Vaqueros locked into 5th playoff seed after loss to Spring Creek

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The good news for the Fernley Vaqueros is they won’t have to wait until next season to get a chance to atone for a disappointing loss in the playoffs.

The bad news is they will have to go on the road to do it.

After losing 34-13 at Spring Creek, the Vaqueros are locked into the No. 5 seed for the Northern 3A playoffs and will go on the road to face the No. 4 seed, which will be the loser of the Elko-Spring Creek game played Oct. 25.

The Vaqueros lost 61-34 to Elko on Sept. 13, despite having the ball with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, before a blocked punt and two turnovers made the score look like a blowout.

But Friday’s loss at Spring Creek was even more painful, because the Vaqueros would have clinched a home playoff game with a win, and would have had a shot at the No. 3 seed.

“We’re going to get back to the drawing board, we’re going to watch the film and we’ll see what it is that we need to fix it, because for some reason we can’t beat Spring Creek and we need to find a way to beat Spring Creek, because in two weeks we might be playing them again,” coach Anfernee Sloan said.

Penalties at key moments, a couple of turnovers and big plays by the Spring Creek offense were the difference as the Spartans scored three times in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win.

“Just too many assignment errors, not valuing the football, not tackling the football, not doing it the right way like I always talk about,” Sloan said. “I think there was a little bit too much complacency because we were on a little bit of a winning streak there for a little bit, and they got punched in the mouth and they didn’t respond well to it.”

Trailing 14-7, the Vaqueros had a golden opportunity to tie or take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. They ate up eight minutes off the clock and drove from their own 20-yard line to a first down at the Spring Creek 21, but two penalties later, they had to punt.

The Spartans turned that momentum into an 80-yard drive that ended the third quarter and started the fourth, going up 21-7 on an 8-yard touchdown run by Colton Cunningham.

The Vaqueros struck back quickly, using less than two minutes to get on the board with a 6-yard touchdown by Keeshawn Love. But the extra point hit the left upright, and everything that happened the rest of the way was just as unfortunate for the Vaqueros.

First the Vaqueros tried an onside kick that didn’t work, then the Spartans converted third-and-long twice on a 58-yard drive to take a 28-13 lead on Joseph Bright’s second touchdown run of the game.

Spartan quarterback Aaron Santos punctuated the game with a touchdown run with two minutes left in the game.

Several times the Vaqueros hurt themselves with penalties, none bigger than a holding call that nullified a 75-yard touchdown run by Riley McCullar in the second quarter when Spring Creek led 14-7. Instead of being tied, the Vaqueros wound up punting from their own 14-yard line.

A facemask penalty helped extend Spring Creek’s third quarter drive on which they scored to go up 21-7, and Spring Creek also converted both Fernley turnovers into touchdowns.

“That’s football and again, these are good kids, they’re going to respond and they’re going to learn from it,” Sloan said. “Like I told them this is part of being a man. Own up to it, respond to it and we’re going to have an opportunity coming up.”