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Tigers dominate Hollister in first road test
Fifty sure is nifty for the Nevada High School football team.
A week after scoring 52 points in their season-opening win against Logan-Rogersville, the Tigers put up 54 more on the scoreboard at Hollister on Friday.
Like in week one, the scoring for Nevada in its 54-28 victory over the Tigers was spread throughout the offense — with junior running backs Case Sanderson and Jordan Johnson cashing in their more than 100-yard performances on the ground with two touchdowns apiece, senior tight end Kartman Highley hauling in his third TD pass of the season from junior quarterback Cade Beshore, and wingbacks Avious Steadman and Brice Budd each running in scores. Even one of Nevada’s offensive linemen, junior Skylur Mashek, got in on the action when he recovered one of his teammate’s fumbles in the end zone.
Unlike last week, though, the Tigers avoided putting themselves in an early deficit in this one.
Instead, they set the tone from the start, scoring the first 20 points of the game.
On the team’s opening drive, a 37-yard sweep by Steadman set up a six-yard TD run by Sanderson, who was escorted into the end zone by his O-line — which dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Steadman was then rewarded with a pass from Beshore for the two-point conversion.
After Nevada’s defense forced a turnover on downs against a Hollister offense that posted 42 points in its season-opening win against Monett, Johnson and Steadman helped carry the Tigers back to paydirt, culminating with an 8-yard score by Johnson (two-point attempt no good).
Sanderson, playing defensive end, recovered a fumble before the end of the first quarter, setting up Beshore’s 15-yard TD pass to Highley (two-point conversion failed again).
Hollister finally got on the board with a TD run and two-point conversion, but Sanderson and the Tigers took advantage of a mismatch on the right side of the line and marched back down the field for another score (Sanderson from nine yards out; failed two-point conversion).
The Tigers of Hollister started to find some success through the air, but defensive back Budd made them pay with an interception at midfield right before halftime — a turnover the Tigers of Nevada cashed in with nine seconds left when Steadman lost the ball as he was about to cross the goal line, and Mashek fell on it. The two-point try failed again, but no matter. Nevada had a 32-8 lead at the break.
Hollister came out firing, though, scoring a 65-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the third quarter (two-point attempt was good).
But Sanderson continued to pound the right side, busting off a 46-yard rush that set up Johnson for his second TD trot of the game (eight yards out; Steadman’s two-point run good).
After a Hollister punt, Beshore found Highley for a 22-yard pass on first down — and then it was Steadman’s turn for six, taking a reverse from Johnson 25 yards to the house (Beshore found Highley for the two-point conversion).
Hollister managed two more scores of its own, but Budd (who almost snagged a 22-yard touchdown pass earlier in the game) sealed it for NHS with a 12-yard TD run on fourth down with four minutes left (two-point try failed).
Next week, the Tigers will take their 2-0 record against the Big 8 East to West foe Cassville — which shut out Mt. Vernon in week one, only to get blanked by Marshfield last night.