Fallon’s Steve Moon (2) finds himself cornered by Fernley ‘s Jaiden McFadden (20) and Keeshawn Love (22) in Fallon’s 42-28 win Friday night.
Photo by Thomas Ranson.
Fallon and Fernley traded touchdowns for the first 12 minutes of the game, but with two additional touchdowns before halftime, Greenwave pulled away with two large second quarter touchdowns to pull away for a 42-28 Northern 3A East win over their cross Lahontan Valley rivals.
Fallon, which dropped its first game of the year against Reed, has reeled off six straight wins and four in league for an overall record of 6-1. The Wave travel to Winnemucca Friday night for a 7 p.m. game against Lowry. A win will ensure first place and a bye for the first round of playoffs.
The Vaqueros shocked Fallon by scoring first before a crowded stadium that had just honored the Greenwave seniors prior to kickoff.
The Vaqueros began the game’s first drive from their 40 after Fallon’s kickoff veered past the sidelines deep in Fernley territory. Fernley sliced through the Greenwave defense with a butter knife, gaining 60 yards on nine plays.
Fernley quarterback Gabe Tollestrup gave the Greenwave defense an early headache by moving Fernley downfield on five carries and completing one pass for 12 yards to Riley McCullar. Two plays later, Tollestrup, who gained 204 yards on 29 carries, slipped past the Greenwave defense on a quarterback keeper at the 9:09 mark.
A poor snap led to Johnnie Williams missing the extra point.
“We had a little bit of letdown because of the (7-6) win against Elko,” said Fallon coach Brooke Hill. “Their quarterback gashed us, and Tollestrup read the option pretty well. He made some plays and we knew he would be hard to stop.”
Not to be outdone, Fallon used three plays to time the game. Carter Paul fielded the kickoff and returned the ball 18 yards to Fallon’s 24-yard line. Steve Moon ran for 24 yards on Fallon’s first down, and with a first and 10 at the Vaqueros, quarterback Bryce Adams added another 5 yards on the ground.
The big play that stunned Fernley from their 42. Adams wheeled to his left and found Ethan Tanner for 42 yards to tie the game with 7:49 left in the quarter. The extra point gave the Wave their first lead 7-6.
Not to be outdone for the evening, Tarner snared five passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns.
Fernley rode Tollestrup’s arm on their next possession, but a fumble recovery by Fallon’s Benito Cortez on the Vaqueros’ sixth play dashed the visitor’s momentum.
Taking over at the Fallon 46, the Wave mixed up the play calling by relying on Brody Jacks' running or Adams' passing. Fallon oved to the Fernley 15 at the end of the quarter, but on the first play of the second stanza, Adams linked up with Tarner for 16 yards, and the extra point gave Fallon a 14-6 lead.
Fernley answered with a 12-play drive to eat up the clock. Except for an incomplete pass, Fernley ran the ball 10 times to the Vaqueros’ 18. On first down, Tollestrup took the ball himself to the right side and slipped past several Greenwave defenders for the touchdown with 7:53 left in the half. Williams’ extra-point kick narrowed Fallon’s lead to 14-13.
Compared to Fernley’s methodical play calling to take almost 4 minutes off the scoreboard, Fallon struck like summer lightning over the valley.
After Fernley encroachment gifted the Wave with 5 yards, Jacks made the Vaqueros’ defense pay by slipping past the defense for a 61-yard touchdown. The extra point padded Fallon to a 21-13 lead, and the Wave added to their point total with 2 minutes remaining before intermission.
After the Fernley drive stalled on the Fallon 45, the Wave marched down the field on Adam’s four complete passes and Jacks’ 1-yard run from the left side. Fallon added to its 28-13 lead.
Jacks gave the Wave a balanced running game with 125 yards on 23 carries.
“Honesty, I carried the ball the whole time and never knew where I would go,” Jacks said. “I’d go up to the line and go the opposite way of their nose.”
Jacks, though, was upset with the Greenwave defense.
“Honestly we had a bad week of practice. Not too much focus,” he said. “We played like we practiced. Our receivers dropped some passes, but the running game was all right.”
Each team traded touchdowns in each of the third and fourth quarters.
Williams short kick didn’t surprise Fallon’s return team, and Jaiden McFadden took the ball to the Greenwave 45. The next thing the Vaqueros saw was the back of Tarner’s jersey.
The Adams-Tarner connection electrified the Fallon faithful as the tandem hooked up for a 60-yard pass play, and with the extra point, the Wave increased its lead to 35-13.
We knew they would be in man coverage,” Tarner said. “Bryce threw two beautiful balls (to me).”
Tarner, though, said the defense could’ve had a better game, but overall the offense played well.
Tarner said he was upset with the defensive effort, and added Fallon needs to be ready in case Lowry pulls a surprise such as a trick play.
Neither team could move the ball on their next series of downs, but Tollestrup sliced the Fallon lead on a 16-yerd run. Williams’ kick narrowed the lead to 35-20.
The Vaqueros, though, resorted to trickery for their final touchdown.
On a reverse, Williams took the handoff but then slowed down to heave a 37-yard pass to Ulises Hernandez. Keeshawn Love’s 2-point run is good to cut Fallon’s lead to a touchdown.
A four-play drive sealed the game with Jacks running for 1-yard, and with the extra point, the Wave ran the lead to two touchdowns, 42-28.
On Fernley’s final series, the Greenwave defense smothered the Vaqueros in three plays.
“We got a little stagnant going into the fourth quarter,” Hill said. “We kind of relaxed.”
Hill said Fallon has tough defense but he needs to do a better job getting them prepared especially for an offense like Fernley’s/
“If you go to the wrong guy, they’ll make you pay,” he said. “I feel like we played better in the second half. I’m the D (defensive) coordinator, and we can’t give up 28.”
While Fallon doubled up Fernley with the passing game, 194 to 93 games, the Vaqueros outrushed the Wave, 359 to 194 yards.
FALLON 42, FERNLEY 28
1 2 3 4 F
Fernley 6 7 7 8 28
Churchill County 7 21 7 7 42
1st Quarter
FE — Tollestrup 7 run. Kick no good.
CC— Adams 42 pass to Tarner. Kick is good.
2nd Quarter
CC— Adams 16 pass to Tarner. Kick is good.
FE— Tollestrup 15 run. Williams kick.
CC — Jacks 61 run. Kick is good.
CC— Jacks 1 run. Kick is good.
3rd Quarter
CC — Adams 60 pass to Tarner (
FE — Tollestrup 16 runs. Williams kick
4th Quarter FER CHU
FE — Williams 37 pass to Hernandez for 37 yards. Love 2 run.
CC — Jacks 1 run. Tarner kick.
PASSING
Cmp Att Yds Cmp% TD Int
Adams 10 17 194 58.8% 3 0 0
RUSHING
Att Yds Avg TD
Jacks 23 125 5.4 3
Moon 2 45 22.5 0
Adams 6 23 3.8 0
Grondin 1 1 1 0
RECEIVING
Rec Yds Avg TD
Tarner 5 126 25.2 3
Moon 4 53 13.3 0
Paul 1 15 15 0