Fallon shuts out Sparks on Senior Night

Greenwave quarterback Elijah Jackson put an exclamation mark on his final regular-season home game before Fallon ends the Northern 3A season next week before playoffs.

Jackson, who led the Wave to a state 3A title last year, threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 65 yards and another score Friday on Senior Night as Fallon shut out Sparks 56-0 at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex.

Not only did Fallon improve to 7-1, 7-0 in league, but the Greenwave defense recorded its third straight shutout and has allowed only one touchdown in the last four games. Fallon earns the regular-season title after Lowry dropped a 32-21 verdict on the road at Elko. Lowry hosts Fallon Thursday at 7 p.m. in Winnemucca.

Coach Brooke Hill said Fallon played well.

“Our offense was really efficient, and we’ve been physical on the defensive part of the game for the last few weeks,” he pointed out.

Although penalties brought back two touchdowns, Hill wasn’t upset except for the personal calls.

“Some of them were questionable,” Hill said of the blocking in the back calls, “but personal fouls and unsportsmanlike are not tolerable.”

For the most of the game, Hill said the Wave played fairly mistake free.

Jackson overpowered the Railroaders, who remain winless for the year. He connected with favorite target Brock Richardson for a score and threw a pair of touchdowns, one each to Kenji Armbruster and Tommy McCormick. The Railroaders struggled to put pressure on Jackson as the Fallon offensive line provided an effective shield around the Greenwave senior, who has thrown for almost 1,600 yards this season.

“It was senior night we had one goal — come out here and do our job,” Jackson said. “We have to work the mental stuff and get our jobs done.”

Richardson said he was pleased with Fallon’s game against Sparks.

“I wanted to go out and play well with my teammates,” he said. “We have a first-round bye and go to Lowry.”

By wrapping up the regular title, Fallon is assured at least one more home game, and with a win in the first round, Fallon hosts the semifinal matchup against the Southern 3A’s second-place team.

“I can’t wait to have our other games here,” Jackson said.

Fallon began its first series deep on the 28-yard line after Richardson intercepted Tyler Green’s pass. Six plays later, Jackson rifled a 38-yard strike to Kenji Armbruster less than 2 minutes into the game. Sam Robertson kicked the first of five extra points to give the Wave a quick 7-0 lead.

A Sparks 57-yard punt didn’t dampen Fallon’s offense as it began its second drive. Fallon secured good field position at the Greenwave 43. On first down, Jackson threw a swing pass to Richardson, but a holding call brought back his 57-yard touchdown. Two plays later, Levi Andrews slipped through the right side for a 31-yard touchdown run. Fallon, though, had problems handling the ball for the extra point.

The Jackson-to-Richardson connection hooked up for a touchdown late in the first quarter on a 21-yard pass. Fallon’s Ethan Andrews made a diving interception on a pass on the Sparks 36 to give the Wave good field position.

“Our guys getting better at blocking,” Richardson said of the offensive line. “When Tommy (McCormick) was running, I watched this one blocker pancake the dude.”

Richardson said the defense is trusting each other with each passing game, and players are in the right spots to do their jobs.

“We figured out our personality as a team,” said linebacker Dominyke Edwards. “On defense we play physical and play fast. We figured out our reads and make them (the reads) a lot faster.

Edwards, who made several bone-crushing tackles, said he also trusting his reads. He anticipates another physical game against Lowry.

“They’re a physical team,” he said. “It’s our biggest game, and we’ll practice physical and play physical.

The Wave added three more scores in the second quarter.

Backup quarterback Avery Strasdin ran the offense to give Jackson a break after the Fallon defense stopped Sparks on a fourth and 3 on the Greenwave 40. On Fallon’s first snap, Strasdin sprinted through the Railroaders’ defense for 60 yards, and Robertson’s PAT gave the Wave a 27-0 lead with 8:03 left in the second quarter.

Sparks committed another turnover on its next series to give Fallon the ball at the visitors’ 16. On a first-down play, Strasdin hit Richardson with a swing pass for another touchdown, and with Andrews 2-point run, the Wave led 35-0 to begin the running clock.

Jackson’s 34-yard run up the middle took the Wave into halftime with a seven-touchdown lead.

Fallon substituted freely in the second half. Jackson completed a 33-yard pass to Tommy McCormick 4:10 into the third quarter, and Colby Malkovich picked up 13 yards for Fallon’s final touchdown. In the fourth quarter running back Josiah Rosario gained 27 yards.

“Getting more guys in creates more depth,” Hill said. “We are able to develop a lot of depth. Avery got a lot of time in the second half of the game. He’s a good player and a lot of teams would probably want him for their quarterback, but we have him for next year.”

Hill said Fallon’s depth is developing players who can go into pressure situations. He also had praise for both Levi and Ethan Andrews, who had a good first haves, Malkovich for his running in the second half, and Robertson’s consistent kicking.