Fallon hosts 4A schools in 4-team scrimmage

Fans wanting to get a glimpse of the new Greenwave football team before next week’s regular-season opener are in luck.

Fallon, Reno, Spanish Springs and Carson will scrimmage one another today at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex with the freshmen and junior varsity teams kicking it off at 4:30 p.m. The varsity teams will start at 6 p.m. There’s no gate fee.

“They’ve been really good,” Fallon coach Brooke Hill said about the team’s practices. “We’re young. We’re still trying to complete two hours of practice with the focus. They’re getting better.”

Fallon’s coming off another successful season although it didn’t make the state playoffs. The Greenwave upset Elko on the road in the first round of the regional playoffs before losing at top-seed Spring Creek, which lost in the state championship.

This year’s group is young and inexperienced compared to previous seasons. Fallon lost many from its state championship team two years ago and then from last year’s team.

Hill, though, has been focused on getting the fundamentals nailed down and is looking forward to today’s scrimmage. Fallon will be running more from the shotgun this year as opposed to the pistol while the defense still needs work.

“We’ve got some pretty talented athletes that can be pretty special,” Hill said. “We’re going to try to spread you out. Defensively, we’re still not there. We need to get physical on that side of the ball. We need to minimize mistakes.

“We’re excited to see it all come together.”

Last year, the defense faced obstacles, giving up chunks of yards that resulted in touchdowns. An adjustment late in the season helped the Greenwave reach the playoffs and Hill said the same approach will be used this year before the first game. Fallon opens the regular season next week at Hug and the home opener is Sept. 2 against Fernley.

“We went back to the drawing board. We became more base (focused),” Hill said. “It makes some of the kids understand base schemes.”