Spring Creek shuts down Dayton

DAYTON - Spring Creek's Nick Cdebaca scored twice from 56 yards on nearly identical plays to power the Spartans to a 17-0 win over Dayton in a Northern 3A contest with playoff implications.

The Dust Devils were victims of their own miscues as penalties and turnovers combined with the Spartans' defense to keep Dayton from the end zone.

"We continue to shoot ourselves in the foot everytime we get something rolling, and tonight was no exception." said Rob Turner, Dayton head coach.

The Dust Devils controlled the line of scrimmage early, running 11 plays on their first possession before stalling at Spring Creek's 31-yard line.

After forcing the Spartans to punt after three plays, Dayton again was able to move the ball effectively, driving inside Spring Creek's 20 to set up a field goal attempt.

Adan Gomez's 32-yard kick was wide right, but Dayton held the momentum after Ryan Hoyos fumbled in Dayton territory. That's when miscues started to take their toll on the Dust Devils.

Austin Fletcher appeared to score on a QB keeper, but an illegal block moved Dayton back 15 yards. An illegal use of hands penalty came on the next play, moving Dayton back past midfield.

Fletcher was called for intentional grounding on third and long, and a drive that had started with great promise at Spring Creek's 37 ended with fourth and a mile from Dayton's 36.

Taryn Aguilera intercepted Spring Creek quarterback Travis Spring on the Spartans first play after the change of possession, but Cody Yeater gave the ball back, fumbling on Dayton's first play. Two plays later, Cdebaca broke free for 56 yards and the game's first score. Cdebaca would score again from the same spot on the field in the fourth quarter.

"I had my linemen slanting to the strong side on that trap, and he just squirted right through there", Turner said. "He's a pretty quick kid, obviously. We're pretty fast and we couldn't catch him."

Dayton's defense did a credible job of stopping a Spartans' offense that scored 60 points against South Tahoe last week. Ryan Hoyos, who rushed for 159 yards against the Vikings on 11 carries, was held to 19 in the first half and 92 total on 16 carries. Cdebaca was the main offensive weapon for the Spartans, rushing for 139 on eight carries, but 112 of those yards came on the two touchdown runs.

"We played tough defense," Turner said. "We scouted the heck out of them. We knew what to expect."

Tyler Firestone ran for 150 yards on 25 carries and threw Dayton's only completed pass for 26 yards. Yeater gained 38 yards on 10 carries and Sean deRubertis carried the ball five times for 31 yards.

Dayton had troubles with turnovers, fumbling three times and throwing two interceptions.

The loss drops the Dust Devils to 5-4 and 3-4 in league play and puts them in fifth place behind Spring Creek. Dayton needs to defeat Fernley next week to secure a playoff spot.

"At this point, you've got to lick the wounds a little bit," Turner related. "They say the windshield is a lot bigger than the rearview mirror, so we don't want to look back. We need to look forward and take care of business next week."

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2nd quarter

Spring Creek, Cdebaca, 56 yd. run, Patton kick, 4:07

Spring Creek, Patton, 32 yd. FG, 00:07

4th quarter

Spring Creek, Cdebaca, 56 yd. run, Patton kick, 5:37