Fernley Vaqueros Season Preview
Updated Aug. 8, 2024
By: J. Ray Dockter
We are under two weeks away from the start of high school football in the Silver State and I couldn’t be more excited. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be previewing many teams from our local area as well as a few other surprises, before getting into football season full swing on Aug. 16th when the first games kickoff. Today’s team: Fernley.
Fernley Vaqueros
2023 record: 4-6 overall, 3-4 league
Head Coach: Anfernee Sloan, third season at Fernley (8-12 overall, 4-7 league in two seasons at Fernley)
Overview:
Don't look now but I believe the boys of North Lyon County are gearing up for a major run this season in the Northern 3A. It's hard to believe but this November it'll have been five years since Fernley won the 3A State Championship.
That may all change this year and in the next few seasons as Coach Sloan welcomes back a plethora of starters offensively (8) and defensively (7) who have been big contributors the last two seasons. As he put it in our conversation "[our] energy is up this year, we are more mature, we have grown mentally with our football IQ, and I have learned a lot as a football coach."
Coach Sloan said that his team had a lot of expectations last year, and for various reasons the Vaqueros were thrown for a loop, so he grew a lot as a coach through those experiences. "I was able to sit down [in the offseason] and look over the differences between my first two teams, I did a lot of reflection, and made some changes to help our team avoid burnout."
The biggest difference in those teams was their maturity and now that Sloan has "older guys" he expects them to "make a big difference, bring along our new guys, mesh the juniors and seniors as one unit so we can find our rhythm early and have success."
You can expect the Vaqueros to play 'Blue collared football with grit and toughness,' as Sloan put it "we are ready to play anyone, anytime - put the ball down and let's play." Sloan was quick to point out that his guys "have a lot riding on this season, excitement is high in our city for us this season."
If the Vaqueros are going to have the season, they are expecting they will have to battle attrition as Coach Sloan said his squad would "be better off playing a full [ten] game schedule this season." He was also quick to point out that "September is the biggest month of games for us, right off the bat we have a bye then we host Elko, and Truckee before going on the road to [South Lake] Tahoe and finishing a huge, tough four game stretch with Churchill County." If they are able to come out of that stretch the way they envision Sload said it will "set us up for success, painting a clear picture of where we can finish and make for a very interesting finish down the stretch."
As our conversation was coming to a close Sloan said "I have high expectations this season as a head coach, we have a very physically mature team, and it feels good. We are aggressive, playing at a high level and if we want to be successful, we must execute the little things this season." I was fired up during my conversation with Coach Sloan and I think they will ultimately prove to be Truckee's biggest competition this coming season.
Players to watch:
RB Keeshawn Love, Junior: Entering his third year on Varsity, he was 'First Team All-League' and 'Second Team All State' last year as a Sophomore. Love has racked up 1,572 rushing yards and 12 TDs offensively to go along with 72 tackles and four sacks defensively. Coach Sloan said, "he wants to play college football; he had a great offseason, and he's bought into the process of becoming better so he can play at the next level."
QB Bryce Stephens, Junior: Pulled up to the Varsity late in his freshman campaign, Stephens is a great athlete that has gotten better at playing quarterback over the past 18 months. Coach Sloan said, "he has grown by leaps and bounds this offseason - he has an elite understanding of our offense now and is controlling things at the line of scrimmage pre-snap." If he continues to check to plays in the Vaqueros offense, they'll gain leverage and surprise some teams this season. He will be a breakout star in the 3A this season, mark my words.
HB/DB Riley McCullar, Junior: McCullar is moving to safety this season after playing OLB last year. Coach Sloan said, "he has put on muscle, he's running better - faster and he is physical." He begins his third season on Varsity and Sloan said, "He will help us turn it up this year." He is a top-notch athlete and will be looking to make an impact for the Vaqueros this season.
Athlete (LB) Joey Machado, Junior: Machado is described as "dynamic, he plays at a different speed - like Birnbaum from Truckee," according to Sloan. "He was first team as a freshman, then we lost him to injury last season," Coach Sloan said, "He's a human torpedo, there's no stopping him, he is the engine that makes us run and he will be in contention for DPOY this season if we take care of business."
Seniors Gabe Leja, DB and Marciano Montano, LB will lead the second and third levels for the Vaqueros this season when Sloan described them as "fiery, they go get the ball, they are going to have big senior seasons." They'll be joined by Sophomore DB Vance Swindlehurst, who Sloan described as "one of the best cornerbacks in the league this year, he is expected to take a massive leap this season where he'll shock some people with his unique athleticism."
Season Schedule:
Aug. 16 vs. Douglas
Aug. 23 at Bishop (Calif.) Union
Aug. 30 vs. Wooster
Sep. 6 Bye Week
Sep. 13 vs. Elko
Sep. 20 vs. Truckee (Calif.)
Sep. 27 at South (Lake) Tahoe, (Calif.)
Oct. 4 vs. Churchill County
Oct. 11 at Lowry
Oct. 18 at Spring Creek
Oct. 25 vs. Sparks
J. Ray Dockter has been covering high school sports since 2022. If you have a story worth telling let him know via Twitter @J_RayDoc.