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Wolverines take 63-0 win over Bullfrogs (GALLERY)

Truckee’s football team had everything rolling Friday night at Surprise Stadium, routing Bret Harte, 63-0, in a nonleague showdown.

From blocking a punt to recovering fumbles for touchdowns, the Wolverines made big plays across all phases of the game, and now sit at 2-0 on the season.

“They were down their guy. They didn’t have their halfback, and their quarterback was hurt,” said Head Coach Josh Ivens on the blowout. “They didn’t have their two best players, which is why they struggled so much tonight. We took advantage of that and took care of business.”

The Wolverines set the tone early on with the blocked punt by senior Brennen Conklin, which then led to a short touchdown run by senior Kevin Malo.

The momentum swayed toward Bret Harte momentarily after the defense intercepted a pass from senior quarterback Marcus Bellon, but it would be short lived as Truckee went on to score 42 unanswered points before halftime. The Wolverines onslaught included three touchdown passes by Bellon. Senior Derek Laferriere hauled in two of the throws, including a 23-yard connection on an out route. Senior Drew Wingard caught the other touchdown pass, and also recovered a fumble in the end zone to give the Wolverines a 36-0 lead.

Junior George Skaff would added another touchdown off a fumble recovery to make it 42-0. The Wolverines closed the half with senior Emmanuel Valenzuela-Jones intercepting the ball and returning it to the Bullfrogs 23-yard line. From there, senior Sean Kelly took a handoff and outraced the defense around the edge for another Truckee touchdown, and a 49-0 lead going into halftime.

Ivens would mix in the bench throughout the second half as the defense held on to its shutout. Backup quarterback Dakota Allen-Gill capped one of two scoring drives in the second half with a 13-yard keeper. Junior Tyler Estabrook scored Truckee’s other touchdown on a 2-yard carry.

“I’m proud of the way our guys handled themselves tonight,” said Ivens. “When you get into a lopsided victory like this sometimes stuff happens. I was very happy with the maturity of our team.”

While the starting units were limited to the first half, Ivens said he saw a much improved offense compared to the team’s week one performance against Fernley.

“I thought we did much better of getting up to the line of scrimmage and doing what we want to do,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with the interception tonight … other than that, I don’t know if you can ask for much more.”

Bellon finished his night 6-of-13 passing for 91 yards and three touchdowns. Kelly led the team with 43 rushing yards on six carries, and Conklin finished with a team-high 40 receiving yards.

Defensively, senior linebackers Jake Bullion and Jackson Skaff led the team with eight tackles apiece. Junior Mason Cutler picked up a sack, and junior Ethan Hatcher recovered a fumble.

Truckee will next head to Reno to face Class 3A newcomers, North Valleys. The Panthers, who dropped down from Class 4A this season, opened their year with a 50-14 victory at Dayton on Friday.

“We expect a game next week,” said Ivens.


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