Football — Dustin Otteson breaks rushing record as Tonopah beats Round Mountain 80-20

For a brief moment Friday night, Round Mountain had something nobody else has managed against Tonopah this season: a lead.

It did not last.

According to photographer Marcus Prazniak, who also provided an eyewitness account of the game, the Knights scored first — something he could not recall happening against the Muckers in recent memory.

Tonopah answered immediately and then kept answering, piling up 66 first-half points on its way to an 80-20 victory Aug. 28 at Tonopah High School.

Senior Dustin Otteson “broke his own rushing record in the first half of the game with 439 yards rushing and seven touchdowns,” Tonopah coach Duffy Otteson said.

Dustin Otteson was credited with 445 yards on 26 carries for the game. He averaged 17.1 yards per attempt, with a long run of 48 yards, as the Muckers improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the 1A Southern League.

Tonopah finished with 640 rushing yards on just 43 attempts — an average of 14.9 yards every time it ran the football — and scored 10 of its 11 touchdowns on the ground.

‘Our O-line killed it again’

The blocking numbers help explain how Tonopah’s ground game generated one big gain after another. The Muckers were credited with nine pancake blocks, led by senior Levi Harhay with four. Seniors Kyren Blackburn and Tristan Fitch added two apiece, with Dustin Otteson recording the other.

The production was hardly limited to Tonopah’s record-setting senior.

Sophomore Weston Miller gained 81 yards and scored twice on eight carries. Junior Rustin Otteson added 79 yards and a touchdown on five attempts, while senior Jacob Sprague carried three times for 22 yards and sophomore Wyatt Miller picked up 13 yards on his lone attempt.

Together, those five runners accounted for all 640 of Tonopah’s rushing yards.

The Muckers also produced their only passing touchdown when Rustin Otteson connected with sophomore Omaga Faga. Tonopah attempted only 11 passes while leaning heavily on a running game Round Mountain never found a way to slow down.

The lopsided final score did not begin that way. Prazniak said Round Mountain struck first before Tonopah responded with a score of its own and then took control.

By halftime, the Muckers led 66-8.

Tonopah’s starters were finished for the night at that point.

“We played our second string the whole second half of the game,” Duffy Otteson said. “So they have got a lot of playing time over the last two games.”

The reserves added 14 points after the break while Round Mountain scored two late touchdowns to account for the final margin.

Those two full quarters of playing time gave Tonopah’s younger players something difficult to duplicate in practice. The Muckers also used their reserves extensively in their season-opening 70-0 victory over Virginia City.

Defensively, Tonopah made enough plays to keep Round Mountain from turning its early success into anything sustained.

Dustin Otteson finished with eight total tackles, including six assists. Weston Miller recorded seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack that cost the Knights 14 yards.

Harhay had three solo tackles and another tackle for loss. Wyatt Miller finished with four total tackles and intercepted a pass as the Muckers came away with four Round Mountain turnovers — three fumble recoveries and the interception.

Duffy Otteson singled out twin brothers Weston and Wyatt Miller for their work on defense.

“The Miller twins were the standouts on defense,” he said. “They played a real good game.”

MaxPreps named Dustin Otteson Tonopah’s overall player of the game. Wyatt Miller received the offensive honor, Harhay was selected on defense and junior Taber Otteson was recognized for his work on special teams.

Through two games, Tonopah has rushed for 1,098 yards while outscoring Virginia City and Round Mountain by a combined 150-20.

Despite those numbers and two decisive victories, Duffy Otteson said the Muckers are nowhere near a finished product.

“There is always stuff to work on, especially our fundamentals,” he said. “We have a bunch of stuff we need to instill still.”

Contact sports reporter Bill Evans at wevans@pvtimes.com