Before the season even started, Lovelock football coach Mike Brooks had a pretty good idea his team was going to be really good. But that in itself was no surprise—the Mustangs haven’t had a losing record in more than 20 seasons, have won seven state championships since 2004, and had 14 seniors returning from the team that made it all the way to the state championship game last season.
Brooks knew he had a championship-caliber team. So, while his players were dancing in the locker room at McQueen High School after beating Incline 26-6 in the 2A state championship game on Nov. 23, what Brooks felt was relief.
“I think the players were really confident going in, which was awesome. But it was a big relief for me,” he said. “I think it was the most stress I had all year because I knew how good these kids were, and I kept thinking, man, if these seniors are this good in the 2A and never win a championship, that’s going to sting.”
That group of 14 seniors will leave high school as 11 other senior classes before them have—with a state championship trophy.
Travis Donaldson ran for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and Denzel Zaldivar punctuated the win with an interception return for a touchdown as the Mustangs won a showdown with Incline that the rest of the Northern Nevada football community had looked forward to all season.
“These guys were in the locker room making TikToks for two hours after the game, dancing and so on,” Brooks said. “And we got a nice parade when we got home.”
The game was tight in the first half, but Donaldson broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown with about eight minutes left in the third quarter to put the Mustangs ahead 12-6.
Another long run by Donaldson set the stage for his second touchdown, a 2-yard run with less than a minute left in the third quarter. Zaldivar ran in the two-point conversion to make it 20-6. Moments later, Zaldivar intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.
“We didn’t play bad in the first half, we just had a few miscues that probably didn’t help us, but in the second half we played well and were able to build a lead,” Brooks said.
Winning a state championship would be sweet enough on its own merits, but Brooks said it was even more so for the Mustangs to do it by beating Incline.
Last year, Incline beat Lovelock 21-14 in the third game of the season. Then the Mustangs won nine straight games to reach the state championship game, where they lost 49-6 to Lake Mead Christian Academy.
“That loss to Incline was a tough one,” Brooks said.
It was the first time Brooks remembers losing to Incline, even as a kid. The anticipated rematch this season was canceled because of the Davis Fire. Since the two teams didn’t face each other in the regular season, both were undefeated going into the playoffs.
“It was definitely the cherry on the top,” Brooks said. “I’m telling you, I think our kids held on to that game more than even losing in the championship. That one really was burning them up.”
Despite cold, wet weather, both teams brought large contingents of fans. At one point, Brooks said he looked at the crowd behind him and couldn’t believe how many people were there. When it was over, the Mustang fans swarmed the field to celebrate.
“Three people that hugged me after the game on the field, I swear to you I’ve never seen them in my life,” he said. “They’re happy that the Mustangs did well.”
Before the championship game, the closest games the Mustangs had all season were a 47-13 win over Portola and 35-0 over Battle Mountain. That win over Portola was the only time a team scored more than eight points against them this season.
After starting the season with a win over Wooster, which beat the Mustangs last year, Brooks thought maybe it was just a lucky game. Then they kept blowing out everybody they faced.
“Then I don’t think it’s just the ball bouncing our way; I think it’s us pounding everybody,” Brooks said. “Going into the year we had pretty high hopes and expectations, and they were exceeding our expectations, not just one moment, but like every week.”
What opened Brooks’ eyes was watching film of the Mustangs’ scrimmage before the season against 3A teams Lowry, Elko, and Spring Creek. Watching from the field, he saw his team having success and thought they were doing well.
“And then we go back and watch the films, and it’s like, we’re not even doing things right, like we’re blocking plays wrong, and we’re still having serious success,” Brooks said. “That’s a really nice, good sign.”
Brooks said the team’s seniors approached this season as their last opportunity and knew they had to go about things the right way.
“Four or five of them were starting for us as freshmen, even more than that as sophomores, so I think they were just kind of ahead of the curve skill-wise and just played together,” he said. “They’re really athletic, especially for our level, so that always helps. And then, even when they were younger, they wanted to be good, so they’ve bought in, they’ve worked really hard.”
Brooks said that made it probably the easiest season he’s had as a coach.
“Not talking about the games, I’m talking about that we had leaders,” he said. “We didn’t have kids missing practice, we didn’t have kids complaining to the coaches about this or that. We just showed up and coached schematically and didn’t have to worry about ineligibility or anything.”
And as a reward, they got to celebrate with a championship parade.
“Because it’s a small town, you get people that have no affiliation with the program, they don’t have a son or a nephew,” Brooks said. “But it’s Lovelock, so they’re in the streets yelling for us.”
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