By land and by air: Wave’s balanced offense sinks Vikings

Before every game, Churchill County High School football coach Brooke Hill preaches balance, so the Greenwave can attack their opponent effectively through the air and on the ground.

Most game plans, though, don’t follow the plan.

The Wave, 2-2, responded with a balance attack  Friday night to win its second game this season, a 46-0 Northern 3A shutout over visiting South Lake Tahoe at the Edward Arciniega Athletic Complex. Hill is pushing his Wave to do the same thing Friday — attack by land and air —when Fallon travels to Dayton for a 7 p.m. East Division opener against the Dust Devils. North Valleys blanked Dayton in Reno on Friday, 49-0, to lead the Northern 3A West at 3-0.

“This is the first week we really got into a game,” Hill said. During the previous game against Truckee one week before South Tahoe came to the Lahontan Valley, Hill said the Wave had a difficult practice with players gone because of COVID-19 contact tracing.

“We had our first week with team practice, and hopefully this rough patch is over,” Hill said.

South Tahoe, playing its first game of the season because of evacuations and smoke attributed to the Caldor Fire, suited up 21 players. The Vikings’ rustiness on the field showed after the first series.

Fallon took the opening kickoff on the  6-yard line and Tyler Austin plowed himself to the Fallon 43.

Sixteen plays later — with six passes slicing through the autumn air — Fallon scored on a 6-yard strike from quarterback Keaton Williams to Austin. Fallon led 7-0 after Austin’s extra-point kick.

Williams also threaded the ball for completions to Steve Moon and Jace Nelson, while running backs Brody Jacks and Evermar Garcia pounded the Vikings’ front line.

Fallon broke the game open with three touchdowns in the second quarter, one set up late in the first quarter and finished with the first play in the second.

“We came out and executed in our offensive series,” Hill said.

Hill said the running game was effective in setting up Williams for his passing. Williams completed 12 of 16 passes for 267 yards and no interceptions. Hill said anytime a quarterback completes more than 60% of his passes, then that calls for an excellent night.

Brody Jacks barreled in from the 6-yard line, and Steve Moon nailed the extra point through the uprights.
Victor Sepulveda, who previously played on junior varsity, made an impressive varsity debut by scoring a touchdown 3:47 before halftime. Moon kicked his second extra point

The seven-play drive began as a result of a fumble recovery by Fallon’s Francisco Tapia on the South Tahoe 18.  Fallon led 21-0.

South Tahoe sputtered on its second-to-last possession in the second quarter. Joel Gomez punted for the Vikings, and Austin ran the ball back to the Wave 46.

On the third play, Williams and Nelson hooked up for a 62-yard pass, and Ethan Tanner’s PAT was good for a 28-0 lead.

“Jace ran some tough routes, “ Hill said.

Nelson grabbed Williams’ pass a tiptoe away before the goal line and crossed.

Williams’s hot streak continued in the third period when he and Reese Kincaid connected for a 51-yard scoring strike. Kincaid wasn’t finished. On the third play of South Tahoe’s next possession, Kincaid scooped up a fumble on the Vikings’ 26-yard line and ran it back.

The Wave led 49-0 with the minutes rapidly ticking off because of a running clock.

Fallon’s final score came on the first drive on the fourth quarter.

Williams found Isiah Diaz for 38 yards for the Fallon quarterback’s fourth touchdown of the night.

In the rushing game, Jacks led Fallon with 46 yards, Sepulveda had 37 and Garcia 26.

Williams completed passes to five receivers: Nelson, three receptions for 77 yards; Kincaid, two catches for 69 yards; Austin, five snags for 67 yards; and Diaz and Moon, one reception each for 38 and 16 yards respectively.