The McDermitt High School football team celebrates is 16-8 win over Owyhee on Thursday in McDermitt.
For the past decade, it has been tough for McDermitt High School to put a football team on the field in the small town and reservation on the Nevada and Oregon border.
The school is located in Nevada and the football field is in Oregon.
This year was in question at the beginning of August if the team had enough players.
The Bulldogs last played in the spring of 2021, when the season was moved to March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This fall, McDermitt put together eight players at the start of the season and just recently added a ninth.
McDermitt's Josh Northrup looks for room to run, as Loni Tobey (77) and AJ Farmer (72) block.
It’s original season-opener was canceled but the Bulldogs got on the field on Sept. 16, against Pyramid Lake.
McDermitt lost that game but players, coaches and fans were happy to see them back on the field.
McDermitt returned to its home field this past Thursday to play Owyhee.
The last victory the Bulldogs had on the field was against Owyhee on Oct. 1, 2016.
That was until late on Thursday afternoon, when McDermitt jumped out to a 16-0 lead at halftime and held on for a 16-8 victory in front of packed house.
“We are just stoked right now,” said MHS coach Richard Egan. “I am so happy for the kids to see them get a win. It was fun to see their reaction and all the fans that came here to watch. It has been a struggle for us for a while. With our numbers we are limited at we can and can’t do. We don’t have the ability to scrimmage against each other.”
McDermitt's Chris Scott and AJ Farmer (72) celebrate the Bulldogs first touchdown on Thursday against Owyhee..
McDermitt took the opening drive 49 yards down the field and finished it off with a 2-yard run by Chris Scott for an 8-0 lead after the 2-point conversion pass to Shanden Camas.
Owyhee looked poised to answer with a score on its first possession of the contest but it bogged down and the McDermitt defense stood its ground and got the ball back at the 2-yard line.
Both teams say drives end with punts and downs in the first half, when the Bulldogs took advantage of a Braves fumble in the final minute of the second quarter.
With the ball at the Owyhee 2-yard line, McDermitt scored three plays later on a 1-yard run by Josh Northrup. Northrup added the 2-point conversion to give the Bulldogs a 16-0 lead at halftime.
Owyhee moved the ball back into McDermitt territory at the end of third quarter, aided by two 15-yard face mask penalties by the Bulldogs.
However, a fumble by the Braves and a recovery by Northrup ended the drive.
Owyhee turned the ball over once again in the fourth quarter with a fumble and had another drive end on downs late in the game at the McDermitt 19-yard line.
The Bulldogs attempted to run the clock out but the Braves got the ball back on a turnover after ripping the ball out of the hands of the running back.
Owyhee scored with 1:18 to play on a 22-yard pass and converted the 2-point conversion to cut the deficit.
The Braves attempted an onside kick, only to have the Bulldogs recover the ball. With Owyhee having no timeouts, McDermitt ran the clock out.
“The kids have to play the entire game both ways,” Egan said. “They hung in there. It was a good day for us and it was great to see all the support. Hopefully this something we can build on and gain some momentum for the future. We still have one game left and want to see what we can do.”
McDermitt concludes its season on Saturday, Oct, 21, at home against Sierra Lutheran at 1 p.m.
The Falcons moved to the Northern 2A this season, but is playing football as an independent this year.