Fallon rolls against Wolverines in key 3A battle

A harvest moon and Friday the 13th gave a bright, yet radiant glow under the Friday night lights.

One of the fiercest rivalries in the Northern 3A didn’t disappoint another large crowd at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex, even though Fallon had to come from behind in the second quarter to down Truckee, 37-21. Fallon has won four straight games against Truckee dating back to the 2017 season including a win in the 2018 state 3A championship. The last time the Wolverines beat Fallon came on Sept. 3, 2016, in a home 28-12 victory. Truckee drops to 1-2 in league, 1-3 overall.

Fallon improved to 3-0 in league and 3-1 overall. Lowry is tied with Fallon for the league lead, and Elko is 2-0.

Despite the win, Fallon coach Brooke Hill said the Greenwave is making too many mistakes.

“Coach (Josh) Ivens does a good job with those guys and they are getting better,” Hill said of Truckee. “We made a lot of mistakes, turnovers, missed plays on defense. If we don’t fix it, it will cost us.”

Hill said the errors kept Fallon from scoring twice within the 10-yard line, once early in the game and the second late in the game.

“We had too many penalties, offsides,” Hill said. “We’re not disciplined and that comes down to me to fix it.”

With Fallon taking a 13-7 lead, the Wolverines struck with 1:49 remaining in the first half by jarring the ball loose from Fallon quarterback Elijah Jackson on the 4-yard line. Two plays later, the Wolverines’ Tyler Estabrook scored on a 4-yard run. The extra point gave Truckee a 14-13 lead.

Estabrook led Truckee with 82 yards on the ground.

The two Truckee scores stunned Fallon in the second quarter, but the Wave didn’t panic. With 1:22 remaining before halftime, Fallon struck quickly by retaking the lead, 21-14. Brock Richardson took the ensuing kickoff on the Fallon 6 and gained 38 yards. Truckee’s defense pushed Fallon to a third and 6, but a 16-yard pass to Tommy McCormick, and a 29-yard pass to Richardson gave Fallon good field position at the Wolverines’ 7.

On the next snap, Jackson, who was 13 of 18 for 170 yards, looked to the corner and found McCormick for a 7-yard strike. The 2-point conversion from Jackson to McCormick with 14 seconds left in the half gave the Wave a touchdown lead.

McCormick led the Greenwave receiving corps with 7 receptions for 95 yards.

The first quarter belonged to Fallon as the Wave grabbed a 13-0 lead.

Levi Andrews punched the ball in from the 7-yard line for the first Fallon touchdown 4:19 into the game, and Sam Robertson booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.

Truckee ran four plays in its first possession before the Wave took over after receiving the punt. The Wave had a seven-play drive. Jackson alternated between throwing passes to McCormick and Richardson and handing off the ball to Andrews. A penalty against Truckee for a hand to the face moved the ball to the 7.

Less than 5 minutes later, Fallon scored its second touchdown set up by Ethan Andrews, who intercepted a pass thrown by Truckee quarterback Jason Kahl (6 of 14, 69 yards) and brought it back 7 yards. Richardson breezed past Truckee’s defense on Fallon’s first down for a 35-yard score.

The PAT failed.

Richardson led the Wave in rushing with 129 yards on 10 carries, and snared four passes for 57 yards.

Defensive adjustments made the difference in the second half. Linebackers Thomas Steele and Dominyke Edwards worked the inside and shut down Truckee’s run game up the middle. Edwards said Hill told the defense to read the guards because they would take the defense to the play.

“At first we read the guards, and then we made adjustments,” Edwards said. “We came inside better in the second half.”

Fernley, though, may have helped Fallon prepare for Truckee. Like the Vaqueros, the Wolverines relied on pitching the ball to Estabrook.

“We had to step up our run defense,” Edwards said of the Fernley game.

Edwards continues to improve with every game, but he sees more room for improvement.

“I’ve got to get better, make the right plays and make more forced fumbles,” he said.

Each team scored a touchdown early in the second half.

Jackson had a 63-yard touchdown pass to McCormick on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, and the extra point allowed the Wave to double the score, 28-14. Truckee cut the two-touchdown lead with Tavin Hamilton’s 12-yard pass to Jackson Ellermyer.

Jackson wasn’t through for the Wave and neither was McCormick.

With 5:59 left in the third quarter, Jackson and McCormick hooked up for a short 3-yard pass, and Robertson’s kick for the extra point resulted in a 35-21 lead.

“We made some good plays, but we need to make the plays we are supposed to,” McCormick said.

The Fallon senior said he felt he had a decent game but thought he could’ve done more.

Hill said Steele, Richardson and Jackson made key plays and also the big plays for us tonight. Hill said Edwards is becoming one of the better linebackers in the league. Hill said the team is playing better, but too many mistakes are occurring.

“Again we talked about it before the game, and the biggest enemy is us, and we showed it tonight.”

The Fallon-Truckee rivalry has been a fierce one to include not only football but also baseball. Truckee defeated Fallon in May for the state 3A baseball championship.

“It’s a good rivalry not matter what the records are,” McCormick added.

Fallon outgained Truckee 393 to 279 yards with 174 yards in the air.