It’s time for championship D1-A football

Two years ago when the Greenwave football team advanced to the championship game, former players and especially coaches looked back at all the seasons, reminiscing about the last time Fallon won a state title in 1978.

Faith Lutheran, though, used a strong defense to dash those green-and-white hopes to shut out Fallon in the D1-A title game.

Fast forward to Saturday when the Greenwave will attempt to become king of the state.

Let’s point out a coincidence with Saturday’s game at Reno High School because the seniors on the Greenwave team first won an SYFL state championship on the same field.

Truly, fate must be on Fallon’s side.

The Fallon community, which has embraced the volleyball, tennis, baseball, softball, boys golf and rodeo teams with their state championships since 2000, has a hunger to do the same for the Greenwave football team when 53 players burst out onto the field, ready to play Moapa Valley.

Football programs with children as young as 6 to teens dominate the weekends during the fall in the Lahontan Valley. For what it’s worth, fans either love the chess game strategy of football of matching the pieces against one another or the combat phase where two opponents take or defend land and try to vanquish an enemy.

So, on Saturday, this game very familiar to fans in the United States takes center stage for this community, thirsty after all these years for a state champion from the gridiron.

For all the players who donned shoulder pads and helmets for this game, the coaches who put in hours and days of planning, practicing and executing and for the thousands of fans who braved warm and cold weather, bad and good games, Saturday’s game is for you.

For the former coaches. they all know this community has embraced the Greenwave.

We know community pride will be displayed in town, along the highway to Reno with people, and signs at the game.

Good luck Greenwave ... fight right through that line.

Steve Ranson is editor of the LVN.