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Truckee football | Wolverines smother Spring Creek, extend win streak to 41

Ryan Hope
Elko Daily Free Press Correspondent
Matt Unrau / Elko Daily Free PressTruckee quarterback Louden Smith prepares to heave the ball downfield in the fourth quarter of his game against Spring Creek on Friday. Truckee won 34-3.
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SPRING CREEK, Nev. and#8211; No. 41 came much like the previous 40.

The Truckee football team used its suffocating defense to extend its winning streak to 41 games Friday with a 34-3 victory against Spring Creek.

It was tough sledding all night for the Spartan offense, which had a tough time getting first downs, let alone sustain drives, against the three-time defending state champions. Spring Creek (2-3) earned exactly one first down in the first half and didn’t do much better in the final two quarters.



and#8220;(Truckee) is good,and#8221; said Spring Creek coach Joel Jund. and#8220;They’ve been doing it for years and (Friday) was no different. They are great defensively and that is why they are great.and#8221;

The line of scrimmage was dominated by Truckee’s defense and Spring Creek’s ground attack was limited to short gains most of the night. The Spartans rushed the ball 39 times, but had just 87 yards to show for it.



Spring Creek’s defense did a respectable job, limiting the Wolverines’ ability to make big plays. But Truckee still had enough firepower on that side of the ball to accumulate 381 total yards.

Truckee (4-0) put the ball in the air 28 times and passed for 193 yards and Graham Christian led the ground attack with 91 rushing yards.

The Wolverines, however, didn’t need all that much offense to put this game out of reach with the way they played defense.

and#8220;Defensively (Truckee) is awesome,and#8221; Jund said. and#8220;They just play. They hit you and it’s tough to get a first down. When you get a first down, you want to get the ball out of there and keep it. and#8230; We need to be more consistent if we want to win some of these games coming up. We’ve just got to find that right combination of run/throw.and#8221;

While Spring Creek’s offense struggled, the Spartans’ defense and special teams had moments of brilliance. Cory Beach and Bo Weber both grabbed interceptions in the second half and Spring Creek’s punt team recovered a muffed punt in the first half.

Also, Spring Creek’s lone score came on a 33-yard Colby Patton field goal as time expired at the end of the game.

But the game belonged to Truckee. The Wolverines scored three rushing touchdowns and#8211; 13- and 31-yard runs by Christian and a 3-yard scamper by Austin Vance and#8211; quarterback Erik Holmer connected with tight end Zak Pettit for a 77-yard touchdown pass and Tyler Griffin streaked down the sideline for a 60-yard score on a punt return.

The loss sets Spring Creek back in the standings as the second half of the season looms. The Spartans have another tough game next week as they travel to Fallon. With three losses, Spring Creek can’t afford too many more slip-ups if it wants to find a place in the postseason.


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