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Tigers stumble in season finale against O'Hara
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
Through mud and muck Jesse Thomas ran, leaving remnants of the Nevada Tigers and Logan Field in his wake.
O'Hara Catholic School's senior running back had put the Celtics on his back and carried them to victory.
In the regular season football finale for both schools, the visitors from Kansas City defeated the Tigers 35-14.
Thomas was the main reason for O'Hara's success. He rushed for 255 yards on 27 carries, including four touchdowns.
"That running back they had was solid," Nevada coach John Skeans said after the game. "We knew that coming in. He had a pretty good night."
After a week with on-and-off rain, the playing surface at Logan Field was less than desirable.
Yet, Thomas had scoring runs of 65, 61, 39 and 3 yards. The 202-pound tailback consistently broke tackles and seemed to be the only player on the field able to keep his footing on the muddy mess that Logan Field had become.
That being said, Nevada (2-8 overall, 0-3 in Class 3 District 12) had plenty of chances to take control of the football game early, and only trailed 7-0 at halftime. The lone score in the first half came on a 70-yard interception return by O'Hara's Joe Pat Thomas on the first play of the second quarter.
The Tigers took the opening possession of the game 58 yards on 12 plays, but stalled in the red zone, turning the ball over on downs at the O'Hara 14-yard line.
The Tigers ran the ball well on the opening drive, getting 53 of the 58 yards on the ground.
O'Hara was unable to score on their opening drive as well. They moved the ball 55 yards on 10 plays, but on fourth down Jesse Thomas was stopped by Luke Rainey and Opie Tipton for a one-yard loss.
After the teams exchanged punts, Nevada had the ball in better field position (thanks in large part to a 49-yard boot by Nevada punter Kyle Quick).
The Tigers started their third possession at the O'Hara 44-yard line.
After a 3-yard run, an incompletion and an illegal motion penalty, Nevada faced a third-and-12 when quarterback Justin Reed's throw was intercepted by Joe Pat Thomas at the O'Hara 30.
Thomas returned the ball all the way for a touchdown, getting good blocks and keeping his balance while maneuvering through the muddy field.
After a Nevada punt, the Tigers got a pick, with Andrew Quest getting an overthrown pass and returning it to the O'Hara 44.
From there Nevada had a 20-yard pass from Ronnie Herda to Eric Atkinson, and a 7-yard run by Baker.
The Tigers converted a fourth-and-four play on the drive on a 5-yard run by Tipton, but again turned the ball over on downs, this time at the O'Hara 9-yard line.
The half ended with O'Hara up 7-0.
In the second half, Jesse Thomas took over.
On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Thomas broke off a 65-yard jaunt and set the tone for the rest of the second half.
Thomas would score again later in the third quarter on a 39-yard run.
Nevada did not go away though, as an interception by Nate Uttinger and a 24-yard scoring pass from Reed to Uttinger on fourth-and-five kept Nevada in the game at 21-7.
O'Hara put the game to bed on a drive that started at the end of the third quarter and stretched into the fourth period.
An 11-play drive capped by a 3-yard run by Thomas broke Nevada's back with 10:24 left in the game and O'Hara up 28-7.
On Nevada's first offensive play after going down by 21, Herda was intercepted at the O'Hara 35 trying to hit a deep pass.
On the second play of O'Hara's next possession, Thomas again broke free, going in from 61-yards this time to make it 35-7.
Only a touchdown in the final minute of the game closed the gap to its final margin, when Thorne Penrod ran it in from 1-yard out.
O'Hara improved to 2-1 in district play, but hopes of a shared district title were dashed when Harrisonville defeated Carl Junction Thursday, 35-6.
Skeans said the Tigers just missed too many opportunities.
"I thought we were in a position to take over a few times," Skeans said. "I thought our kids played hard."
The Nevada football banquet will be held Tuesday at the high school.