The Lowry High School football team stands together for the National Anthem prior to the start of Friday's home game against Fernley.
No, we were not stuck in Madden 25 PlayStation mode.
No, Jerry Tobin Field did not turn into an Arena Football stadium for a night.
Yes, high school basketball season is still over a month away.
The Lowry High School and Fernley High School football teams went into full silly mode on Friday night in Winnemucca.
In the first Friday night home game in Winnemucca since mid-August, the two teams combined for 1,224 yards of total offense and 126 points, as Fernley won 79-47.
Lowry dropped to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the Northern 3A.
Fernley running back Keeshawn Love had a career night, as the junior ran for 526 yards on 35 carries and seven touchdowns.
Lowry celebrates a touchdown against Fernley on Friday night
The 526 yards in a game is the second most in Nevada history. Spanish Springs’ Mike Kanellis rushed for 533 yards in 2004 against South Tahoe.
The seven touchdowns in a single game is tied for the second most in state history.
Lowry’s Erick Valencia threw for 102 yards, ran for 222 yards and had six touchdowns.
The six touchdowns are tied for the third most in a game.
The two squads combined for 42 points in the first 12 minutes of play, scoring on six consecutive possessions.
Lowry got the scoring going after a pair of passes from Valencia to Connor Peterson and Jaden Jimenez moved the Buckaroos deep in Vaquero territory. Valencia capped the drive off with a 1-yard run less than two minutes into the contest.
Fernley quickly countered with a 44-yard run by Bryce Stephens, which was countered by a 40-yard touchdown run by Valencia.
Moments later, the pinball machine was in full tilt mode, as Bryce Stephens rounded the corner down the sideline for a 60-yard run to tie the game at 14.
On the ensuing kick, Jimenez took the kickoff back to the Fernley 4-yard line and Valencia quickly scored after that to give Lowry a 21-14 advantage.
Less than two minutes later, the Vaqueros tied the game at 21 on a 20-yard run by Riley McCullar. The momentum shifted at the beginning of the second quarter, as Lowry was stopped on downs. Love countered with the first of his seven touchdowns in the final three quarters, scoring on a 53-yard after bouncing off Lowry defenders. The Buckaroos went 3-and-out on their next possession and Love was back in the end zone on a 20-yard run, giving the Vaqueros a 36-21 lead with 5:54 left in the second quarter.
Randy Patterson battles for extra yardage.
Lowry quickly countered in less than a minute, as Valencia ran for a 53-yard touchdown, as he moved to running back and Peterson took over at quarterback. Two more touchdowns were scored in the final 3:23 of the second half — one each by Love and Valencia, as Fernley led 43-34 at halftime.
Lowry grabbed the momentum at the start of the third quarter, recovering a pooch quick in Fernley territory. Moments later, Peterson connected with Ryder Huitt across the middle of the field for a 27-yard touchdown and the Buckaroos trailed 43-41.
On Fernley’s first possession, Love was back in the end zone after a 3-yard run to make the score 50-41. Valencia was not outdone, as the junior scored his sixth touchdown of the night on a 20-yard run to close the gap to 50-47 with 3:17 left in the third quarter.
That turned out to be the final points for the Buckaroos, as the Vaqueros stopped a couple deep drives in the fourth quarter.
Fernley scored late in the third quarter and added three more scores in the final 12 minutes of play, including a 90-yard run by Love.
Lowry travels to South Tahoe on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.