By Mackie Grady Posted November 13, 2018
The varsity football team’s season came to an end on November 3 at Truckee. From some tough losses to beating some of the best teams and making it to the second round of the playoffs, the Bucks did rather well this season.
To make it as far as they did, it took a team effort.
“For starters, this season was a lot more fun than any other year I’ve ever played,” said Brendan Domire. “We had a team bond that was hard to beat, and we were all such great friends. Every guy was really focused on our goal and did whatever they could to help the team reach the playoffs. My most memorable part of the season was our playoff game against Elko. It was just a great feeling to go in there and whoop them in their house. It was also great because it was our first playoff game in four seasons. I’m definitely going to miss the practices and joking around with all of my teammates. We’ve all become so close to each other, so it’s going to be really hard not see those guys every day. I think of every one of those guys as my family, and I couldn’t be more proud of how much we accomplished this season. It was the best senior year I could’ve asked for, and I thank all of my team for helping me.”
The team grew together to do great things both on and off the field this season. Many of the players feel that their success was due to the bond they have, both on and off the playing field.
“This season was the best season that Lowry has had in a long time, partly because we have some great athletes and because of our tenacity to win, but mainly because of our team’s chemistry,” said Caleb Sanchez. “We are all super close on and off the field. We all respect one another and have each other’s backs, and that is a big deal. This is something our football team didn’t have last year that makes a big difference. It’s hard to pick a favorite memory because I love all the times I had on the field with my brothers, but if I had to pick, it would be our first playoff game against Elko. We really came together and played true lights-out football for four quarters. We played our full potential, and that’s what we have been working for all season.”
Many doubted that Lowry would make it as far as the playoffs because of numerous injuries at the beginning of the season.
“Our season had ups and downs; however, the team has ultimately come together at the right time of the year to play its best football,” said coach Tyrell Lucas. “Like any team, you have to overcome injuries and have to overcome the wear and tear as the season goes on. As we approached the playoffs, we were able to regroup and put our best foot forward, and put together a complete game for the first time all year, which is what you want; at the end of the year, you want to be able to play complete games. Playing against Elko in the playoffs was our first actual four-quarter complete game that we put together, and the results spoke for themselves.”
Despite early injuries and losses to Spring Creek, Fernley, and Truckee, the players came together at the right time and proved to themselves that they were one of the best teams Lowry has had in recent years.
“The football team improved dramatically this year,” said Jordan Parker. “We juniors knew to come into this year knowing that our hard work with the seniors would combine for great things. Through the season, we had a couple of losses that were pretty disappointing, but this team’s resilience after those downs is nothing I’ve ever seen before. We had injuries and losses and times where we were down on ourselves, but we never gave up. That’s what I loved most about this year: the hard work and resilience that we had after those downs.”
“The highlight of the year was our playoff win against Elko,” said Parker. “People were saying we had a tough matchup and we’re going to have to be really prepared for them. I knew that from the week of practice we had that we were gonna come out fired up. We ended up playing our best game of the year and blew out Elko. I will miss this team and the seniors leaving us this year, but I think we changed the program for the better. Our hard work and tenacity to win is what made us play lights out football, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we will do next year.”
All of the players and coaches agree that this year’s team had a stellar season because of their drive, desire to win, and willingness to work together to make things happen.
“Compared to last year, we had a lot more enthusiasm as a whole team this year, and we fought as a team through every game,” said Jace Mentaberry. “I’m going to miss playing with all the seniors because they were the leaders and they brought the mentality of lights out to every practice and game.”
