Leopards blowout Lakers
By MARTIN HARRIS - Sports Editor
Saturday, September 13, 2008 12:52 AM PDT
WELLS - It's not how you start, it's how you finish.
The Wells football team started slow but came to life to blow away visiting Pyramid Lake, 69-14.
“It was a pathetic first quarter,” Wells coach Steve Rodriguez said. “I thought I had them ready but obviously I didn't.”
The Leopards jumped out early after blocking a Lakers' punt and capitalized as quarterback Bryce Montoya tossed a short pass to Shawn Pearson on the far sideline. Pearson made several tacklers miss and took it 30 yards into the end zone.
Pyramid Lake responded with a score thanks to a couple of solid passes from quarterback Treamelle Collins. After three completion's on the drive, Collins ran around the Wells defense for a 14-yard pick-up. With the ball on the one, Robert Olivas pushed his way in.
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“It was poor tackling,” Rodriguez said. “(We) didn't like that taste. Even then it still took them a while to wake up and realize they were playing a football game.”
Wells fumbled the ball away on its next possession and then punted on the next two.
Late in the first quarter, the Leopards finally got their offense going. On first-and-10 from their 44, Pearson ran the ball 27 yards and the next play resulted in a 29-yard touchdown pass to James Cromie. Pearson ran in the conversion to make it 16-8.
The Wells defense made several huge plays as the next three Pyramid Lake possessions ended with turnovers. First, the Leopards recorded a safety and then Cromie and Montoya tallied back-to-back interceptions.
While the defense shined, the offense continued to find its groove. Montoya hit Cromie for his second score on an 8-yard pass. The Wells passer took care of business by himself on the next series with a 48-yard run to paydirt for a 30-8 lead.
Then the third aspect of the Wells game - special teams - grabbed the spotlight.
“Our special teams came through again,” Rodriguez said. “The special teams was outstanding. Special teams was a sparkplug for us. We spend a lot of time on it.”
The speedy Cromie had two punt returns in the second quarter of 55 and 60 yards.
By halftime, Wells led 50-8.
The second half kickoff was run back 85 yards by Cromie and it brought the 45-point mercy rule into play as it became a running clock.
Pearson and Dustan Birrer each added a rushing touchdown in the second half and the Leopards' second string played the fourth quarter, which was scoreless for both teams.
“We have to come out and get better every week,” Rodriguez said. “Pyramid Lake had some tough, strong kids. We might be able to get away with that kind of first quarter at home but when you travel 400 miles, you can't get away with that.”
Pearson had four carries for 49 yards and Montoya had 124 yards on three totes. Montoya was 5-for-8 passing with 122 yards and four scores. Cromie found his way to the end zone five times and Pearson had a hat trick.
The Leopards improve to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in Northern 1A. After three straight home games, the team will travel the next four weeks starting with a Sept. 20 game at Virginia City.
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Leopards blowout Lakers