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Nevada Tigers rout El Dorado Springs, 54-8
By Eric Wade
Herald-Tribune
NEVADA -- On a night that provided ideal conditions for football, the Nevada Tigers took to Logan Field with just one thing in mind -- this year's Homecoming slogan, Bulldoze the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs came into the night at 1-3 and trying to snap a three-game losing streak, as well as spoil the Tigers' Homecoming celebration. The Tigers, on the other hand, entered the contest hoping to eclipse the .500 mark on the year after a strong performance last week in a 35-28 victory over the Roosters of Pleasant Hill High School. In that contest, the Tigers got off to a quick start, leading 21-0, but nearly let it slip away.
"We wanted to come out with that same intensity this week and finish it. And, you know, didn't expect that kind of ballgame, but I think our kids just executed at a high level," Tigers head coach Wes Beachler said. "We talked all week about, you know, after last week when we got up 21-0 and it turned into a 35-28 dogfight the rest of the way, we talked a lot and preached a lot about how we gotta start fast and stay fast and finish fast."
And finish fast, they did. After the coronation of 2012 Homecoming Queen Mackenzie Pritchett, Beachler's Tigers took to the field at a torrid pace, laying it on the Bulldogs right from the start on their way to a 54-8 victory.
"They're the best football team we've played this year," El Dorado Springs head coach Bob Ramsey said.
The Tigers needed just one play from scrimmage to draw first blood as quarterback Alex Payne rolled to his right on a bootleg play and hit Keegan Bell across the middle of the field for a 69-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 with 11:42 left in the opening quarter. On the ensuing possession, the Tigers once again needed just one play to score as Dalton Hendren took the handoff from Payne 39 yard right through the middle of the El Dorado Springs defense to make it 14-0 with 9:29 left in the quarter.
The Tigers needed a little bit longer to get their next score as Nevada needed seven plays to mount a 29-yard touchdown drive to make it 20-0 with 5:29 to go in the quarter. That still wasn't it for the Tigers in the opening quarter as their third one-play drive of the period came with 2:51 to go when Hendren took his second touchdown of the game 37 yards right through the middle of the defense to make it 28-0 Nevada after the two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs fumbled the ball for the second time in the quarter on the very first offensive play after that touchdown and the Tigers wasted little time taking advantage as Nathan Colopy caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Payne to make it 34-0 with 2:34 to go. Early in the second quarter, the backups took over for Nevada and still moved the ball down the field at will and Johnathon Ireland capped off yet another strong drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 9:25 to go in the half to make it 40-0.
The Tigers capped off what was a dominant first half as Taylor Manes took a 53-yard run up the sideline and into the end zone to make it 46-0 after yet another botched extra-point attempt with 47 seconds left in the half.
"We had some kids make some nice plays and make some good runs and that's good to see," Beachler said. "But it all starts up front, too, and those kids did a good job and that's the first thing Taylor would tell you."
The Tigers dominated every aspect of the game in the opening half as they finished with 328 yards of total offense -- 245 on the ground -- to just 88 total yards for the Bulldogs. The Tigers won the turnover battle as well, forcing two while committing none.
El Dorado Springs finally got on the board for the first and only time with 10:26 left in the contest on a 12-yard run by Tanner Hixson. The two-point conversion made it 46-8, but the Tigers weren't done yet as Manes scored his second touchdown of the game on a 70-yard scamper on Nevada's very next offensive play to make the final score Nevada 54, El Dorado Springs 8.
"It was good execution on both sides. Our offense had been playing well for about three weeks and they need to continue to play well. We had a very complex scheme because they have a complex offense," Beachler said. "Coach Ramsey does a great job with what he does and so we had to challenge our kids a little bit with some more complex schemes on the defensive side and the kids executed that stuff well."
Despite having the running clock throughout the entire second half, the Tigers were still able to put up 134 yards of offense -- all on the ground -- bringing the total offensive yardage to 462 for Nevada. The second half was much better than the first for the Bulldogs as they put up 127 yards of total offense, bringing their total on the night to 215.
Manes led the way for the Tigers as he finished the night with 192 of Nevada's 379 rushing yards on the night on just six carries. The obvious star of the game for El Dorado Springs was Hixson as he rushed for 190 yards on 15 carries.
With that win, the Tigers improved to 3-2 on the year and are set to return to Logan Field next Friday to take on Kansas City Northeast, which entered Friday night's action at 2-2 on the season.