Tigers win regular-season finale, 55-27

The Nevada Tigers varsity football team entered the final week of the regular season with a lot on the line. The Tigers entered Friday night's contest hoping to finish out the season on a five-game winning streak and rebound from an 0-4 start to go into district play above the .500 mark for the season.

That was more than enough motivation for the Tigers as they got off to a bit of a slow start, but ultimately cruised their way to a 55-27 victory.

On top of the hope of maintaining their winning streak and finishing the regular season with a winning record, however, the Tigers had another source of motivation as they entered the night with a chance, albeit a slim one, to move up into the top four in the Class 4, District 7 standings to ensure a home game in the first week of the playoffs. The Tigers entered Friday night's action trailing the Wildcats of Harrisonville High School by 4.09 points in the standings, making it very difficult, to say the least, to make that jump and get a home game.

The Wildcats, however, entered the night less than a point behind third-seeded Grandview, leaving it very much up in the air who the Tigers might face in the opening round of the playoffs.

Stockton entered the night hoping to spoil all of those hopes, while keeping up its own momentum. Head coach Shad Edwards' squad entered the night on a two-game winning streak of its own, also hoping to finish the regular-season with a winning record after struggling in the season's first four weeks and starting the year with a 1-3 record.

That one win in the first half of the season came in a game against the one opponent Nevada and Stockton had in common this year. Since Nevada plays in Class 4 and Stockton is in Class 2, the two squads don't often see the same competition, but did both play El Dorado Springs this season.

Stockton's clash with the Bulldogs came on the opening night of the season and was a close affair throughout its duration that ended in a 14-8 victory for Stockton. The Tigers earned their first win of the season at El Dorado Springs, as well, but that didn't happen until the fifth game of the year and was a much more dominant performance as the Tigers were the obvious favorite from the start and took the victory by a final score of 31-6.

The Tigers entered the night knowing they would be the favorite once again and it didn't take long to see why that was the case. Just 12 seconds into the contest, sophomore Chaden Brandt gave the Tigers an early lead as he returned the game's opening kickoff 85 yards to make it 7-0.

That looked as though it might be the beginning of a long night for Stockton, but Edwards' defense came through on the Tigers' first offensive possession, taking the ball back on downs inside the Nevada 35. The Tigers returned the favor, however, allowing a net gain of just 4 yards before getting their own turnover on downs.

Chance Mays got his first carry of the night on the opening play of the Tigers' next drive and made good on the opportunity, as he took a 71-yard carry into the end zone with 7 minutes, 20 seconds left in the opening quarter. The Stockton defense came through on the extra-point attempt, however, blocking the kick to make the score 13-0.

Defensive miscues marred the next drive of the night for the Tigers as Clay Regers was called for two offsides penalties. Stockton was ultimately able to take advantage of those miscues and a strong running game to drive the ball into the end zone on a drive that was capped off by a 7-yard run by quarterback Garrett Burns to make it 13-8 after the two-point conversion with 4:03 left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers' offense continued to sputter as the minutes wore on and ultimately turned the ball over on their own side of the field once again. For the second time in the contest, Burns took it upon himself to take advantage of that field position as he capped off a short drive with a 2-yard sneak into the end zone to give Stockton a 14-13 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers got a short field of their own on the next drive and were finally able to revive the offense. Mays was once again the kick-starter as he took a 31-yard carry to the Stockton 20 on the first play of the drive, but it was quarterback Alex Payne and Johnathon Ireland who finished it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass that made it 21-14 with 2.3 seconds left in the opening quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Tigers were once again able to come up big, forcing and recovering a fumble at the Stockton 27. Payne once again took it upon himself to take advantage of the short field as he used his arm to convert a fourth-and-22 and used his legs to cap off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown on the next play to extend the Tigers' lead to 28-14 with 8:43 to play in the half.

Special teams once again proved to be a point of advantage for the Tigers after the defense was able to shut Stockton down, forcing a punt. Taylor Manes took his turn this time, returning the punt 70 yards to give the Tigers a 35-14 lead with 7:19 left in the half.

Davin Weeks took his turn at making a special teams play on the ensuing kickoff as he recovered an onside kick at the Stockton 38. Just two plays later, Mays found the end zone for the third time in the contest, taking a 38-yard run across the goal line to make it 41-14, Nevada, with 7 minutes left in the half.

Stockton closed out the half on a strong drive that went deep into the Tigers' territory. Poor clock management ultimately proved to be Stockton's undoing, however, as a desperation throw from Burns resulted in an interception by Cole Sanderson, sending the two squads into the locker room with no more scoring.

Mays was the dominant force for the Tigers in the opening half as he carried the ball just six times in the opening half, but finished with a staggering 142 yards.

As the second half began, it looked as though Stockton would be able to mount another strong offensive drive, but Brandt put an emphatic stop to that as he recovered a fumble and returned it 56 yards for his second touchdown of the night. Though the Tigers were once again unable to convert the extra-point, that still put the game even more out of reach, giving Nevada a 47-14 advantage with 9:15 to go in the third quarter.

Nathan Kerr got that touchdown right back on the ensuing kickoff, however, as he returned it 76 yards into the end zone. Manes intercepted a pass on the two-point conversion, however, maintaining a 27-point lead for Nevada at 47-20.

Manes got the Tigers back in front by 35 and put the running clock into effect with 5:59 left in the third quarter as he took his second touchdown of the night into the end zone on a 2-yard run. Thanks to the two-point conversion, that score made it 55-20, giving the Tigers a running clock for the remainder of the third quarter and the majority of the fourth.

Early in the fourth, it looked as though Stockton would be able to put an end to the running clock as Edwards' squad drove the ball down just short of the Nevada 5. The Tigers' defense held, however, resulting in yet another turnover on downs.

With just under a minute left in the contest, Stockton was finally able to put an end to the running clock as Kerr took the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run to make it 55-27. That was ultimately where the offense ended for both sides and the Tigers went on to take the 28-point victory.

With the win, the Tigers finished the regular season with an overall record of 5-4 and will now begin final preparations for the beginning of district play. The first round of Class 4, District 7 play is set for next Thursday night, at 7 p.m.