During the past two weeks Dayton has had two games that were both billed as "the biggest of the season." And after losing back to back games to Truckee and Lowry, the phrase is as fresh as ever.
The Dust Devils still control their own destiny, but just barely. If they beat Fernley and last season's Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Bryce Baker, at 7 p.m. today at Fernley High School, they are in the playoffs and will avoid a rematch with first-place Truckee in the first round. But if they lose, the Dust Devils could be out of the postseason after a 6-0 start.
"It's a huge game for us because when you look at the standings we go from second to fifth and the cool thing is it's still in our hands," Dayton coach Rick Walker said. "We don't really have to work on anybody else, if we win we're in the playoffs. That's what we need to do. That's the next step, that's the next game."
Defeating the Vaqueros and Baker, though, could be a more daunting task than when Dust Devils tried to upend Truckee. They were railroaded in a 55-6 defeat at home, which began the two game losing skid.
Baker is the top quarterback in the Northern 3A yet again. He has accounted for more than 70 percent of Fernley's offensive production with 1,238 yards passing on 13 touchdowns, and 542 more on the ground with 15 TDs.
"We're just going to keep the same focus on defense because I don't think he's more outstanding the (Ben) Bolton on Truckee," said Dayton safety Kage Walker. "Obviously he did good against us, but we're going to try and contain him a bit more."
Passing quarterbacks have wreaked havoc on the Dust Devils' defense this season. The most notable is the aforementioned Bolton, who torched Dayton for 230 yards and five touchdowns on only 11-of-15 passing.
As well as Baker passes, though, it's his legs that has the elder Walker worried.
"You're not going to take everything away from him, you're just not going to do it," Walker said. "But if we can limit him to keeping him in the pocket ... I think he can throw the ball well, but actually his legs scare me more than anything. That's when he gets you dropped off, you're covering guys and then he takes off and that makes it tough."
Before Wednesday's practice let out, Dayton defensive coordinator Mike Burrows told the team that if it holds Fernley to 17 points or less it would win the game. The statement couldn't be any more true. Dayton didn't give up more than 14 points in its first six games, all wins, but was blown out by Truckee and lost to Lowry 19-13 last week.
While it is likely impossible to keep Fernley off the board (Truckee couldn't even do it in its 50-9 win), the Dayton defense is out to prove itself and no game would be a better a stage to do so than today's.
"We have to stay focused," said Dayton linebacker Kyle Firestone.