After tasting success in the first two weeks of the season, the Fernley High School football team got its first taste of defeat last Friday.
Elko dominated the second half to hand the Vaqueros a 26-15 loss in the first league game for both teams last Friday night.
“We’re going to learn from it, we’re going to move on and we’re going to be better because of it,” coach Anfernee Sloan said.
Elko scored on four straight possessions in the second half to turn Fernley’s 7-0 halftime lead into a 26-7 Elko advantage. An unsuccessful onside kick after a late Fernley touchdown foiled any comeback hopes the Vaqueros had.
“They didn’t change anything they did, we just didn’t make the plays,” Sloan said. “They scored on three third downs that were third and longs. That tells me we’re just not making the plays there, and then offensively we’re not doing our assignments.”
The Vaqueros controlled the first half on both sides of the ball, and took a 7-0 lead to halftime courtesy of a 37-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Stephens to Riley McCullar with 9:50 left in the second quarter.
But the Vaqueros had trouble sustaining offense in the second half and were confused by Elko’s pre-snap shifts by the defensive line. The Indians’ defensive tackles shifted positions several times, often causing the Vaqueros confusion on who to block.
“I think they let all the shifting and all the stuff kind of get to them,” Sloan said.
Elko took the opening drive of the second half 71 yards in seven plays and scored on a 6-yard run by quarterback Ethan Kraintz. The next time the Indians got the ball, they drove 53 yards in eight plays and cashed it in with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Kraintz to Gabe Flores. Elko added a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kraintz to Co Jones and a 2-yard run by Kraintz to take complete control of the game.
Elko managed just 234 total yards of offense, but almost all of them came on their four scoring drives. The Vaqueros gained 351 yards, but lost a fumble on their opening drive, had a fumbled snap thwart a 4th-and-1 conversion attempt when they were down 12-7 and converted just twice on six third down attempts in the second half.
“I think fatigue kicked in there, and I’m a firm believer that fatigue makes cowards of us all,” Sloan said. “And what I mean by cowards of us all, what it means is we’re going to be more likely to make mistakes.”
This week the Vaqueros will try to bounce back when they host Sparks at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“I want them to respond to what just happened to us,” Sloan said. “We’re going to practice all five days and we’re going to go and get the job done like we’re supposed to.”
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