Lowry's luck holds out

Andrew cutler | Argus Observer Lowry's Eric Kerr (24) tries to get away from Ontario's Jake Turner after hauling in a 13-yard reception in the second quarter of Friday's nonleague game at Tiger Stadium. The Buckaroos managed to hold off Ontario, 23-18.

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The Buckaroos, who are from Winnemucca, Nev., got a 7-yard run from Zach Bristol with just over five minutes left in the game to take the lead for good, as Lowry held on for a 23-18 win over the Tigers.

"This was a good win for us," Ward said after his team evened its record at 1-1 on the season. "We were lucky to come out of here with a victory."

Lucky does not begin to describe it.

The Tigers (0-1 overall) used a 93-yard scamper from sophomore quarterback Bryson Sap to take the lead back, 18-13, with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Both teams failed to generate any offense through the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth.

With just over six minutes left in the game, the Buckaroos took over on the Ontario 47. On the drive's first play, the Tigers' Jake Gaschler recovered Bristol's fumble at the Ontario 49. However, Ward argued that the whistle was blown, bringing the play to an end before the fumble. The officials, after a brief conference, agreed and gave the ball back to Lowry.

Ontario head coach Randy Waite disagreed with the decision and walked out to midfield to argue the call. Waite ended up with two unsportsmanlike penalties and was ejected from the game. After the smoke cleared, and everything settled, the Buckaroos had the ball at the Ontario 9. Two plays later Bristol rambled in from 7 yards to give Lowry the lead.

"(The fumble) was a change of momentum. It would have been nice to get," Waite said. "Not much we can do about it."

As a result of the ejection, Waite can not be on the sidelines for the Tigers' game at Spring Creek, Nev.

The big play was Ontario's friend early Friday, as the Tigers got on the board, in the first quarter, thanks to a 89-burst through the heart of the Buckaroos' defense by Nick Alvarado. Ontario then added a 13-yard interception return - in the second quarter - by Ryan Laubaucher.

But other than that, Ontario's offense was stagnant for much of the game. The Tigers had just over 15 minutes of possession, while Lowry controlled the ball for more than 32 minutes.

"We missed a lot of assignments offensively," Waite said. "We need to work on techniques, but we saw a lot of good things. Lowry is a good team."

Alvarado led Ontario with 14 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown. Sap added 6 carries for 79 yards and a score, and was 1-of-8 passing for 14 yards.

Lowry finished with 254 yards of total offense. Bristol carried the ball 20 times for 87 yards and two scores.