2020: 3-2 (No League Games) The Year of Covid-19 CIF Schedule due to California Mandates

Heading into February 2020 everything was looking great for the Truckee Wolverine Football team.  Offseason workouts were in full swing and the Wolverines had high hopes heading into the 2020 football season.  Truckee had a rough start to the 2019 football season but made progress weekly finishing off their season on a six game win streak which included a 48-7 win over the Elko Indians in the first round of the playoffs.  Truckee would then travel to Fernley to take on the Vaqueros.  This was a game for the ages.  Truckee would take Fernley to the bitter end of this game nearly completing an upset.  In the end, it was Fernley who advanced with a 35-28 win.  Fernley would go on to win a State Championship over Fallon who fielded arguably one of their best teams in school history.  Truckee had few holes to fill heading into the 2020 season and the future was looking very promising.  One of the holes that would need to be filled was the 800 plus yards and seven TD’s from graduating senior Deacon Mehler.  This gaping hole would be filled in January when Tyler Curry moved to Truckee.  Curry was a 5’7″ 200 pound wrecking ball who played with a chip on his shoulder.  He was immediately welcomed into the Truckee football family.  Anders Norman would also return to the team after taking a year off.  Anders was a 6′ 220 pound beast who was missed during the 2019 season.  Many of Truckee’s football players were out for the track team in the spring of 2020 and momentum was building.  Truckee was building power, speed, and great team chemistry.  There were high hopes and lots of plans for this team.  This was supposed to be the first team to travel Oregon for football camp.  It was set to happen in late July.  Everything appeared to be heading in the right direction for Truckee and the team knew they would have a good chance of making a deep run into the playoffs in the fall of 2020.  Then suddenly on March 13th everything came to a screeching halt…across the globe.  Covid-19 had hit the US and everything shutdown.  A government shutdown for 15 days to slow the spread of Covid turned into a two year debacle where we saw the death of many fellow Americans.  We would also see the death of Normalcy and it was replaced with rules, guidelines, and mandates that would change how we all see the world.

It’s hard to explain the mindset at the time everything was shutdown.  I do remember thinking that we’d be back in school after Spring Break.  At the worst I thought that Track season would be canceled.  It never crossed my mind that a shutdown that had started in March would carry into the summer months and right into the next school year.  That’s exactly what happened and not only was “in person” school in jeopardy, sports for the 2020/2021 school year was looking very grim.  While many States across the US pressed forward and played fall athletics, California and Nevada were at a standstill.  In August, Nevada postpones all athletics until further notice.  The reality was starting to set in that a football season might not take place.  A devastating thought for all of our athletes but especially our seniors.

March 13th, 2020 the world was locked down due to Covid-19.  Then On March 12th, 2021, exactly one year later, the Wolverines took the field in one of the most bizarre football seasons of all time.  Though many parts of the US decided to go along with Fall sport seasons, the Western States did not follow suit.  Both Nevada and California canceled sports until further notice.  Most schools in these two states did not have “In person” school for most of the school year making it hard to justify athletic sport seasons of any kind.  In December and January Covid cases peaked throughout the US and it looked like sports had no chance of taking place in the 2020/2021 school year.  However, teenage depression was on the rise and getting kids involved in extracurricular activities became a priority.  Once February hit cases started to drop and the discussion to have athletics increased.  Eventually all the Western States, who had been keeping kids locked in their houses, started finding solutions to get kids playing sports again.  Finally, on February 17th, Nevada gave many kids hope and announced that athletics can return.  Sports were back!  California would follow two days later clearing all sports to play.  However, the return to sports came with heavy rules and guidelines. Football would have to perform Covid testing on a weekly bases, distancing rules, and mask mandates also remained in place.  While we were all very excited that we’d get a chance to play, we also knew the odds were stacked against us.  It would take just one positive Covid case to shut it all back down.  The amount of stress and planning was about to increase exponentially but none of that mattered.  The only thing that mattered was giving the kids a chance to get back out on the field to do what they loved and nothing was going to stop our efforts.  Weaving through politics, restrictions, field conditions, and naysayers proved to be worthy opponents. 

 

Maybe a bigger opponent than Covid was Mother Nature.  Due to Covid restrictions we could not practice inside.  It was very challenging to practice outside in Truckee during the month of March.  Our first week of practice took place in the West Wing parking lot at Truckee High because every field in our area was covered in snow.  In our second week of practice we traveled to Tahoe Vista where we were lucky enough to practice on a cleared turf field.  Amazingly, with the help of many great parents, we were able to transport around 80 athletes, every day for one week.  It was so nice to be on a safe practice surface.  During the second week of practice we also started the process to get Alder Creek Middle School’s turf cleared.  The Tahoe Vista field was great but it was just a one week guarantee and we needed another plan.  Clearing Alder Creek’s field would make everyone’s life easier but the idea, for whatever reason, came with serious resistance.  At one point our Administration planned to bus 80 football players to Placer High School for practice on a daily basis.  There was another weird Covid rule that existed which stated that we could not cross the State lines for athletics.  So, we could not travel to Reno to practice, which would make things much easier than traveling to Placer High School.  As you can imagine, when this news hit the community, it did not go over well.  Cooler heads prevailed and the Alder Creek field was cleared heading into our 3rd week of practice.  However, that also came with challenges as the snow started dropping.  At one point we had 10 practices in a row where it snowed.  We had to shovel off the field daily to have practice.  It became the “New Normal”.  We did our very best to make things work even when practice conditions were not ideal.  The Wolverines would battle through it all and 488 days from their last game on Surprise Stadium Truckee took the field vs Union Mines.  It was a euphoric feeling like no other.  A feeling that only those who were immediately involved in the 3 weeks prior could truly understand.  This is the story of the 2020 Wolverines, in what would become the “New Normal”.

CAPTAINS

MICAH IVENS

This 2020 team had been through a lot and not just due to covid.  This football class had always struggled with numbers.  When they were in 7th grade they had just 6 or 7 committed football players.  Truckee was battling with all of the media hype around concussions and Pop Warner was taking a hit on numbers all across the country and in particular, Truckee.  As this team headed into 8th grade there was a major uptick in our recruiting process.  I told Micah, my son, to start recruiting kids to show up to after school weights when they were still in 7th grade.  I had never worked with 7th graders and to this day I have never offered it again.  I believe allowing this class to join the 8th graders in after school weights created the momentum this team would need to field a Pop Warner team their 8th grade year.  Not only did this group have the numbers needed to field a team, they became one of the best Pop Warner teams in the North for their size.  This momentum carried them into High School where they had a very successful freshman year losing to only Spring Creek.  Micah helped with this process and became one of the biggest hitters on his team.  He worked tremendously hard in the weight room and was a true Wolverine.  He won the Wolverine award his senior year.  He played offensive guard and Middle Linebacker.  Micah also had a very strong junior season, worked extremely hard, and played a major role on the 2019 team earning team’s respect.  

FINN LOPER

Finn Loper was also voted in as a captain in 2020.  He was the strongest kid on the team and the most fierce.  Loper led with pure rage and intensity.  Unfortunately for Finn he was not able to join these guys on that 8th grade team because he was too old.  By the time his freshman year rolled around he was very anxious to get back on the gridiron.  He had a great career at Truckee earning himself a Scholarship to attend Colorado School of Mines, a D2 school in Golden Colorado.  At 6’2 200 pounds Loper took the opposition by storm.  In just 5 games during the Covid season Loper recorded 44 tackles, 5 sacks, and 18 tackles for loss.  That’s a pace that would put him at the top of most defensive stat categories.  Truckee would have played in at least 10 games in 2020 and at this pace Loper would have finished with 90 tackles, at least 10 sacks, and 35 tackles for loss.  Finn was an absolute beast on the field and he virtually shut down the wide side of the field for every team we faced.  His attitude and performance creating the legend…Lope Dawg! 

ANDERS NORMAN

One of the biggest disappointments of the 2019 season was the absence of Anders Norman.  Anders was a converted rugby player who also took a liking to Lacrosse.  He decided to step away from football in 2019 to focus on skiing and lacrosse.  Two things he is very good at to this day, playing college lacrosse for Springfield College in Massachusetts.  Truckee football was very fortunate to have Anders back heading into the 2020 season.  Anders was 6′, 220 pounds, and could flat out fly.  Like both Micah and Finn, Anders worked extremely hard in the weight room.  Between Anders, Loper, Micah, and Tyler Curry the tone was set in the offseason.  These guys trained extremely hard and never let the Covid restrictions get in the way of their training.  Anders was an absolute beast in the weight room and it translated to the field.  He was all over the field in 2020 and even though he took a year off, the team acknowledged him as a leader and he was voted in as a captain.  When I think about the 2020 team it is stories like Anders that makes me hurt inside.  This group of kids were robbed of a chance at a real season.  With addition of Anders, Curry, and a baseball kid named Timmy Reeve Truckee was set to run the table.  Ultimately all the momentum in the offseason was stripped away. We would eventually lose Timmy due to the Covid craziness.  With Football backing right into the baseball season in the spring of 2021, Reeve decided not to play and I understand.  Baseball was his first love and it was too risky to play football that close to his season, but man, we’ll never know what Timmy could have done on the gridiron.  He was and still is a great athlete.  Timmy is currently playing baseball for San Jose State.  I just want my readers to know that this team had some serious talent and was built to win it all. 

JAMESON HOGARTH

The last guy that was voted in as a captain was Jamie Hogarth.  Jaime was a great athlete with great potential.  His first year playing football was 8th grade.  He was one of the 7th grade kids that was recruited to show up to after school weights.  He got ingrained in the culture and played Pop Warner his 8th grade year.  He instantly took to the game eventually becoming a very effective running back and free safety for the Wolverines.  Jamie might be the only player who would actually benefit from the Covid disaster.  He had to have hip surgery immediately after the football season of 2019.  He missed basketball and baseball season.  Playing football in the 2020 season was also not a guarantee.  Jaime worked extremely hard to get back and I believe he would have made it back for a normal season but it was no give me.  The extra time off helped him heel and prepare for not just football but the baseball season.  It was pretty incredible for Jaime to come back after that surgery.  He not only made his way back but was a huge piece to Truckee’s success in the Covid season.  

WEEK 1 AT UNION MINE: TRUCKEE 24 UNION MINE 0

This would be the first time Truckee would ever matchup against the Union Mine Diamondbacks.  Over the years I have been fortunate enough to make connections with many coaches in the Sac Joaquin Section of the CIF.  One of those connections is with Matt Ray who is a well known coach down in the Sacramento/Roseville area.  Coach Ray had a very successful high school career at Quincy High school in the mid to late 90’s.  His talents would land him on the UNLV roster in the early 2000’s.  Matt’s grandfather and dad both coached at Quincy back when the Trojans played against Truckee.  So, Matt is well acquainted with the Wolverines and our tradition.  He has made it a point since my first year as the head coach to be a resource I can rely on.  He has played a significant role in my tenure as a highly respected peer in the head coaching fraternity.  Having his grandpa and father as coaches certainly instilled a coaching perspective for coach Ray.  Coaching is in Matt’s blood as he is also the nephew of legendary coach Bill Walsh!  Coach Ray started his head coaching career at St Nicholas High School where he had tremendous success.  He would then take that success to a newly opened school in the Roseville area called Antelope High School.  He would again have very good success there before stepping away from coaching and becoming the AD for Union Mine High School.  It was this connection that was responsible for Truckee playing Union Mine in the Covid season.  As stated above, there was a rule put in place that no one is to cross State lines to participate in athletics.  Also included in the California mandates for athletics, schools can only compete with schools in their county or neighboring counties.  Though Truckee High school is in Nevada County, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District is considered Placer County.  Placer County neighbors El Dorado County and this would allow for Truckee to play Union Mine by Covid regulations.  We were lucky enough to use Nevada and Placer county to create a California schedule per the Covid requirements. 

WHY PLAY IN CALIFORNIA AND NOT IN NEVADA? 

Before we get into the actual matchup with Union Mine, it’s important for readers to understand that there were many things making it very difficult for Truckee to have a football season.  My worst fear was that Nevada would give the ok for youth sports to start and California would not, making it very unlikely that Truckee would be able to participate in a season.  On February 4th, 2021 a robo call was sent out to all parents from our School District stating that we would not be participating in athletics in Nevada due to California State guidelines.  At the time neither State had committed to clearing youth sports to start.  I was told by our Athletic Director to create a California schedule, which I had already started doing weeks before having familiarized myself in all California regulations and guidelines.  Roughly two weeks after this announcement from our School District, the State of Nevada announced that youth sports can start baring mitigations.  Two days after that announcement Gavin Newsom and California did the same.  At this point it was a mad scramble to lock in schedules.  The Northern Nevada 3A West teams were reaching out trying to piece together a football schedule and at the same time the California schools that I had committed to were also trying to lock us in.  Since I was “originally” told to create a schedule based on California regulations, I opted out of the Northern 3A West division.  That would mean Truckee would not play: Wooster, Hug, North Valleys, Sparks, or South Tahoe in 2020/21. 

One week after the State of California cleared youth sports to start, the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District changed their position on athletic scheduling to match what South Tahoe High School was doing.  South Tahoe elected to petition the California rule about crossing State lines for competition and decided to participate in the Northern Nevada 3A West for their Covid Schedule.  This was a game changer but I had already lined up a solid schedule with teams and programs that I have made connections with throughout my tenure as the head coach.  Our 2020/21 schedule would include some of the most successful small schools in Northern California: Union Mine, Sutter, Colfax, Bear River, and Nevada Union. We did cross state lines for one game and that was to play Galena High School who was a late addition to our schedule based on the Northern 5A results.  The 9 Northern 5A schools had setup Bowl game matchups at the end of their 4 game schedule.  The 5A team that was the last seed would not be invited to one of these bowl games.  We had an opening in our schedule and asked if we could matchup with that remaining team.  That team ended up being Galena. 

There was much speculation on why Truckee football played in California and the rest of our athletics remained in Nevada.  So, I think it’s important to clarify that our football program was extremely proactive when it came to the guidelines and we created a schedule well before Tahoe Truckee Unified School District decided to petition the “crossing state lines” regulation.  I asked my administration if I could remain loyal to the coaches and the schedule we created with neighboring counties as those schools were relying on us to complete their Covid schedules.  Administration and the Superintendent backed the football program in this request, and that is the HOW and the WHY Truckee Football did not participate in the Northern 3A West for the Covid season.

As for the game at Union Mine?  It could not have gone any better for the Wolverines.  The travel to Union Mine High School is not short but Truckee is used to travel playing in Northern Nevada.  I remember that our warm up space would be on the same field as Union Mine, and I elected to warm up in their small gym where we were assigned to dress.  I could tell right away that our team was extremely locked in during this odd warm up in tight quarters.  After we warmed up it was finally time to take the field.  The excitement was a 10 out of 10, an unbelievable feeling that extended not only through our team but through everyone that was involved.  Including the small crowd from both sides who were lucky enough to get tickets.  This would be the culmination of something I believed in with all of my heart but at the same time had very real doubts that it would ever take place.  Here we were in El Dorado California breaking into our lines for Truckee Jacks, which by the way, was a complete disaster.  Though we were finally getting a chance to play, things were also very different.  For example, the coin toss was performed with just one captain.  The other captains had to stand back and also be 6 feet apart for “social distancing”.  In fact our whole sideline had to be six feet apart from one another and we had to continue to wear masks…outside.  None of it made much sense, but we followed all the rules and mandates in order to complete the 6 game schedule we were allotted. 

The first coin toss of the 2020 season takes place on March 12 of 2021 with my son Micah as the Spokesman and Truckee won the toss!  The Wolverines deferred to the second half and went on defense first.  The Truckee defense made quick work of Union Mine’s first possession.  After a couple of run plays that added up to just one yard, Union Mine was faced with a 3 and 9.  The Diamonds backs would drop back to pass on their next play and Finn Loper got loose chasing the QB out of the pocket and he put a vicious hit on the QB for the first sack of the season.  Union Mine would then punt the ball to the Wolverines and Truckee would take over on their own 39 yard line.  The first offensive play of the game was a 29 Jet and it is a play I will never forget.  This game was the first game that I was back on the sideline as I spent most of the 2019 football season up in the booth because I was struck by a Truckee player on our sideline on just the second play of the season resulting in a Tibial Plateau Fracture.  It was extremely painful and debilitating.  The player who struck me?  He was running the 29 Jet and at the last second he was pushed out of bounds right where I was standing and CRACK!!!, my life changed.  So, I was a little nervous to be back on the sidelines and I needed to immediately get those negative thoughts out of my head.  To me, there was no better way to do that than to create the same scenario.  I made sure that our first play was the Jet to our sideline and boy did it pay off!  Cody Fynn took the handoff from Jackson Kahl, bubbled back, got key blocks from Ivens and Hogarth, and he was off to the races.  Flynn would go 61 yards untouched for the opening touchdown.  It was a thing of beauty and just a great way to start our shortened Covid season. 

Things did not get any easier for Union Mine as they went 3 and out again on their next possession.  Truckee’s offense would then connect on a 25 yard pass play from Jackson Kahl to Keihan Infantes getting the ball down inside the Union Mine 20 yard line.  Truckee appeared to be in business but then the yellow hankies started dropping from the sky.  The Wolverines were hit with 3 penalties in a row resulting in a 2nd down and 30.  The drive would then fizzle out at the 21 yard line when Kahl could not hook up with Jackson Ellermeyer on 4th and 14.  The Diamondbacks would take over on downs.  On their first play of the drive their QB dropped back to pass and threw an incomplete pass but Truckee was hit with a roughing the passer penalty.  This gave the Diamondbacks some much needed momentum.  On 1st and 10, now at their 36 yard line, Union Mine called a run play for their QB and he busted through for a big 10 yard gain but Micah Ivens tracked him down and put a menacing hit on him causing a fumble.  The ball bounced its way up to the 50 yard line where Cody Flynn recovered it.  On first down Truckee ran a 39 Jet with Tyler Curry.  The play was not a well executed as Curry had to break tackles almost instantly.  Curry would take what could have been a huge loss to a seven yard gain carrying most of the Union Mine defense.  The very next play Kahl rolled out to his right and hit Jamie Hogarth on a 43 yard pass play for Truckee’s second touchdown of the game making the score 13-0.  Union Mine’s next drive was their best of the game.  It was aided by yet another roughing the passer penalty that took them across the 50.  They would work their way inside Truckee’s 20 yard line but would eventually turn it over on downs.  Truckee’s next drive mostly consisted of Big Tyler Curry pounding the rock and running over Union Mine defenders with one vicious carry after another.  Curry had 81 yards rushing on the night with a 2pt conversion. 

 

The first quarter ended with Curry bouncing outside only to find a poor lonesome outside linebacker waiting to tackle him.  Tyler lowered the boom and ran him over like road kill on I-80.  However, the drive would come to an end with a Kahl interception in the end zone.  Truckee struggled all night with penalties that killed drives and turnovers that took points off the board.  Otherwise Truckee had their way with the Diamondbacks rolling up 367 yards rushing and 500 total yards.  Jason Roth lead all rushers with a 100 yard rushing game but it was Tyler Curry who was most impressive taking 1 yard gains and producing 7 to 10 yards while running through everyone in his path.  Truckee’s last touchdown came with just seconds on the clock before the half.  After another impressive drive, Truckee was faced with a 4th and 4 from the nine yard line.  The Wolverines dialed up a pass play to the TE Jackson Ellermeyer who caught the ball and took it in for the touchdown.  Tyler Curry scored on a 2pt conversion and Truckee was up 21-0 at half time. 

The second half was uneventful for the offense putting together several drives that were negated by penalties and another interception in end zone.  Truckee did come away with a field goal in the 3rd quarter and that was it for the scoring.  This night belonged to the Truckee defense who came up with play after play shutting out Union Mine 24-0.  Big games on defense came from Anders Norman who led the team with 9 tackles.  Loper also had a good game with 6 tackles, 4 for loss, and a sack.  Sawyer Burley had two sacks and Galdino Bravo-Karvonen had a big interception.  Truckee dominated game one in every phase but in week 2 the Wolverines will face a completely different monster in Sutter Union High School.  

WEEK 2 vs SUTTER UNION: TRUCKEE 7 SUTTER 14

 

In week two Truckee would again have to overcome a lot just to get to their second game.  This was Truckee’s first home game but it would not be played in Truckee.  Due to a snow covered field, Truckee would play Sutter at Placer High School in Auburn.  Truckee would leave Truckee and head over Donner Summit in a snowstorm and encounter several crashes slowing down their travel.  It took 3 hours to get to Auburn.  After finally arriving at Placer high school, the Wolverines would then find out that there were no officials.  Apparently Truckee’s AD at the time forgot that the host team provides the officials.  Everything was crazy in the Covid season.  Because we were not actually playing in Truckee and we were not playing in the NIAA we had to get officials from the CIF but our AD did not have the connections to do so I guess.  The bigger problem was the lack of communication that the officials were not requested.  So, the JV teams showed up to Placer High School and officials never showed.  Luckily Sutter High School saved the day and their AD would contact the North Section Officials Association to ask if they could help.  Thankfully they rushed a crew to us.  It would take a bit for the officials to get to Auburn so the JV teams faced off in a scrimmage before the officials arrived.  Once the officials arrived there was great celebration and relief.  After all the hardship game 2 was finally underway and once the two teams hit the field under the lights, it was one exciting night. 

This would be the first time Truckee would face off with Sutter since the 1970’s.  However, Truckee was familiar with Sutter as the Wolverines attended several Sutter football camps.  Coach Reynolds, Sutter’s head coach since 2009, has had tremendous success throughout the years and Truckee knew they were in for one heck of a battle.  This was also the first game Truckee played in the Red on Grey alternates.  This was one heck of a battle as the two teams play solid defense in a very tight game.  With just under 3 minutes left Truckee would tie the game 7-7 on a touchdown pass from Jackson Kahl to Max Carter.  But Sutter would respond and drove down the field to go up 14-7 with just a minute and 15 seconds to go.  After a decent Kickoff return Truckee would make quick work of things and get into striking distance.  On a first down from Sutter’s 30 yard line Truckee appeared to have the right play called.  Tyler Curry motioned out of the backfield into an empty formation.  Kahl would snap the ball, drop back, and find Max Carter for the tying touchdown!  However, Sutter’s corner made a great break on the ball and hit Max right when he was trying to bring in the catch.  The ball was jarred loose and the game would end in a loss for Truckee 7-14.  It was a great matchup between two storied programs.  So good the two teams agreed to play again the next season.

 

Though Truckee lost, they had plenty of chances to win the game but they could not get into the endzone.  The Wolverines made several trips inside Sutter’s 20 yard line but would come up empty on all but one of those trips.  Truckee also continued to struggle with penalties and turnovers in this game.  However, having officials from the North section did not bode well for the Wolverines.  The penalties were disturbingly lopsided for most of the game.  Many of the Truckee’s penalties were earned but there were some suspect calls.  More disturbing was the lack of penalties called on Sutter for the first 3 quarters.  It was hard to watch time after time our players being struck in the back, being hit after the play, and obvious holds.  It was happening so often that we finally got some calls in the 4th quarter.  It’s also really hard to win a game when you have 4 interceptions.  One of the interceptions took place right before halftime.  Truckee was driving with 3 min to go in the half with the game tied 0-0.  Truckee had a nice drive working their way inside of Sutter’s 30 yard line.  On a 3rd and 9 from the Sutter 24 Jackson Kahl rolled out to his left on a waggle play and threw into coverage.  The pass was intercepted at the goal line and returned up the sideline to Truckee’s 40 yard line.  Truckee was also called for a 15 yard penalty putting the ball at the 25 yard line.  Sutter called 5 run plays in a row and scored with a 1:26 on the clock and would take a 7-0 lead into halftime.  It was a major turning point in the game because our defense was playing a great game and we had great field position until that point.  

The second half was a very physical with both offenses struggling to execute.  Both teams traded punts right into the 4th quarter.  The last 6 minutes of the game were the most exciting but as I stated earlier Truckee came up short.  There were several defensive performances to mention.  First is Finn Loper who had 10 solo tackles, 13 total, 4 TFL’s, and 2 sacks.  It got to the point where Sutter just ran everything away from Loper.  Micah Ivens had 12 tackles, 7 of those were solo.  Tavin Hamilton also had several big plays with 7 solos tackles, 3 TFL’s, and a sack.  Keihan Infantes also stepped up big in this game making several big hits, 7 tackles, and a fumble recovery.  Offensively, Truckee really never got things going but Tyler Curry ran extremely hard and was Truckee’s leading rusher.  Cody Flynn had a solid night and was a broken tackle away from a big TD early in the game.  Max Carter caught his first touchdown and the Wolverines only score.  In the end, it was a defensive battle with sloppy offensive play, which is to be expected with amount of time these kids missed during the lockdowns.  

WEEK 3 AT COLFAX: TRUCKEE 7 COLFAX 21

 

In week 3 Truckee traveled to Colfax to take on the Falcons.  Truckee has some history with Colfax as they used to be the Wolverines rivalry game back in the 60’s and 70’s.  Since then Truckee has had recent history with Colfax as well.  Most of Truckee’s recent history with the Falcons comes from offseason 7 on 7.  With Colfax being just 40 minutes West of Truckee, it made for an easy matchup with the Covid regulations.  The last time these two teams matchup was 2009 when Truckee beat Colfax 34-7.  Unfortunately history would not repeat itself on this night.  Truckee’s offense put the defense in an early hole after going for it on 4th down and failing to get the first down.  Though the Truckee defense would eventually hold up and make a goal line stand, it put the Wolverines in bad field position and they struggled.  The offense did not respond well from the week before and had another rough week.  The highlight for the offense was Jackson Kahl connecting with Max Carter on a 78 yard Jailbreak screen that went to the house.  Kahl was 6 for 11, 131 yards, and a TD.  It was his first game without an interception.  In hindsight we should have passed more and spread things out.  Colfax really crowded the box making it very difficult to get anything going on the ground.  I was a bit hesitant to pass as we had 6 interceptions in two games and this game was close.  Looking back I was not aggressive enough with my play calling and it cost us the game.  It should also be noted that we lost our best receiver, Jackson Ellermeyer, in game one to an ankle injury.  Ellermeyer is a game changer and we felt his loss big time on both sides of the ball.

The defense again played pretty well.  Though Colfax did move the ball on Truckee pretty well in the air and on the ground.  Their balanced attack kept Truckee on their heels and they would eventually break the Wolverines down winning the game 21-7.  Defensively Micah Ivens had 10 solos tackles and 11 total.  Loper would also have another solid game with 9 total tackles, 8 solo, and 1 TFL.  Keihan Infantes came up big with 10 tackles 7 of those were solo and Anders Norman had 7 tackles.  If the Wolverines could have come up with some points early in this contest they could have made it interesting.  However, the Truckee offense never got it going and that was the difference in the game.  This Colfax game was a great learning opportunity for our whole program.  A game that I can say we are better today because of what happened that night.  

WEEK 4 TRUCKEE 36  BEAR RIVER 0

 

It was a tough matchup in week 3, but Truckee would get back in the win column in week 4.  The Wolverines would play their next home game against Bear River…this time at Bear River.  Yep that’s right a home game at our opponents home field.  The game was originally scheduled to be played in Truckee but Surprise Stadium was still covered in snow and there were no plans to clear it.  As strange as it sounds it was one of the most normal days we had experienced in over a year.  Truckee’s band was there playing, the Cheer team cheering, the stands were packed on both sides, and it was a day game.  Something Truckee knows very well.  Bear River had gotten the better of Truckee in their 2019 matchup and the Wolverines had

something to prove on this day.  I was also experiencing some PTSD as this was the field that I suffered the Tibial Plateau Fracture.  During the JV game I made sure I walked directly where it happened and stood there for a good amount of time.  A funny story, the opposing coach drove up in his golf cart during the JV game to talk to me.  The first thing he asked me, “Isn’t this about where you were hit?”  I replied, “yes coach it is” and smiled.  It just felt like it was going to be Truckee’s day.  Our JV team won in convincing fashion setting the tone for the day.

Bear River is traditionally a very strong team.  In fact, they faced off with Colfax in 2018 in the section title game but they lost in overtime 31-28.  They are a program with a strong foundation and Truckee knew that they had a challenge ahead of them.  However, this day belonged to the Wolverines!  There were so many highlights in this game and it was awesome to finally see what this team was capable of.  I’m sure every team felt the same way in the 2020 season.  It was just really difficult to prepare to play at your best not having a true offseason with the team.  Our team was always fractured into small groups for training due to Covid rules and there were numerous setbacks.  It takes time to grow as a team but most of 2020 and into the early parts of 2021 we were never together as a team.  Once we were cleared to play football we had 2-3 weeks to bring it all together and we usually have 5-6 months.  Every program was feeling the same way but Truckee also had to navigate weather.  The week prior to the Bear River game Truckee finally saw the sun and it made for more efficient offensive practices.  Throwing the ball in the snow is much different and practicing in the snow would normally give us an advantage but we were not playing our games in Truckee.  So the constant inclement weather did not help the timing of our pass game.  No excuses, we played, but it just was not at our best.  The Bear River game things shifted and everyone finally got to see the talent of this 2020 football team.  Our team really needed a game like this.  It started off with a deep strike from Kahl to Sam Purgason.  Sam was a baseball and basketball kid who came out for the shortened football season.  He had never played football, so his learning curve was quite large.  In the Bear River game you could see that things were starting to click for the 6’6 Purgason.  On the 3rd play of the game Purgason caught a fade route and took it 55 yards down inside Bear River’s 15 yard line.  A big play early in the game by the offense was something that was missing since the Union Mine game.  Unfortunately Truckee did not score a touchdown on this drive but learning from the last two games we had to get points on the board.  So, the Wolverines lined up for a 25 yard field goal and Jairo Zarate kicked it through the uprights giving Truckee an early 3-0 lead.  This was huge for Truckee’s momentum. 

Truckee’s defense would have another good game putting the offense in great spots all day.  This was not just offensive and defensive dominance, Truckee’s specials teams were outstanding as well.  After the Wolverines field goal on the ensuing kickoff the Wolverines pinned the Bruins down inside their own five yard line.  The defense would then put tremendous pressure on Bear River forcing a 3 and out.  The Bruins would punt and Truckee took over at midfield.  The Truckee offense made quick work of the Bruin defense.  A Rocket to Max Carter for 10 yards, a pass interference call, and a good run by Tyler Curry would eventually setup a 4th down and one yard to go from the 17 yard line.  Truckee would bring in the bigs.  After the Colfax game one of our adjustments was to come up with a better short yardage game plan.  That short yardage package would include Tyler Curry at Halfback and Anders Norman at Fullback.  Anders was a 220 pound beast and this allowed for the two of these guys to lead block for one another.  On this drive it came up huge.  The package also included Finn Loper and Brandon Phillips in as TE’s.  This combination was lethal and it paid of on this 4th and short as Anders Norman broke loose for the 17 yard touchdown!  Just like that Truckee was up 9-0 after the missed PAT.  The next defensive series Truckee forced another 3 and out and after a shanked punt Truckee appeared to be in great position to score again.  But after several completions and working their way inside the 20 yard line Truckee’s drive stalled out on a 4th and 5 incompletion.  The first quartered ended 9-0 Truckee.  

The next defensive series for Truckee was full of vicious hits and tackles by Finn Loper, Anders Norman, and Ernie Gomez.  Norman ended the day with 6 tackles, 5 solos, and 2 TFL’s.  Loper had another huge game with 7 tackles, 5 solo, and four of those tackles for loss.  But it is not just about the stats, it’s about the actual plays that make up those stats and these two guys were destroying Bear River’s offense with big hit after big hit.  Eventually Truckee would get the ball back at their own 38 yard line and mount one of the best drives of the day.  The drive started out with a big gain when Jackson Kahl hit Jackson Ellermeyer on a jailbreak screen in which Ellermeyer ran through most of the Bruin defense.  Then Max Carter broke away on a Jet sweep after picking up a huge block from Jaime Hogarth.  After a Jason Roth touchdown was called back on a penalty, Kahl dropped back and found Ellermeyer again for a big gain inside the Bruin 5 yard line.  Ellermeyer’s return was big for the Truckee Offense as he had several great plays.  He had 3 big catches on this drive alone.  The last of which was one of the best catches I’ve seen.  After another Jason Roth TD was called back for holding, Truckee was faced with a 2nd and goal from the 15.  Kahl rolled out on a 47 waggle and threw a pass towards Ellermeyer who was running a comeback.  The ball appeared to be thrown out of bounds but Ellermeyer jumped up and somehow reeled in a one handed catch which setup a 3rd and goal at the one yardline.  It was an amazing play and the Jackson to Jackson connection that everyone got to witness in the 2019 season was finally back in action!  The next play Tyler Curry would plunge it in for the touchdown and Truckee was up 16-0 with five minutes to go until halftime.  The wheels came off for the Bruins on the next drive.  They fumbled on first down and Garrett Kirk recovered it at the Bruin twelve yardline.  After an incomplete pass it was Tyler Curry who rumbled into the endzone on a 12 yard run and just like that Truckee was up 23-0.  

The second half was more of the same.  Hard nose defense and explosive offense.  Bear River got the ball first in the second half and would mount their best drive of the day but after several key stops by the defense, specifically Micah Ivens, the Bruins turned it over on downs at midfield.  Micah Ivens led the team in tackles recording 10 tackles, 7 solos, and most of them coming in the second half.  The Truckee offense would sputter in their first drive of the half and punt for the first time.  Unfortunately our punter, Anders Norman, was not able to handle the snap and he was tackled for a loss.  Bear River took over on the Truckee 40 yard line.  It was the first time the Bruins had been across midfield.  Bear River would work their way to the Wolverine 28 but that’s where it ended.  The Truckee defense would again come through like they did all day long.  The defense played angry and vicious consistently getting 11 hats to the ball.  It was a thing of beauty as the DC, Mike Healey, consistently puts together strong defensive teams for Truckee.  The offense would then strike again.  This time Khal hit Infantes on a fade route that went 55 yards down to the Bruin 20 yardline.  Two plays later Kahl made his first mistake of the game and threw an interception at the one yardline.  The defense would hold up again and the 3rd quarter would end 23-0.  

Truckee started the 4th quarter on offense and would eventually be faced with a 4th and 11.  The Wolverines would hand the ball to Curry on the draw and he would do the rest getting the first down.  On the very next play Kahl dropped back and hit the big man, Sam Purgason, for a 20 yard TD.  The next Bruin drive the Truckee defense, again, came up with a big 4th and 1 stop and gave the offense the ball back at the Bear River 36 yard line.  After trading two more possessions Truckee would get the ball one last time and work it down the field on some short passes and then went with the Beast offense.  Between Tyler Curry bulldozing through the defense and Flynn getting some big runs on the toss that would get the ball to the one yard line where Tavin Hamilton would take it in for Truckee’s last score.  The game would end 36-0 Truckee!  Jackson Kahl had his best day throwing for 234 yards and a TD.  Ellermeyer had 5 catches for 58 yards which was a big lift for Truckee.  At the end of the game the team went over to acknowledge the band and they played the Birthday song…I guess someone over there found out that it was my birthday.  In all my years of coaching I never thought I’d coach on my birthday, but I did, and it was a big one as it was my 50th victory as a head coach.  That would not have meant all that much but with that win I tied my coach, Ron Estabrook, with wins.  It was also my first gatorade bath I’ve ever received as a head coach.  I have since received 3 more but nothing feels more cold but so good at the same time!  Also, the chest bump with my son after the game was historic as I could not jump the year prior due to my broken leg.  So, to get a chest bump opportunity on the same field where I broke my leg was a nice redemption moment! 

WEEK 5 TRUCKEE 19  Galena 6

Truckee was now 2-2 and looking to finish their season strong traveling to 5A Galena in week 5.  Just to make sure our 2020 football season is the most bizzare, we headed into our last week to leave no doubt.  First off we were suppose to have another home game, which would have been our only home game at Surprise, but that was taken away by the NIAA.  I’ll talk about that towards the end.  Because we lost that game, our seniors lost their Senior Farewell along with that decision.  So, we had a Senior Farewell after practice on Thursday evening.  We did the very best we could for these seniors but it was nowhere near an acceptable send off.   None the less we honored our guys prior to showing up to Galena’s senior night.  This would be the only game

Truckee would play against a Nevada school.  Up to this game Truckee parents were able to attend their kid’s games in California.  That wasn’t the case for this game.  Washoe county had a rule in place preventing visiting teams to have fans.  So, not only did the NIAA strip our last game away from us, our parents could not watch their kid’s last game from the stands.  It was so hard to make any sense of what was happening at the time and honestly time has not helped it make any sense today.  These rules didn’t stop Truckee’s fans.  They packed into the surrounding hills with a huge sound system and blasted TnT all night long.  As messed up as all the rules were, it did not stop parents and those who supported this team the most from backing their every move.  There was a tremendous amount of disappointment on a weekly basis but what made it special were the ones supporting these kids and staying positive.  We got angry, laughed at times, and cried at times.  It also made it a little easier that we made it through 5 games without a Covid outbreak.  Something many teams and programs were not able to do and for that we are so grateful. 

Truckee won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.  The  Truckee defense would make quick work of the Galena offense and force the Grizzlies into a 3 and out.  The very first play on defense Anders Norman darted into the backfield with a big hit and tackle for loss.  Truckee’s offense took over at the Galena 45 yard line.  After several physical runs by Tyler Curry, Kahl would connect with Jackson Ellermeyer on a 25 yard TD pass.  Truckee missed the extra point and was up quicky 6-0.  Galena’s next possession was a bit of a disaster for the Wolverines.  While the Grizzlies did make a couple plays, the drive was mostly aided by several 15 yard penalties by Truckee.  Galena would go down and score to make the game 6-6.  It looked early like it could be a shootout type of game but both defenses would settle in and the game slowed down.  Truckee had several drives that would stall out and the game stayed 6-6 for most of the first half.  With 4:38 left in the 2nd quarter Galena would throw a pass that was intercepted by Max Carter at the five yard line and returned up to the Truckee 12 yard line.  From there Truckee’s offense would implement the 4 minute drill to perfection putting together a 13 play drive that was capped off by another Kahl to Ellermeyer touchdown pass.  The two would connect on 4th down and goal from the 5 yard line.  It was great play action by Kahl and a nice route by Ellermeyer.  Truckee missed a 2pt conversion attempt and Truckee lead 12-6 with just 4 seconds left on the clock.  It was a great drive that included three 3rd down conversions when Truckee needed it most.  One of those conversions on a 3 and 8 where Kahl scrambled to create time and would drop a dime to Jaime Hogarth who fell forward for the first down.  That play really got the drive going.  Curry ripped off a big run followed by Max Carter who took a counter for 20 yards.  Then it was Curry again with a big run that put the ball inside the 10 yard line.  From there Truckee would score just before the half. 

The second half started with Truckee pounding the rock and pounding the Galena defense.  Tyler Curry took over the game in the second half with several punishing runs.  Curry had 135 yards and a TD in this game.  Truckee’s second drive of the second half was setup by another Max Carter interception.  This time giving the Wolverines the ball at Galena’s 35 yard line.  From there the Truckee offense took over with a nice throw from Kahl to Cody Flynn to start the drive.  Then it was Jamie Hogarth’s turn who rattled off a nice run down to the 15 yard line.  From there it was all Tyler Curry and he capped off the drive with a very physical run into the end zone.  Truckee made the PAT and went up 19-6 and that’s where the score would stay.  Galena would threaten late in the game after Truckee again gave up tons of yards on several 15 yard penalties.  They would eventually get down to Truckee’s one yard line but the Wolverines would hold and the offense mostly ran out the clock.  There was a controversial fumble where it appeared Hogarth was down but the officials called it a fumble.  However, Galena would throw their 3rd interception of the game, this time it was Keihan Infantes with the interception.  Truckee would run the clock out after the interception and take the Dub. This was another big win for Truckee.  I believe it was the first time Truckee had ever beat a 5A school in football which was big for our school and program.  Kahl had another nice game going 7/12, with 102 yards and 2 TD’s.  Truckee rushed for 260 yards and mostly controlled the game.  Anders Norman had his biggest game of the year recording 9 tackles.  Loper, again, had a big night recording 9 tackles, 5 TFL’s, and 2 sacks.  Loper had 18 TFL’s in just 5 games.  Max Carter, the first year player, had a big game with two interceptions and added 45 key rushing yards on just 3 carries.  Micah Ivens had another 10 tackles in this game.  Jackson Ellermeyer also put together a solid game with 60 yards and 2 TD catches but in the end it was the Red Wall and Tyler Curry who took over this game and secured the win.  This team was finally executing and playing at the level we all knew they could.  Unfortunately this would be their last game.

The Wolverines would ride the momentum from the Bear River victory and take care of business against a much bigger school beating the Grizzlies 19-6.  That’s how the season would end.  Truckee would go 3-2 in one of the most bizarre seasons of all-time.  It would be the longest and shortest season of all-time as well.  Truckee would never get a chance to play on their home field and were lucky to have a place to practice.  And though it was only five games, it was one of the toughest schedules Truckee had played in a many years.  Overall we were lucky to have a football season and we are all grateful it happened.  In more bizarre fashion, Truckee did not play in the Nevada 3A West division, due to unique circumstances, but the coaches of the 3A north were kind enough to include Truckee’s players in the All-League selection.  A great demonstration of understanding and unity in a time when we all needed it. The only setback was that no Truckee player could be considered for the MVP awards.  The Truckee players that made 1st Team All-League were:

Finn Loper- Defensive End, Cody Flynn Athlete, Tyler Curry Running back, Anders Norman Punter, Jackson Ellermeyer Tight End, Jameson Hogarth Free-Safety, and Micah Ivens Linebacker and Offensive Line

In Conclusion

The 2020 team had a really good senior class.  Good enough to make a deep run into the playoffs if not go all the way.  This team had good size, smart kids, and tons of talent.  More importantly this group loved playing football.  Looking back and revisiting this Covid-19 nightmare it is hard not to feel frustrated and a little robbed of freedoms we should have never lost.  On top of that the NIAA stripped the Truckee football program of its last game.  The Wolverines were set to play Nevada Union at home on April 17th.  However, that date was past the NIAA calendar for fall sports. Truckee, with exception to the Galena game, played in California and was following California mandates.  There were California teams playing football all the way through April 24th.  So, it was well within the rules of the governing bodies in California.  The NIAA threatened Truckee High School with sanctions if we played in the game vs Nevada Union which I personally was ready to except.  It was a double standard in many ways but I’d rather not discuss that.  In my opinion this seemed like a “Gotcha” moment for the NIAA.  In the end the NIAA won and we did not play our last game for the sake of Truckee’s relationship moving forward in the NIAA.  While it was painful, I supported the move from Administration and I do understand what the implications were.  Truckee football playing their last game would not have hurt anyone in the NIAA but it did hurt Truckee players and parents.  Regardless I did everything in my power to put a season together that my players would never forget.  We played some great teams every week.  It was like being in playoff games week in and week out.  The Truckee JV team went 4-1 losing only to Sutter 6-2.  Playing this schedule set the JV team up for a historic run two seasons later.  It was this JV team that won the 2022 Nevada 3A State Championship.  While I would have loved to open the new decade with a normal season, that didn’t happen.  In fact the nightmare of Covid carried right into the next school year and next football season making things more frustrating.  I think we can all look back at that time and shake our heads at the “New Normal”, but I take comfort in knowing that it is all behind us and we appear to be back to NORMAL!  At least Truckee Football is back to Normal…2022 State Champs, 2023 State Champs, 2024 State Runner-Up, and a 34 game win streak!  

2021: 6-4 (League 4-1) 2nd Seed from the West; Playoff Quarter Finals 

2022: 11-1 (League 5-0) Nevada 3A State Champions, Regional Champions, and Academic State Champions

2023: 13-0 (League 7-0) Nevada 3A Back to Back State Champions, Regional Champions, and Academic State Champions

2024: 12-1 (League 7-0) Nevada 3A State Runner-Up, 3-Peat Regional Champions, 3-Peat League Champions, and 3-Peat Academic State Champions. 34 Game win streak (September 2022-November 2024)