12-yard pass from Gosse to Cole Canteenwalla.
The Longhorns saw its next drive go backwards and were forced to punt after a three-and-out.
That left the Mustangs in excellent field position with just 44 yards to go with just a couple minutes left on the first-half clock.
On the next play from scrimmage, Gosse connected with Canteenwalla for a 44-yard reception with 1:43 to go in the first half, giving The Meadows a 29-8 lead.
“Meadows hit a couple early big plays and it knocked us out of our rhythm,” added the coach. “We just seemed to struggle to get it back.”
The Longhorns had final chance in the second quarter to cut into the lead, but once again saw the drive end with a punt.
The Mustangs got the ball back but could not do anything with the possession, as time expired on the clock.
Battle Mountain looked to get back into the contest with the opening possession of the third quarter, but quickly gave the ball up to the Mustangs.
The Meadows used a short field and Derek Bain scored on a 1-yard run, less than three minutes into the second half to increase the lead to 36-8.
Battle Mountain ate much of the clock in the third quarter with a 71-yard drive that saw them convert to fourth-down plays along the way.
After taking nearly six minutes off the clock, Brice Domagala capped off the drive with a 7-yard run. The Longhorns added the 2-point conversion to make the score 36-14.
“I’m proud of each and every one of these kids for the way they battled throughout the game,” Domagala said. “There is no quit in any of them.”
The Meadows put the game out of reach late in the third quarter, after converting a fourth-down play in its own territory. After picking up the first down, the Mustangs’ Gage Rinetti scored on a 56-yard run with 56 seconds left in the third quarter to give The Meadows a 43-14 lead.
Battle Mountain got the ball back and drove to midfield but saw the drive end on downs. Despite excellent field, The Meadows saw its drive end after a Max Villanueva sack.
The Longhorns moved the ball into Mustang territory but once again saw the drive end on downs.
Battle Mountain ended its season at 7-3 overall and 6-2 in league play.
“This season was so much fun,” Domagala said. “This group of kids work hard and they have fun doing it. We will be losing a large group of seniors (14) and they will be difficult to replace, but they leave a solid foundation for the younger kids to build upon.”
