Vandals stay perfect in Northern 1A with win over Carlin

The Eureka County High School football team improved to 3-0 in Northern 1A play with a road win over Carlin, 38-6 on Thursday, Sept. 10. Big plays were the name of the game, as Dean Benson got the scoring started with a 55-yard touchdown run on the opening drive. Cody Bice added touchdown receptions of 54 and 43 yards, and Hank Mentaberry basically sealed the game before halftime with a pick-six that made it 32-0.

“We played well on both sides of the ball versus Carlin. We did much better taking care of the ball (1 turnover) and not giving up big plays,” Vandal head coach Fred Minoletti said. “Versus Alamo and Coleville we had turned the ball over six times and given up way too many big plays.”

The Vandals fell 34-12 at home to the defending 1A champs from Pahranagat Valley in Week 2 and won at Coleville last week, 48-14.

“Defensively, we were able to keep Carlin from finding any rhythm. Liam Sullivan energized the defense with a big hit for a loss on our first defensive play,” said Minoletti. “We were happy to get our younger guys quite a bit of playing time in the second half. We didn’t do very well in the two-point conversion area, so that will be area of focus heading into this week of practice.”

The Vandals get a bye week to prepare for a tough league foe in the undefeated Wells Leopards (3-0, 2-0), who got a forfeit win in their last game scheduled at McDermitt before hosting Owyhee on Friday, Sept. 18. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoff at ECHS on Thursday, Sept. 24.