The Battle Mountain's defense looks to stop quarterback Tommy Williams.
The top of the Northern 2A was the roll of the dice this year, as Pershing County, Battle Mountain and Incline all finished at 6-1 in the final standings.
Incline beat Pershing County, Battle Mountain beat Incline and Pershing County knocked off Battle Mountain.
It was no different this past Friday as Battle Mountain hosted Incline in the opening round of the NIAA 2A State Championships.
Trailing 16-6 in the fourth quarter, the Highlanders came back with the final 15 points and the game winning touchdown with just over a minute to play to beat Battle Mountain 21-16.
Battle Mountain's Liam Bundrock hauls in a catch during the Longhorns' playoff football game with Incline on Friday night in Battle Mountain.
Leading 16-6 in the final minutes of the third quarter, the Longhorns attempted a fake punt near midfield, but failed on the attempt, giving the ball back to the Highlanders.
The Battle Mountain defense stepped up the next play, sacking Incline quarterback Tommy Williams.
However, moments later, Williams broke free for a 49-yard to the Longhorn 12-yard line.
Twenty-five seconds into the fourth quarter, Williams connected with Colin Combs for a 12-yard touchdown.
The Highlanders added the 2-point conversion to close the gap to 21-14.
Both teams went three-and-out on their next possession and Battle Mountain looked poised to put the game out of reach with eight minutes to play.
The Longhorns completed a long pass inside the Highlander 10-yard line but it was called back on a penalty. Eventually, Battle Mountain was forced to punt.
Incline gave the ball back to Battle Mountain on downs, taking just three minutes off the clock.
Battle Mountain's Chase Lutz tackles Incline quarterback Tommy Williams.
The Longhorns could not take advantage, though and punted after going three-and out.
With 3:17 left in the contest, Incline took over at the 36-yard line and quickly moved to near midfield.
However, a holding penalty, a bad snap over Williams’ head cost the Highlanders and they quickly backed up to the 26-yard line.
On 3rd and 37, Williams thew long just over the head of his receiver.
On the next play, Incline went deep again, as Williams connected Combs for a 78-yard touchdown and a 21-16 lead with 1:09 to play.
Battle Mountain’s attempt at a comeback ended with an interception and Incline ran out the clock for the win.
After a scoreless first quarter, Ari Kyllonen gave the Longhorns a 3-0 lead with 8:56 left in the first half on a 21-yard field goal. With just under three minutes left in the second quarter, Willams gave Incline a 6-3 advantage on a 1-run.
After a long pass from Jake Perrone to Liam Bundrock, Perrone finished the drive with 21 seconds left on a 14-yard run to give Battle Mountain a 10-6 lead at halftime.
The Longhorns scored on the opening drive of the third quarter on a 57-yard pass from Perrone to Bundrock to lead 16-6 but those were the final points for Battle Mountain.
Battle Mountain finished the year at 6-4.