DON McDERMOTT MORE COLUMNS DON McDERMOTT / PVT The Tonopah defensive unit lines up for a play against Coleville, Calif., in a Nevada Class A Eight-Man Football playoff game last Saturday. This Saturday, the Muckers, who have allowed only 12 touchdowns all season defensively, will play Carlin in the state title game at Damonte Ranch in Reno. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Advertisement

RENO -- A year ago, Mitch Lehner was in a Tonopah uniform, helping lead the Muckers to the Nevada Class A Eight-Man Football championship game.

Last Saturday, the record-setting quarterback was on the Muckers' sidelines as a spectator, cheering them on to a 52-16 conquest of previously undefeated Coleville, Calif., in the state semifinals.

This Saturday, Tonopah, 10-1, will be at Damonte Ranch High School here to battle Carlin, 9-2, for the Silver State small-school championship. (Kickoff is at noon.)

The loss of Lehner, who established numerous Tonopah and state passing marks in the two years he was the Muckers' quarterback, was of major concern to coach Curt McElroy, before the 2007 season began.

But McElroy had who he thought would be the ideal replacement to run the 'Pistol' offense -- McElroy's variation of the shotgun-option attack played by many major college teams, including Nevada's Wolf Pack.

Scott Thibodeaux, then a sophomore, was told by McElroy that he would be Lehner's successor at the end of last season. So, it was no surprise to the 5-foot-10, 165-pound speedster that he would be the Muckers' quarterback when preseason workouts began in early August.

The move looked terrific on Aug. 24, when the Muckers ravaged Diamond Ranch of Hurricane, Utah, 54-0 in the opener. It looked horrific a week later when Mountain View Christian shocked the Muckers 16-0 on a hot Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

And there were still many questions about the offense, after Tonopah salvaged a 14-8 victory against perennial Class A power Carlin.

What wasn't discussed, and probably should have been by rival coaches was the totally stingy 3-3-2 defense being played by the Muckers. Going into the playoffs, Tonopah had allowed only 71 points, while scoring 388; in the post season, the Muckers have a 96-24 edge.

"Our defense has not had any respect all year, but maybe some minds will be changed after this game," said McElroy, after the Muckers shut down Coleville's aerial attack with four interceptions and seven sacks. And, "we completely shutdown Coleville's running game," said the veteran coach, now 33-11 since he took over the Tonopah job in 2004, after the Muckers switched from the 11-man game they played in Class 2-A for several years to the wide-open world of eight-man football.

A note about Carlin. Coach Myron Branning's Railroaders, who for years were among the best 2-A teams in Nevada before they too, moved into 1-A: they have outscored opponents 401-150 in 11 starts. So they could have a plan to stop Thibodeaux and Co.

It had better be a clever plan. Thibodeaux has scored seven touchdowns and rushed for 354 yards in two playoff games and if he isn't running, he is throwing effectively. He was 8-for-14 for 122 yards and a TD against Coleville ... and he rushed for 117 yards and two TDs on just 12 attempts.

Tonopah's defense is led by junior linebacker Mike Dolfin, who is averaging almost 12 tackles per game this season, along with Garrett Valenzuela, Jose Arias, Kevin Valentine, Ryan Misener, Tyler Bessire ... and occasionally, Thibodeaux.

The Muckers lost a standout leader in Lehner, but McElroy added to the Tonopah threat by getting an untested sophomore to think about playing quarterback -- and in doing so, made the Muckers that much more threatening.