Coaches rarely celebrate a loss, but Fernley High School football coach Anfernee Sloan saw something more valuable than a score last Friday night. He saw a team find I’s identity.
Despite a roster trimmed from 42 players to 27 because of injuries and attrition, the Vaqueros took perennial state powerhouse Truckee down to the wire in a 14-7 defensive battle that he called a “moral victory: heading into the team’s bye week and an Oct. 9 showdown with rival Fallon, the defending 3A state champion.
“I’m not happy about the loss, I’m happy about how we lost,” Sloan said. “I’m happy about the direction that we just took. I’ve been waiting to see the grit, the fight like last year’s team. It’s there.”
After disappointing outings in their last two games, a 19-16 loss to South Tahoe and a 42-7 loss at Spring Creek, Sloan was looking to see a more competitive mindset against Truckee.
The Vaqueros delivered that in spades, after Sloan told them all week it was up to them to believe, and to want it.
“They rose up to the occasion,” he said. “All I asked them was to play a complete game, to understand the process. Am I happy? No. Am I pleased with the way we took a step as a program? Yes. That’s a big win for me.”
The Vaqueros’ defense limited Truckee to 213 yards of offense, including consecutive 3-and-outs to start the second half, after the game was tied 7-7 at the half. Even when the Wolverines drove 55 yards on their third possession of the of the second half to take the lead 14-7, nothing came easy. The biggest gain of the 12-play drive was a 10-yard pass from Thomas Smart to Bodi McThorn, two plays before Smart connected with Bennett Jitloff for the 8-yard go-ahead touchdown.
The Vaqueros scored first on a 4-yard touchdown run by Jayden Esparza after Isaid Solis intercepted a pass at the Truckee 39-yard line late in the first quarter.
Truckee answered right back on a 17-play drive with three 3rd-down conversions and two on 4th down, including the 1-yard touchdown run on 4-th and goal by Lukas Andrew to tie the game at 7.
“We’re going to have a lot of highs, and we’re going to have a lot of lows, because we’ve been too inconsistent,” Sloan said. “We made a point of emphasis of that, and I think they get it.”
At 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the Northern 3A, the Vaqueros have already spent much of the past two weeks doing the kind of soul-searching a team with its record might normally do during it’s bye week. Sloan said the Vaqueros are a little beat up and will use the bye week to try to get healthier and will spend a lot of the week on the mental aspects of the game.
“We’re not going to go full pads at all this week, and it allows us kind of a mental reset, not just the kids but the coaches,” he said.
Below: Fernley football players celebrate an interception by Isaid Solis during the first half of last Friday’s game against Truckee. Photo by Leanne Cruz, Cruz Down Memory Lane Photgraphy
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