UNLV knocks off rival Wolf Pack, wins back Fremont Cannon

RENO — Missed opportunities in the first half.

The starting quarterback gone with a separated shoulder.

UNR taking over the momentum in the second half.

Past UNLV football teams probably wouldn’t have withstood all that adversity, writing the same ending to the same script when it comes to the Rebels’ rivalry with their upstate neighbor.

This team had a different conclusion in mind.

UNLV found a way — an interception return for a touchdown, a late field goal, a secondary that wouldn’t let UNR wide receivers get open on the Wolf Pack's final drive — and the Rebels left Mackay Stadium with a 23-17 victory on Saturday, taking the Fremont Cannon home with them.

A cannon that soon will be painted red.

“We got the cannon back, and awesome, awesome, awesome night and feeling,” said UNLV linebacker Ryan McAleenan, whose 52-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter was the play of the game. “I am so proud, I can’t even explain it.”

This was the second time in a row the Rebels have won at Reno. They also defeated UNR 27-22 two years ago, but the Wolf Pack won last season’s meeting 49-27 in Las Vegas.

That defeat was Bobby Hauck’s last game as UNLV’s coach. This was Tony Sanchez’s first game as UNLV coach in this series, and what a debut it was — not only beating the Rebels' main rival, but also ending UNLV's nine-game road losing streak.

Sanchez became the first Rebels coach to defeat the Wolf Pack in his first game against them since Jeff Horton in 1994. That Horton victory was big because it gave the Rebels a share of the Big West Conference title and put them in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Saturday’s victory was important because the Mountain West's West Division is way down, and UNLV (2-3, 1-0 MW) could be a factor in the race.

But if baseball momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starting pitcher, that’s true in football when it comes to the next week’s starting quarterback. Blake Decker separated his left (nonthrowing) shoulder late in the first half and didn’t return. His status won’t be known until at least Monday or Tuesday.

Sanchez, though, was hopeful Decker would return in time to face San Jose State on Saturday at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Decker’s absence meant Kurt Palandech was called in for the second time this season in an emergency situation. He went in against UCLA on Sept. 12 and completed 4 of 15 passes for 4 yards with an interception returned for a touchdown.

Palandech was better against UNR (2-3, 0-1), completing 6 of 8 passes for 48 yards, and rushing for 29 yards on five carries. Palandech completed a 25-yard pass late in the second quarter to set up his own 12-yard touchdown run, giving UNLV a 13-0 lead.

“Being able to get some (repetitions) throughout the previous games was a help,” Palandech said. “There’s nothing like game experience, no replacement.”

His touchdown was a key score going into halftime because UNLV dominated the half, outgaining the Wolf Pack 246 yards to 102 and totaling 16 first downs to UNR’s five, but otherwise having little to show for it.

“We really felt we should’ve had a bigger lead going into the half,” Sanchez said. “That’s what you worry about, when you have those opportunities and you don’t take advantage of them. Then you let that team hang around.”

UNR came back and cut UNLV’s lead to 13-10 with 10:47 left in the game on Tyler Stewart’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jerico Richardson.

The Wolf Pack had a chance to take the lead or go ahead one series later, but Stewart’s pass was tipped by UNLV defensive end Jeremiah Valoaga into the hands of McAleenan, who had plenty of open field in front of him. His interception return put UNLV up 20-10 with 8:27 left.

“I was trying to get to the corner of the end zone as fast as I could,” McAleenan said.

UNR came right back, though, moving 75 yards in nine plays. Don Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown run with 4:50 left brought the Wolf Pack within 20-17.

Nicolai Bornand’s 45-yard field goal with 1:53 remaining extended the Rebels’ lead to 23-17.

The Wolf Pack got one final opportunity, reaching the Rebels’ 43-yard line, but Stewart threw four consecutive incompletions against a UNLV secondary that didn’t let UNR's receivers get open. Stewart finished 20 of 44 for 202 yards.

UNLV’s defense also held UNR to 141 yards rushing; the Wolf Pack had averaged 210.5 per game. The Rebels produced 167 yards rushing, including 76 on 16 carries by Keith Whitely.

For UNLV, there were a lot of heroes, beating a UNR team that had won nine of the previous 10 meetings.

Sanchez changed that on this night, and soon the cannon will no longer be blue.

“It’s not really about me,” Sanchez said. “It’s huge for the people who made this (coaching) move. It’s big for the kids that have worked so hard, for our seniors who have been through so much transition, for our young guys.

“Wins are hard to come by, but when you win rivalry week, when you come home with the cannon in the back of your truck, that’s a heck of a deal.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him: @markanderson65