Nevada falls to Lamar

Photo by Ralph Pokorny

Bye, bye Oscar. The Lamar Tigers staged a fourth-quarter comeback to stun the Nevada Tigers, 14-7, in the Silver Tiger game at Logan Stadium on Friday night. After five years in captivity in the Nevada High School trophy case, Oscar, the Silver Tiger, heads south to archrival Lamar. Lamar High School last held the trophy in '96. It was reclaimed by Nevada in '97 prior to a four-year hiatus of the series and retained last season as the rivalry was revived. Junior quarterback Ben Wilson put Nevada on the board with a 46-yard touchdown gallop on an option keeper off right tackle with 4:35 left in the opening quarter. Roger Shafer kicked the extra-point for a 7-0 lead. A goal-line stand by the Crimson and Gray in the second period slammed the door on a Lamar scoring opportunity at Nevada's one-yard line. Stops for no gain on third and fourth down by junior defensive tackle Brad Robison were key. Although the Nevada defense, with 10 first-time starters, bent, it did not break until the fourth quarter when Lamar ripped off two big scoring plays which proved to be the difference. Lamar rang up 144 of its offensive total of 270 yards, all but two on the ground, in the final period. "We've got to get in better shape," said Nevada head coach Jerry Cornelius. "The fourth quarter is exactly what I was worried about, because that showed in the jamboree. We got tired in the fourth quarter." Early in the fourth period, Lamar's second-string tailback Brad Wilson bolted up the middle and outran Nevada defenders to the end zone on a 73-yard jaunt. After a delay-of-game penalty moved the ball back five yards, Lamar's extra-point try went wide right, leaving Nevada clinging to a 7-6 advantage with 10:27 to go in the contest. An ineffective series by Nevada culminated with a short punt that put Lamar in business on their own 39-yard line. Two plays later, Zackary Bryan rambled 57 yards on a quarterback keeper to push Lamar to a 12-7 lead at the 7:43 mark. Bryan ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-7 margin. Still with plenty of time on the clock, Nevada quickly advanced the ball from their own 30 to the Lamar 35-yard line. A crucial delay-of-game penalty on a second-and-two situation, with 2:54 remaining, cost Nevada five yards and seemed to halt momentum as the drive stalled and the Tigers turned the ball over after failing to convert a fourth-and-eight pass play. One final possession, with slightly less than one minute remaining, ended in disaster with two quarterback sacks. So, what went wrong for slight favorite Nevada? A breakdown of the offensive line, expected to be a strong suit, was an obvious disappointment. Said Cornelius, "We're going to win or lose with the offensive line and they didn't get the job done, so we lost. But, in all fairness, I've got to go back and look at the film because we're supposed to have backs and other people blocking, too." Nevada compiled 180 yards of total offense, 138 running and 42 passing. The two-quarterback system, in which Wilson and Shafer alternated, will likely remain intact. Both signal callers had productive games and neither separated himself from the other. Wilson ran for 52 yards on nine carries -- including the 46-yarder for the score -- and threw for 15, hitting 3-of-4 attempts. Shafer broke a 51-yard scamper in his 60 total yards on 11 carries, and completed 4-of-12 passes for 27 yards. "As for the starting quarterback situation, right now, it's the same way," commented Cornelius, after the game. "We'll go quarter by quarter." Nevada tailback Steve Branstetter, dogged all night by the Lamar defense, was held to 13 yards in seven carries, while running mate Kaleb Leonard managed only 13 yards in six trips. Branstetter shredded the Lamar defense for 121 yards in 16 carries last season. "Lamar took him (Branstetter) out from the first play," Cornelius said. "They were not going to let him catch the option (pitch) and they were tackling him whether he had the ball or not. He killed them last year (a 37-7 Nevada win), so they were going to stop him." Nevada tries to get untracked against El Dorado Springs at Logan Stadium next Friday at 7 p.m. Friday's area scores Drexel 7, Rich Hill 6 Webb City 42, Branson 6 Seneca 14, Carthage 0 Nixa 36, Neosho 0 Aurora 28, East Newton 20 Stockton 12, El Dorado Springs 6 Fort Scott 29, Parsons 14 Adrian 21, Osceola 7 Harrisonville 33, Belton 24 Kearney 61, O'Hara 3 Lee's Summit 42, William Chrisman 24