Dayton got its taste of "4A" football and while the Dust Devils did receive a dose of reality, they also had plenty to be encouraged about.
Lowry showed it should benefit greatly from its drop from 4A to 3A competition Friday in a 34-9 win Friday at Dayton in Northern Nevada 3A conference action. Dayton just couldn't contain the combination of Travis Zimmerman and Grant Beatty, who combined for six receptions for 186 yards and four touchdowns.
But as Dayton Coach Butch Cattanach observed, it just wasn't Zimmerman and Beatty. Lowry (2-0, 1-0) had a strong, all-around team.
"Just too much of a good football team," Cattanach said. "They have a very, very good football team. I think they'll do very, very well."
Shane VanZant gained 103 yards on 20 carries in a losing cause for Dayton (2-1, 1-1).
Zimmerman and Beatty caught lightning in a bottle on Lowry's first two possessions. They combined on a 56-yard touchdown pass and came back to execute a middle screen for a 67-yard scoring strike and a 12-0 lead.
But Dayton came right back on a drive that gained momentum on Joel Kiraly's 8-yard run. After the student body left and right runs of VanZant behind Josh May's lead blocks, Jeff Miller scored on a 33-yard reverse. Quarterback Jim Kepler's block sprung Miller for the final 15 yards.
On Lowry's ensuing possession, Mike Sampang forced a fumble with a crushing hit and Garrett Watkins recovered deep in Lowry territory to set up Ivan Trigueros' 35-yard field goal, making it 12-9 with two minutes, 54 seconds still left in the first quarter.
Dayton threatened to take the lead in the second quarter when it mounted a drive to the Lowry 32 on the strength of a 20-yard pass from Kepler to VanZant and Kepler's 18-yard scramble, but the threat stalled.
With 1:30 left in the first half, Zimmerman and Beatty connected on a 16-yard TD pass to give Lowry an 18-9 lead.
A nice return by Watkins to the Dayton 47-yard line on the ensuing kickoff gave the Dust Devils a chance to score before halftime. VanZant's 24-yard run gave Dayton the ball at the Lowry 20, but Kepler was sacked to end the first half.
Lowry began to pull away in the third quarter when Brandon Gonzalez scored on a 21-yard run on an option. Zimmerman then connected with Mike Wanner for the two-point conversion and a 26-9 lead.
The Buckaroos put the game away when Zimmerman and Beatty connected again for a score on a middle screen, this time from 32 yards. Gonzalez ran it in for the two-pointer and a 34-9 lead.
But Dayton kept plugging away in the fourth quarter, only to have two touchdowns called back by penalties. Genaro Coronado recovered a fumbled punt at the Lowry 15 to set up a 15-yard TD pass from Kepler to Miller, but the play was called back by a holding penalty.
Matt Sumsion intercepted a pass for Dayton to set up another scoring chance. Kepler connected with Miller on a 16-yard pass, but the play was called back by a motion penalty. On the next play, Kepler found Miller for an apparent 21-yard scoring strike, but Miller was ruled to be out of bounds.
May had two tackles for losses, A.J. Owens had a tackle for a loss and Brian Martin had a fumble recovery as well for Dayton.
"I thought our kids hung in their pretty well," Cattanach said. "I think our kids showed a lot of heart. No quit."
