Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal
DAYTON - For years the Truckee Wolverines have been known as a running team. In the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's record book, the Wolverines own four of the top nine slots in most total net yards rushing in a season. Sprinkled in between are a few years that the Wolverines had more of a passing offense. Rarely have they had both a strong running and passing game in one season.
Consider this one of the rare years.
If the Dayton Dust Devils are going to extend their undefeated streak and put their name in line as Northern 3A title favorites, they will have to contain an offense that torched Fernley 50-9 last week, while posting 197 yards passing and 122 more on the ground. The matchup will be the first real test for the Dust Devils' secondary, which has yet to face a team with a dynamic passing offense.
Truckee's passing attack is lead by quarterback Ben Bolton, who has thrown for 880 yards, 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions. The junior has been a long-ball specialist, having thrown a season-long 80-yard touchdown pass already this season along with five passes of 19 yards or more in last week's win.
"He likes to throw it long, that's about it," Dayton safety Kage Walker said. "He's not a short-passing guy, so he's looking for the home run."
But the long-ball is something defensive back Conner Oliver think's the secondary can exploit.
"The quarterback can throw deep, but he's not the most accurate," he said.
Bolton has benefited from having extra time in the pocket, something that is crucial for quarterbacks to have because it always them to breakdown the defense and hope a receiver finds an opening. Dayton coach Rick Walker said after reviewing film, the only game he saw Bolton face a ton of pressure was against Colfax (Calif.). In that 34-7 Truckee win, he had his worst game of the season going 4-for-15 passing with just 15 yards.
"Not a lot of teams have been able to get in the backfield against them," Dayton safety Conner Conroy said. "So he has as much time as wants to throw and I think with our team we should be able to get back there and make him make bad decisions."
Putting pressure on the quarterback is something the Dayton defense has done well this season. It has 18 sacks, despite facing mostly run-oriented teams, which has helped the secondary from having to cover receivers for a long amount of time.
Dayton has also been affective against the run, which will be equally as important against Truckee, who in its balanced offense has rushed for 886 yards.
What the Dust Devils need to avoid is the same issue that has plagued them all season: slow starts. In five of their first six games Dayton has scored just once in the first quarter. In the Wolverines' win last week against Fernley, a team that figured to vie for the league title, they quickly took advantage of the Vaqueros' trepidation.
"From all the film that I watched this year, I think Fernley just came out so tight," the elder Walker said. "I know it was a big game for them and stuff, and I know (Fernley coach) Jeff (Knutson) pretty well, and that's not a typical Fernley team. I think they're better than how they played against Truckee. But Truckee's always been like that. They're kind of like sharks when there's blood in the water.
"That's the whole thing, you need to match Truckee's intensity. If you don't, then you buried and you get buried early."