Fallon's Jacob Weber intercepts Wooster late in the game on Friday.
RENO — Ahead by only a touchdown with a few minutes left in the first half, the Greenwave football team quickly put Friday’s game against the Colts out of reach.
Fallon began the second half as it ended the first with rapid scoring as it shut out Wooster, 41-0, at Joe Mac Sellers Field to improve to 2-1 in the 3A North while the Colts (0-3) have yet to score against the league.
“They were giving us some different looks than what we were expecting and that’s kind of what teams are doing and trying to find out what we do,” Fallon coach Brooke Hill said about the team’s slow start. “Once we adjusted to it and knew how we wanted to attack it, you kind of saw what happened. We’re explosive. I think we were little flat in the beginning. Once we started rolling, things kind of took off.”
Fallon welcomes South Tahoe (1-2) Friday, which was shut out by Fernley, 26-0, last week.
Ahead by a touchdown with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in the second quarter, Fallon rattled off back-to-back touchdowns within 1:30 of each other.
“We played hard and played physical,” senior lineman Russell Vershum said. “We knew they were big coming in. If we played physical, we knew they couldn’t touch us. We played well.”
A 10-play drive began the game and ended when sophomore quarterback Elijah Jackson found fellow sophomore Brock Richardson in the end zone at the 8:50 mark. But Fallon wouldn’t score until less than three minutes left in the first half after Fallon punted on its second drive and fumbled on the third.
Enter in the dynamic sophomore duo.
On the first play from scrimmage, Jackson found Richardson again on the right side and Richardson wove across the field, scampering 70 yards down the left sideline to give Fallon a 14-0 lead with 2:18 left. On the next series, Jackson hit his favorite target from the first two games of the season when he laced the ball to Sean McCormick in front of the Greenwave sideline for a 48-yard touchdown and 21-0 advantage at the break.
“That’s God-given talent. That’s stuff you can’t teach,” Hill said about Jackson. “That’s a playmaker making plays. He’s got receivers behind him. They’re leaving the middle of the field open a lot. We’re trying to take what they give us. As teams adjust to that, we’re going to get more touches.”
Wooster fumbled the first play of the second half, leading to a quick Fallon strike on the second play of the series.
Junior running back Reid Clyburn found a hole, bursting for 19 yards to the Wooster 2-yard line. Jackson’s read-option fooled the defense as his touchdown run gave Fallon a 27-0 lead.
Errors plagued the Colts again and on the next series. McCormick nabbed his third interception of the season when he stepped in front of the Wooster pass across midfield.
Three plays later, Clyburn busted through the line for a 25-yard touchdown with 9:59 left in the third quarter. Clyburn scored again from 37 yards out before the end of the third quarter (2:33) to enforce the running clock with Fallon ahead 41-0.
“That line helps me so much,” Clyburn said. “If I didn’t have the line, I wouldn’t be running the ball.”
Jackson continued to improve his efficiency in the air by completing 10 of 15 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 149.3. Clyburn finished with 104 yards on seven carries (14.9 average) and two touchdowns to help give Fallon its most balanced offensive attack on the season. Jackson also had one rushing touchdown.
Richardson hauled in four receptions for 107 yards, including two touchdowns, and McCormick brought in 73 yards on four carries and one touchdown. Seniors Christian Nemeth and Clayton Steelmon each had one reception for 38 and 27 yards, respectively.
“You’re not seeing Nemeth or Steelmon making a lot of plays but they both are capable of making plays, too,” Hill said. “They had some deep balls early on in the game. They’re probably not getting enough credit. Those two guys are blocking their butts off out there and not getting as many plays. If we can get four guys out there who are catching the ball and making plays, that’s going to be difficult to defend.”
Junior Brenden Larsen and McCormick led the Fallon defense with 13 total tackles apiece, and Larsen also had the team’s only sack of the evening. McCormick nabbed his third interception in four games while senior Jacob Weber intercepted Wooster in Fallon territory. Junior Ben Dooley and sophomore Tommy McCormick each recovered a fumble.