Fernley rolls past Fallon

FALLON - Fernley's dominance on both sides of the ball Friday night shocked the Greenwave as Fallon lost 38-0 to the Vaqueros in the season opener for both teams at the Ed Arciniega Athletic Complex.

For the second year in a row, Fernley defeated the Greenwave but Fallon still holds a 5-2 edge in their series that dates back to the mid-1980s.

Third-year Fernley coach Mark Hodges watched his team huddle across from the Fernley stands after the game and count back from 38 to 0 while the crowd roared its approval. But Hodges knows this is only the first game of the season.

""We still have a lot of areas to work on," he said. "We need work on consistency. At times we looked good, and other times we executed well especially with the first touchdown."

Fallon coach Ray Holladay said Fernley played well against the Wave.

"I'm not surprised at all how they played," Holladay said. "The defensive line was physical, and I knew they were good up front."

The Vaqueros gained 384 yards on offense and used a fairly balanced attack to shut out the Greenwave. Fernley rushed for 237 yards and passed for 147. Rather than single out any one player, Hodges gave credit to the offensive line. He said the offensive line gave quarterback Bryce Baker time to throw and opened holes for running back Neil Kendricks.

Hodges said his defensive players continue to improve, and he thought they did a good job of reading Fallon's offense.

"The athletes are disciplined in talking angles to the football," he said.

Baker, who completed 8 of 18 passes for 137 yards and one interception, riddled the Fallon secondary in the first half by throwing for three touchdowns, all to different receivers.

A Fallon mistake led to the Vaqueros' first score. The Greenwave fumbled the snap on the punt, and Fernley recovered on the Fallon 33. Four plays later, Baker rolled to his right and found Jace Gledhill behind the secondary for a 22-yard pass with 7:48 left in the first quarter. Less than four minutes later on Fernley's next drive, Baker found Brian Bradley cutting to the right side and hooked up with him for a 44-yard pass play.

Josh Perry's PAT gave the Vaqueros a 13-0 lead.

Kendricks, the game's leading rusher, scored on an 8-yard run in the second quarter, and Baker finished the scoring 1:06 before halftime when he threw a 22-yard TD pass to Jacob Lehman.

With Perry's PAT, Fernley had a 28-0 lead at halftime.

The Vaqueros scored a touchdown and field goal in the third quarter.

Baker couldn't find an open receiver, but the Fernley sophomore tucked the ball in and snaked his way through the middle of the line for a 15-yard run at 8:13. With 2:36 left in the quarter, Perry nailed a 24-yard field goal.

Hodges played many of his reserves in the fourth quarter. Running back Tre Hansen rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries.

Dexter Daum made his debut at quarterback for Fallon, completing 5 of 10 passes for 75 yards. The Vaqueros shut down Fallon's running game to six yards.