One of the longest-running rivalries was back on the field this past Friday night in Lovelock, as the Battle Mountain High School football team took on Pershing County at Joe Yanni Field.
The Longhorns locked up a playoff spot and the likely No. 3 seed in the NIAA State Championships with a 45-22 win to improve to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Northern 2A.
On the opening possession of the game, the Battle Mountain defense held Pershing County to minimal gains on first down, then on second down the Longhorns’ defense showed the tempo of the game as Scott Wall drew a double team and freed up Asher Bundrock who dropped the Pershing County running back for a 6-yard loss.
On third down Cannyn Bundy and Terrance Fetterly shut down the Mustang sweep for a very short gain bringing a 3 and out.
On their first offensive possession, the Longhorns put together a 13 play, 77-yard drive that mixed some hard running from Brice Domagala and Fetterly.
The key to the drive was back-to-back pass completions to Anthony Silva for 9 yards and on the next play, a quick pass to Jr. Vazquez. Moments later, Fetterly ran a 24-yard touchdown and Domagala ran in the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
On the next defensive series, Battle Mountain held Pershing County to negative yards and another 3-and-out. On the ensuing punt return, Fetterly got a hold of the ball and returned it 28 yards setting up the Longhorns at the Mustangs’ 33-yard line. A couple Fetterly runs and a reception by Fetterly brought the first quarter to an end.
“We came out strong and fast to start the game, the kids were fired up and play hard,” said BMHS coach Mitch Domagala. “Defensively, Scott and Asher shut down the inside run game and seemed to catch them off guard.”
On the first play of the second quarter Domagala took the ball 21 yards for the score and 14-0 lead after the missed extra point.
Another strong effort by the Longhorn defense forced Pershing County into a 4th and 6 at their own 47-yard line, but the Mustangs threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7.
“We have seen this in the past where we get the lead on teams and then let them claw their way back into games, but not tonight, this group was too determined to be denied,” added the coach.
The first play of the next series saw Domagala hit Fetterly for a 24-yard pass completion, but the drive stalled from there.
Refusing to allow the Mustangs to gain momentum the Longhorns defense tightened up and shut down the Pershing County run game. Highlighted by two big stops by Anthony Molina on third and fourth down; the Mustangs ended up turning the ball over on downs at their own 40.
The ensuing Battle Mountain offensive series didn’t start well with two straight incompletions and a short rushing gain. On fourth and seven, Domagala hit Fetterly on a screen pass and he broke several tackles and dragged defenders with him as he wouldn’t be denied the first down.
“That was a big play by Terrance there, it helped re-inspire the team with the effort he showed,” Domagala said.
Domagala broke off a 17-yard run on the next play but had to leave the game after that for a play due to his helmet coming off. Fetterly took the next snap and ran behind the blocking of defensive tackle Max Villanueva who lined up as fullback and led Fetterly to the end zone. Domagala returned to run in the 2-point to give the Longhorns a 22-7 advantage.
On the final drive of the first half, Pershing County found some success on the ground and successfully put together a drive that brought the halftime score to 22-14.
As is typical, Pershing County made some adjustments at halftime to try to stop the running tandem of Fetterly and Domagala. So, the Longhorns looked to another offensive weapon. Jr. Vazquez made two huge catches on the drive — the first went for 10 yards and then two plays later he had a 35-yard catch that seemed to open up the Pershing County defense. Four plays later, Domagala finished off a 13-yard run to the endzone to make the score 30-14.
“This was a big drive for us,” said the coach. “To come out and score to open the second half, to answer their score at the end of the first, it was a huge statement. We had to adjust as they tried to take away the run, so we went to the air which worked great. All of this on offense was set up by the blocking of our offensive line and fullback (Ernesto Leon, Dante Fratto, Aydan Samuelson, Ben George, Asher Bundrock and Cannyn Bundy). They’re the ones that do the work and open things up for us.”
Pershing County was moving the ball on their next possession until Aydan Samuelson forced a fumble that was recovered by Domagala.
The Longhorns entered the fourth quarter with a 30-14 lead and the momentum on their side. On second and 10 from the Mustangs’ 42-yard line, Silva went up and over the defender and to make a great catch and moving the ball to the 8-yard line. On the next play, Domagala ran into the end zone to increase the lead to 38-14,
Pershing County answered back with a 16-play drive that resulted in a touchdown to cut the gap to 38-22.
Late in the contest, Pershing County attempted a pass but it was intercepted by Fetterly who took it to the house for the touchdown. Vazquez added the extra point for the final points of the night.
“That was great effort by Terrance on the interception return, he dove to get inside the pylon, great effort,” Domagala said. “These kids wanted this game — they played their tails off. We had a few kids in different spots a few new starters, but they did a great job. This was a true team victory”
Domagala was 10-of-12 passing for 134 yards and he also ran for 150 yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns. Fetterly had 10 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns and Vazquez added two carries for -11 yards. J
Vazquez had three catches for 51 yards, Silva two catches for 43 yards and Fetterly five catches for 40 yards.
Battle Mountain concludes the regular season on Thursday night at home against West Wendover at 7 p.m.
