Truckee opponents stuck on zero

Teams that play Truckee (Truckee, Calif.) this season should not attempt to adjust their scoreboards. There's nothing wrong with it, the opponent's score just seems to be permanently stuck on zero.

The Wolverines have rattled off five straight shutouts to start the season and have outscored opponents 202-0. Truckee is also coming off a 12-0 season in 2009 in which it won the Nevada 3A state championship and shut out four of its final five opponents, including a 27-0 win over Moapa Valley in the state finals.

Coach Bob Shaffer says the string of shutouts is all about preparation by the coaches and the players.

"Our success we feel is based on great coaching, preparation of what our opponent does, and players who study our game packet and apply it on game day very well," he said. "We do not always have the best players out on the field – by no stretch of the imagination."

Truckee is actually located in California, but the Sierra Nevada mountains create a natural barrier that makes it easier for Truckee to play in Nevada against the likes of Elko, Lowry, Sparks and Churchill County, all of which have larger enrollments than Truckee.

Nevertheless, last season the Wolverines shut out Sparks 54-0, Dayton 67-0, and Yerington 55-0 along with Moapa Valley in the championship game. Only Boulder City was able to score against Truckee over the final half of the season, losing 35-8 in the state 3A semifinals.

This year, Truckee opened with Dayton and won 44-0. The Wolverines followed with a 34-0 win over Elko, 48-0 over Sparks, 41-0 over Spring Creek and 35-0 over Fernley last week. Today the Wolverines host Wooster (Reno, Nev.).

Shaffer says that as the season has gone along, the team uses the shutout streak as motivation for each game.

"It started out as a by-product, but now has become a goal for each opponent as they come up on our schedule," said Shaffer. "We know it is not the end of our season if someone does score during the course of a game, but since the streak has started and received some notoriety, our kids practice harder, have more concentration on what they have to learn, and play their hearts out to keep it alive on game day."

The Wolverines are not a one-man gang on defense. Instead, as many as seven players average at least five tackles a game, including 9.8 by Morgan Nevin and 9.2 by Cole Roberts.

"I think what makes our athletes special on defense is that they are all smart, prepare and know our opponent, can apply that knowledge on game day, are physical, try to get 11 helmets to the ball on every play, trust each other to do their assignment, and play with great passion," said Shaffer.

Of course a good defense gets plenty of help from a good offense, and that's certainly the case with Truckee. Led by quarterback Ben Bolton, the Wolverines average 40 points per game. Last year Truckee averaged 46 points per contest. Bolton threw for 2,085 yards and 28 touchdowns last year while this year he has 819 yards and 9 touchdowns through five games.

"Our offense helps out our defense by giving them great looks in practice, and on game day we have been pretty explosive early in the game," said Shaffer. "Thus, we may be changing the strategy of the opposing offensive coordinator and what he now calls because of being several touchdowns behind – thus changing the game plan they practiced all week to run against us. And with us now allowing less than a yard per rushing attempt on the season, we are seeing more passing situations which our kids just tee off on QB’s and receivers."

Shaffer adds that the strong defensive performance all began with the awareness that the players had it within themselves to get the job done.

"Once we got that first shutout, our kids had a great week of practice," he said. "It dawned on them (after coaches preaching it for several weeks) that you have to practice and prepare a special way to be successful. Once the light came on, it was us as coaches that had to have the plan in-place so they could play full speed on game day with confidence. Now here we are 5 shutouts in a row to start the season."