In a game where he scored four touchdowns and racked up 325 all-purpose yards, the defining play Calin Anderson made in Fallon’s 40-0 shutout victory over Fernley last Friday might have been the one that when he didn’t even have the ball.
Anderson systematically dismantled the Vaqueros in all three phases, hauling in 9 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown, while adding a 7-yard rushing score. On special teams, he broke the game open with a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown and put the exclamation point on the game with a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown that triggered the NIAA running clock rule late in the third quarter.
But as spectacular as the numbers look in the box score, Fallon coach Calvin Connors pointed at a play that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet as the one that turned the game in the Greenwave’s favor.
With the game still scoreless midway through the first quarter, Fernley quarterback Elijah Devold kept the ball on an option keeper from his own 36-yard line, found open space in the middle of the field and looked to be headed for the end zone. But Anderson ran him down from behind and forced a fumble, which Dylan Lanterman Amolar recovered at the Fallon 13-yard line.
“That kind of turned our tide a little bit and we were able to capitalize off that and build momentum, which out team does an amazing job of,” Fallon coach Calvin Connors said.
For Connors, that relentless chase-down was a direct reflection of the culture that drives the defending 3A state champions.
“We talk about the process, the process, the process and our standard here at Churchill County High School, and they’re just bought into it,” Connors said. “They want to win more than they want individual statistics, and they’re so selfless. And that’s very important when being a state championship program and trying to build off of what we did last year.”
On the other sideline, Fernley coach Anfernee Sloan could only wonder how the night might have gone differently had Anderson not stripped the ball away from Devold.
“What happens if that doesn’t happen right there?” Sloan mused. “We probably punch it in and how you’re up, and guess what, they’ve got their backs against the wall.
Instead, the fumble sparked an avalanche.
Fallon drove 87 yards in 16 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Camden Richardson to Blake Dinneen. The key play of the drive was Anderson’s run on a fake punt. A holding penalty on the play took away some of the yardage but gave the Greenwave the ball at the Fernley 30.
The remaining air in Fernley’s balloon evaporated two possessions later when Anderson returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown. While the scoreboard read 13-0, the psychological gap felt miles wider.
Pictured right: Fernley running back Jayden Esparza looks for some running room. Photo by John Baker
“I think it’s just that the punt is such a big momentum play that when that happens, it’s rough,” said Sloan.
Moments later an interception by Dinneen led to a 5-yard touchdown by Alijah Juarez, and what had been a competitive game moments earlier was now 21-0 at the half.
In the third quarter Anderson added a 7-yard touchdown run to make it 27-0, a 15-yard touchdown reception to make it 33-0 and the final 50-yard pick-six for the final margin.
“It’s all about explosive plays and believing,” Connors said. “You can talk about it, but if you’re not about it and you don’t truly believe, then it’s never going to happen. And our kids have done an amazing job of understanding what that means.”
Sloan, on the other hand, was left searching for answers.
“I’m going to contemplate some things because I think we’re in a weird position right now as a program” he said. “All you can do is get back to work strengthening your tools and outworking the guy next to you.”
At 2-6 overall, 1-5 in the Northern 3A, the Vaqueros need to beat Lowry this week and Dayton next week to make the playoffs as the No. 6 seed, which would earn them a first-round matchup at the No. 3 seed.
“You got to show up, you gotta do what you gotta do,” Sloan said. “The focus is to go beat Lowry. The focus is to always go beat whoever we’re playing.:
The Greenwave, meanwhile, remain undefeated at 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the league and host Elko this Friday, the only team that beat them during their championship season last year, with the help of a controversial call on a fumble return for a touchdown that was overturned.
“Bad taste in our mouth, but excited for the opportunity to play them at home and to send our seniors out in the regular season with a win,” Connors said.
Below : Fallon football coach Calvin Connors talks to his team after last Friday’s 40-0 win over Fernley. Photo by John Baker
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