Vandals pick up season’s first win

The Eureka County High football team is in the win column.

After four consecutive losses to open its season, the Vandals scored a much needed win at McDermitt on Saturday afternoon, downing the Bulldogs 48-0.

It was by far Eureka’s most complete game of the season, as they scored a season high in points and were able to shut down McDermitt’s offense the entire game.

“It was a much needed win for our guys,” Vandals coach Fred Minoletti said. “It feels great.”

The Vandals had put together back to back solid game’s entering Saturday’s contest with the Bulldogs, but on this day they were finally able to get over the hump.

Running back Garrett Johnson opened up the scoring for the visitors in the first quarter to give his team an early lead that they would never relinquish. Johnson reached the end zone for a second time later in the afternoon on a day that saw Eureka score eight touchdowns, all via the run.

Freshman tailback Matt Hornberger also punched it in twice for the Vandals. It was Horneberger’s first game on offense for Minoletti’s squad, and his coach was happy with what he saw from his young player.

“It’s a good sign for us to get Matt going,” he said. “He has mainly been a defensive player for us this year, but I liked what I saw from him in this game.”

The defense shined for Eureka as well. McDermitt had three drives cut short by fumbles, and the Vandals kept their passing game in check all afternoon by containing the outside, something they weren’t able to do in its previous games.

“We’ve been working hard in practice on our pass defense, and it showed,” Minoletti said. “Defensively they’re getting better every week.”

Eureka now sits at 1-4 on the season after the win, but they will have to wait a bit to continue the momentum they’ve built. The Vandals won’t take the field again until Oct. 18 when they host a tough Wells team.

The Vandals have a scheduled bye week coming up, and won’t play usual opponents Owyhee and Jackpot, which weren’t able to field teams this year.

“We have a couple of weeks to get healthy, and should have a full team for the first time all year when Wells comes to town,” Minoletti said. “We will have our work cut out for us with Wells, but I think our guys are up for the challenge.”