Young Vandals Eager to Return to Gridiron

There are major changes in Nevada Class 1A football and volleyball this fall. Changes by way of moving Smith Valley, Coleville, and Mineral County into a new Central League, breaking up what had been an 8-team Southern region into a Central and South league, and welcoming in two new schools to the South league, Green Valley Christian of Henderson and Liberty Baptist in Las Vegas.

For Eureka football however, not to worry, there are no changes for the Vandals to be concerned about.

The eastern part of the North region remains the same as it has been for several years.

What sixth year coach Fred Minoletti and the Vandals will be seeking to do this year is improve on their 5-4 mark from last season, repeat as east league champions and get into the playoffs again.

Minoletti teams have played .500 ball or above in the past four years. They were 8-1 in 2015, only losing to Virginia City in the first round of the playoffs.

For this year, Minoletti said the team will be young, despite having 21 turn out for football, but with only two returning seniors; running back Garrett Todd and offensive/defensive lineman Tristan Bircham. “And we might have a couple of others who might come in,” he said.

Other returning key players are Chase Green, Wyatt Anderson, Chris Dolan and Brandon Lee.

“On offense, I expect us to be a running team out of a tight formation, Minoletti said, “We’re about 80-20 on the running side. Anderson will be our quarterback. On defense, we like to run a 3-3-2, but it depends also on what we see from the opponent.”

Minoletti noted, “Even though we are young, we have a lot of talent with our younger kids and that will make us pretty competitive. I don’t see us not being in the game. Wells will be strong again, likely the toughest one. Over in the West, look for Virginia City and Whittell.”

The Muckers have dominated the west the past two years.

Eureka’s nine-game schedule opens with Smith Valley in Eureka Aug. 24 and a trip to Coleville the following week Sept. 1.

There are three Saturday day games on the schedule this year, and all are on the road, to Coleville, McDermitt, and Owyhee.