Ever since it routed Lovelock 45-0, the Fernley football team has been chomping at the bit to take the field again.
Fernley finally receives that chance when it hosts Yerington after a two-week hiatus as the two teams begin Northern 3A play. In addition, Dayton will host Rite of Passage in another Northern 3A opener. Both games will be played at 7:30 p.m. today.
"Bye weeks are tough and bye weeks early are tough," Fernley coach Dave Hart said. "Having to wait two weeks is hard.
"They were excited," Hart also said about his players after the win over Lovelock.
But Hart also said that his team benefitted from the bye week.
Hart said he hopes that Matt Lambeth will have a better showing against Yerington in the passing game. Lambeth completed just one pass against Lovelock, but it was a matter of just what the Lovelock defense was giving the Vaqueros.
"You just never know what's going to happen," said Hart about what opposing defenses will give up. But he also said eventually Fernley will need an effective passing attack.
Lambeth ran for a 115 yards on five carries and Danny Maguin also had a big game against Lovelock.
"He's a tough kid," said Hart about Maguin. "He's explosive. He's all muscle."
Hart said he's concerned about Yerington's deception on offense. "They've got really good skill kids as far as speed," he said.
Yerington opened last week with a 27-7 win over Incline Village. Drew Thorne threw for a touchdown pass and ran for another.
"We hope to control the ball, keep the ball out of their hands," Yerington coach Cody Neville said. "They pretty much have got an attack all the way around. Defensively we're hoping to make some big plays.
Hart said there are no surprises involving the three Lyon County schools whenever they play each other.
"We're familiar with Yerington," he said. "It's become a more healty rivalry."
"We want to beat the crud out of each other but it's not a hateful thing," Hart also said about the three Lyon County schools.
ROP (1-0) vs. DAYTON (0-1)
Dayton coach Butch Cattanach expects a defensive struggle similar to last year in which the Dust Devils won.
"They're a real big, physical team and they have pretty good skill kids," Cattanach said. "They'll be stronger than we are. We just hope we execute better. We expect a real war."
The Dust Devils will obviously have to execute its wing-T offense much better than it did in its opening 25-0 loss to Delta, Calif. two weeks ago.
"We made some adjustments, made some changes," Cattanach said. "We think we're ready to get after it."
Dayton has brought up sophomore Joe Sandoval up to the varsity where he will start at center and defensive tackle. "We think he'll really make some things happen," Cattanach said.