FERNLEY - It's no secret that the Fernley High School football team needs a big play, Matt Lambeth or Joey Fennessey usually end up handling the ball.
And the duo combined to deliver three big plays in the second half as the Vaqueros rallied to pull out a Northern 3A season-ending 21-20 triumph at home against Bishop Manogue on Friday night.
Fennessey returned the second half kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, then Lambeth threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Adam Schwab, and finally, Lambeth scampered 32 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 10:19 left to play to give the Vaqueros their victory on a chilly night that saw the lead change hands five times.
Down 6-0 at the intermission, the Vaqueros obviously wanted to establish some offense in the second half, according to Lambeth.
"We had a big goose egg on the scoreboard, so we knew we had to get something going," the junior quarterback said. "What we had to do was control the ball, and we knew we needed a big play."
Fennessey supplied the first spark when he took the second half kickoff at the 13, ran up the middle and cut back to the outside behind Lonnie Hatcher's block on the final Manogue defender.
Manogue answered with a 73-yard drive - aided by two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and a roughing the passer call - and regained the lead on Daniel Hansen's 2-yard run. Fernley's Tyrell Reeder stopped the PAT run to keep the Miners within 12-7.
Fernley survived a road block to come back and score on its next possession. Lambeth, who had missed on his first five passes of the night, found Schwab on a slant pattern for a 67-yard gain to the 6, only to have the play nullified by a flag for not having enough players on the line of scrimmage.
Undaunted, Lambeth went back to the air on the next play and Dan Maguin made an over-the-shoulder catch for a 44-yard gain to the Manogue 34. Four plays later, the Vaqueros went back to Schwab on the slant pattern and this time the play went for a 31-yard touchdown.
"Actually, we were looking for a post to the other side," Lambeth said. "But we had our best receiver one-on-one against a linebacker. Adam and I know each other well. I knew he would be open."
Manogue came right back on their next possession and Hansen scored again from 2 yards out to put the Miners back on top. Austin Miller, who rushed for 156 yards on 25 carries on the night and surpassed 1,000 yards for the season, ran for the two-point conversion to give the Miners a 20-13 lead.
Fernley's game-winning drive covered 69 yards in five plays. Shane Stokes caught a 33-yard pass from Lambeth to the Manogue 34, then on a third-and-8 play, Lambeth kept the ball and ran around his left end for the touchdown.
"It was a run all the way," Lambeth said. "There were two inside fakes and then I took off on the naked boot. My receivers gave me some great blocks downfield, and the line did a great job, too.
"Our line controlled the second half. That was the difference."
Fernley took 5-1/2 minutes off the clock on its next possession, giving the ball back to Manogue with just 2:45 showing on the clock.
The Miners never got past midfield on their final drive, with Fennessey stopping Hansen for a three-yard loss on a first-down play from the 41 and Maguin breaking up a second-down pass play,