DAYTON " After a slow first quarter, Fernley High showed why it is the second-best team in the Northern 3A.
The Vaqueros, led by the pass-catch combo of Bryce Baker and Stephen Abrams, scored 21 second-quarter points on three possessions en route to a 41-16 win over Dayton Thursday night.
Fernley, which enters the playoffs as the No. 2 seed behind Truckee, improved 5-4 overall. Dayton, meanwhile, ends the season with four straight losses and a 3-7 record.
Fernley coach Jeff Knutson likes his team heading into the playoffs, and what's not to like.
Fernley subbed liberally late in the second half, which enabled Dayton to move the ball freely in the final two quarters after managing just 83 yards total offense in the first two quarters against a defense led by Tommy Merrill, Brian Keathley, Baker, Abrams and Miguel Ovies. The offense was unstoppable in the final three quarters, gaining 487 yards for the game.
"We are healthy entering the playoffs, and we're playing with a lot of confidence," Knutson said. "Dayton came out and played well tonight in the first quarter. They did a couple of things we weren't ready for, and it took us a while to adjust."
Indeed. The Vaqueros went three and out on their first drive and then recorded one first down on their second possession before turning the ball over on downs at the Dayton 38 thanks to a combined sack by Tannar Wood and Nick Bircheff.
Dayton took over and put together its best drive in recent weeks, driving from its own 40 down to the Fernley 14 before a holding penalty pushed the ball back to the Fernley 31. The Dust Devils got back down to the 14, but turned the ball over on downs. Connor Conroy, who struggled so mightily last week, had two 16-yard completions on the drive en route to a 162-yard effort.
"That drive took up several minutes and we just couldn't cash in," Dayton coach Rick Walker said. "That was huge."
That turned out to be the beginning of the end for the Dust Devils, who entered the intermission trailing 21-0.
The Vaqueros drove 86 yards in nine plays with Mike Kendricks (12 carries, 119 yards) capping the drive with a 21-yard scoring run. Dylan Evans' PAT made it 7-0 with 9:17 left in the half.
Kendrick was pretty much a one-man show, gaining 62 yards on the drive. The other big play was an 11-yard pass from Baker (13 for 17, 316 yards) to Justin Brashear (4 catches, 62 yards) for 11 yards on third-and-6 play.
Dayton moved the ball to its own 40 on its next drive, only to be hit with a 15-yard holding penalty which pushed the ball back to the 25. Two plays later, disaster struck.
Conroy tried to throw to the middle of the field, but it was picked off by Baker at the Fernley 47 and returned to the Dayton 34.
One play later, Baker and Abrams hooked up for the first of their three touchdowns, this one from 34 yards. Abrams had a huge night, catching six balls for 213 yards unofficially. Evans' PAT made it 14-0.
Three plays later, Conroy overthrew a receiver again, and Abrams intercepted the ball at the Fernley 39.
On third-and-6, Baker tossed a 17-yard pass to Tucker Taylor for a first down at the Dayton 40. Baker threw a 10-yard pass to Taylor for a first down, and then found Abrams wide open on a 30-yard scoring play. Evans' kick made it 21-0.
Fernley should have scored again, but had a 30-yard TD run by Kendricks called back.
"We have a very good tailback and a very good running quarterback," Knutson said. "They were trying to keep us from getting to the edge and that left other things open. We just took what they gave us."
Walker said it was more a case of blown assignments, especially when the Dust Devils went to a zone coverage scheme in the secondary.
"I don't know why," he said. "You make the calls and the kids don't execute and they score. Some of this stuff we shouldn't be getting confused. You can't give up big plays like we did. They are backbreakers."
Fernley scored on its first two possessions of the second half.
The first was an 83-yard catch and run play by Abrams, who caught the ball at about his own 45, shook off tackles by Alex Cupp and Conner Oliver and outraced the rest of the Dayton defense to the end zone for a 27-0 lead.
After Dayton turned the ball over on downs at its own 47, Fernley took advantage of the short field and scored four plays later with Baker and Tony Wilson hooking up on a 14-yard TD for a 34-0 lead after three.
Dayton scored twice in the final quarter, as Oliver caught a 15-yard pass from Conroy and then Oliver threw a 5-yard scoring pass to Cupp in the waning seconds of the game.
Walker was especially pleased with the play of Wood, who caught four passes for 60 yards and did a nice job at defensive end. "Tanner probably played his best game of the year," said the Dayton coach. "He made some good catches on offense.
"We played hard tonight. Fernley is a good football team. There is a reason why they went 5-1. If we played that hard every week, we might have scratched out a couple of more wins. We played Fernley a lot tougher than we played Lowry."