One of the more anticipated match-ups of the season took part in Elko this past Friday night, as the Lowry High School football team began play in the Northern 3A East.
It turned out to be an unexpected senior night for the Indians, who were playing their final regular season home game due to Dayton canceling its varsity season.
Elko proved it is one of the best teams in the 3A and handed Lowry a 46-7 loss, the first of the year for the Buckaroos.
Lowry dropped to 4-1 on the season and 0-1 in league play.
The Buckaroos were able to move the ball on offense but turnovers were a big factor in the loss. Lowry turned the ball over on its first possession with an interception but the defense stood its ground with a goal-line stand to get the ball back.
Lowry gave the ball right back to Elko with a fumble deep in its own territory and that led to a touchdown pass from Justus Nielsen to Ayden Whiting for an 8-0 lead.
The Buckaroos stayed in the game with a touchdown on their next drive to cut the deficit to a point at 8-7 but that would be the only points for Lowry on the night.
With four minutes left in the first half, Elko scored on a double pass to increase the lead to 16-7 after the 2-point conversion.
Following a Lowry punt, Elko tacked on one final score of the first half with 45 seconds to go to go in front 24-7 at the break.
The teams traded fumbles at the start of the third quarter and the Indians took advantage of the Buckaroos’ miscue and jumped to a 30-7 lead after a touchdown with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Lowry continued to move the ball on the Elko defense but another turnover led to an Indian touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter to make the score 38-7.
Elko added another touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Lowry was scheduled to host Dayton on Friday but that game has been canceled.
The Dust Devils have dropped their varsity program for the season. There will be a JV game on Thursday with Dayton at 4:30 p.m.
Lowry travels to Fernley on Friday, Oct. 7.
