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Tigers maul Cubs, now 7-1
Nevada traveled to Monett Friday night for a Big 8 West Division contest. The Tigers were coming off a 14-0 loss to Lamar while Monett was defeated by McDonald County in a road contest, 45-14. Nevada entered the contest with 6 wins and 1 loss and was the 8th ranked squad in Missouri Class 4. The Tigers were also looking to maintain the top seed in Class 4 -District 7. Monett by contrast, was 0-7 entering the game.
Nevada came into the contest giving up 16 points a game on defense while averaging 40 points on offense. By comparison, Monett was averaging 13 points a game offensively while giving up just under 38 points per contest on defense. Nevada won last year’s contest 48-7 at home.
It took the Tigers 42 seconds to get on the scoreboard. At 11:18 in the opening quarter, junior running back Jack Cheaney scored on a 48-yard touchdown run. The Kellen Braden PAT kick was blocked and Nevada took a 6-0 lead.
Nevada held the Cubs to a three and out on their first series and forced Monett to punt the football. After a false start penalty on Nevada, the Tigers faced a 3rd and 6 yards to go. On the succeeding play, the Tigers fumbled on the Monett 20. But luckily, junior offensive line Camdyn Williams jumped on the ball for Nevada. On the next play from scrimmage, Cheaney converted on a 4th down run, pushing the football inside the Cub 10-yard line. Then at 5:41, senior running back Bice Budd scored on an 8-yard touchdown run. The Braden PAT kick was good and Nevada led 13-0. Just over a minute later, with 4:30 to go in the first quarter, junior running back Gabe Smith scored on a 64-yard touchdown run. The Braden PAT kick was good. Then after holding the Cubs once again, a 41-yard punt return by Brice Budd punt would set the Tigers up for their fourth score on the Monett 1 yard line. On the next play, with 2:06 remaining in the opening stanza, Cheaney found the endzone on a 1-yard touchdown run. The Grady Stewart 2-point PAT run was good. At the conclusion of the first quarter, it was Nevada 28-Monett 0. During the second quarter the Nevada defense continued to dominate the Cubs and our Tiger offense was unstoppable. At 8:13, Brice Budd found pay dirt on a 13-yard touchdown run and with under a minute to go in the half, sophomore running back Jett Snyder scored on a 1-yard dive. The Braden PAT kick was good and Nevada held a 41-0 advantage at the half.
After a Jack Cheaney touchdown on a 56-yard run with 8:36 to go in the 3rd quarter and a subsequent Kellen Braden PAT kick, Nevada turned to it’s reserve roster for the remainder of the contest. The Nevada offense, behind the running of Jett Snyder and Bodie Thorpe, ate up yards on the ground and the clock continued to run. Meanwhile, the Nevada defense continued to pitch the shutout.
Nevada wins by a final score of 48-0. Nevada advances to 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in the Big 8 West Division. Monett falls to 0-8 and 0-5 in the Big 8 West Division.
Statistically, Nevada dominated Monett by gaining 522 yards on the ground while only giving up 89 yards rushing to the Cubs. Nevada had 18 first downs on the evening and three backs gained over 100 yards: Jack Cheaney-145, Bodie Thorpe-110 and Brice Budd rushed for 109 yards.
Tiger Head Coach Wes Beachler shared the following comments after the win, “I thought we came out the way you should come out to play any football game. The record, the ability level, the talent of your opponent can never change how you play! I thought we came out ready to return to playing football the way we are capable.” Nevada will host Seneca on Friday night with a share of the Big 8 West title on the line.
On the Indians, Beachler had the following insights, “Seneca is an entirely different beast. They can hand off to two very talented running backs, or the QB will just keep it himself and use his legs to hurt you. Along with that they have a capable passing game. Defensively they are unbelievably aggressive. They pursue the ball well and close gaps quickly. They are also well coached. Coach Hilburn, in my opinion, is one of the top 5 coaches in the area.”
Big 8 West Division Title preview:
Lamar defeated Cassville on Friday to move to 5-1 in Big 8 West Division play. Lamar’s only loss on the season came to Seneca by a score of 28-14 on September 15. Seneca defeated McDonald County on Friday 38-14 and is currently undefeated at 8-0. All three teams are state ranked: Lamar is 1st in Class 2, Seneca is 2nd in Class 3 and Nevada was 8th coming into last Friday’s contest in Missouri Class 4. If Nevada were to win this Friday Night vs Seneca, all 3 teams would claim a share of the Big 8 Conference West Division crown with identical 5-1 division records. Lamar travels to Hollister in a non-Big 8 West contest.
MSHSSA Class 4 District 7 insights:
Also looming on the horizon is District play for the Tigers. Nevada will enter Friday’s contest vs Seneca as the top seed in Missouri Class 4 District 7. If Nevada holds on to that top seed, then they will receive a first-round bye next week. What has been a topic of immense interest in our district this past week is that former top seed Grandview High School and current 2nd seeded Lincoln College Prep have had a difficult time interpreting the player eligibility rules for the Missouri High School Activities Association. As a result, Grandview was required to forfeit it’s first four games over using an ineligible player in a varsity contest. This dropped Grandview down to the 5th seed. Then on this past Friday, it was announced that 7-1 Lincoln College Prep High School will have to vacate 5 of its wins over using an ineligible player or players. Their drop in the district seeding was pending as I write this article. Based on my 15 years experience as an Athletic Director, I can offer the following insight on how this may have occurred:
• A player was never added to the school’s MSHSAA eligibility roster in August due to an athletic administrator’s oversight.
• A player was deemed academically ineligible based upon not achieving the proper number of credits the preceding semester and this information was not communicated properly within the school to the athletic office.
• A player may have only been granted “sub varsity” playing eligibility by MSHSAA due a failed hardship appeal (sub varsity is synonymous to junior varsity). If a player with only sub varsity eligibility plays in a varsity contest, then a team must forfeit that contest or contests.
As a result, the Class 4 District 7 seedings are in flux and the final seedings will most likely not reflect a “true ranking” based on a team’s past performance or potential. Both Lincoln College Prep and Grandview High School are eligible to participate in district play.
So, as you can read, the Tigers continue to have a lot to play for. In addition, Friday night vs the Seneca Indians will be “Senior Night.” Game time on October 20th is 7:00 PM. Come out and support our wonderful Band, ROTC, Dance Team and Cheerleaders. Let’s cheer on our football Tigers and their coaches as Logan Field, for the third game in a row, plays host to two state ranked opponents. It promises to be an exciting match between two excellent teams.