NEVADA WINS THIRD-STRAIGHT

By Jason Peake

Herald-Tribune

EL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. -- It took nearly the entire game, but the Nevada Tigers finally broke through.

Johnathan Klingaman charged into the endzone late in the fourth quarter, the defense came up big once again and the Nevada High School football team knocked off El Dorado Springs 8-0 on Friday night.

"This win is huge for us," Nevada sophomore quarterback Alex Payne said. "This is a big rivalry game and it's just a great win for us, especially for our seniors."

A defensive struggle throughout, Nevada was clinging to a 2-0 lead late in the game when the team's offense finally broke through.

Nevada started on the 44, and runs by Trevor Hunholz and Bradey Denney put the visitors within the red zone.

A senior, Klingaman ran to the one-yard line on second down. On the next play, Klingaman took a handoff from Payne and charged to the outside, absorbed a hit and scored the game's only touchdown.

"To finally break through was exciting," Payne said. "The line dug down deep and Klingaman ran hard. He's just a great runner for us. It felt awesome to get that last touchdown."

Throughout the contest, both teams struggled to score, coming up short again and again against the opposing defense.

"I'll be honest, I didn't adjust fast enough tonight," Nevada Coach Wes Beachler said. "We made an adjustment on the last drive. I changed our blocking calls, and it paid off. I wish I would have done it earlier, though."

Nevada's score came with 1:06 remaining in the game. The PAT kick failed.

The host Bulldogs, celebrating Homecoming, had one last chance.

El Dorado Springs started on the 45-yard line with just under a minute to go. Quarterback Kyle McCullick completed two short passes to Joey Hall, but a penalty on the Bulldogs pushed them back.

With 38 seconds left, McCullick passed to Brendan Fast.

As Fast attempted to pick up additional yardage, Nevada junior lineman Sam Ellifrits stripped the ball, causing a fumble.

The Tigers recovered the football in a big pile, all but securing the win.

Payne took a knee, the clock ran out, and the Tigers earned a hard-fought victory. The win was Nevada's third-straight of the season after an 0-2 start.

"Our kids played hard," Beachler said. "This is a big step for us. Good teams win ugly sometimes. Bad teams never win ugly. I felt like we may have turned the corner tonight. I'm just proud of the kids for playing hard and fighting like they did."

After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers caught a break. After a nice punt by Lucas Denman, El Dorado Springs started deep on the two-yard line with under 30 seconds to go in the first half.

After a short gain on the ground, the Bulldogs fumbled on the second play of the drive. An El Dorado Springs player fell on the ball in the endzone with 16 seconds left, resulting in a safety and a 2-0 lead for Nevada. The score held up until late in the game.

The Nevada defense allowed virtually nothing for the entire game. In fact, El Dorado Springs was held to just 40 yards rushing on 30 carries. The Bulldogs completed five of six passes for 21 yards, giving the team just 61 yards of total offense. The Tigers have allowed just one touchdown in the last 10 quarters of play.

"I don't know if our kids are just geared towards defense, or maybe (Defensive Coordinator) Don Epps is a genius," Beachler said. "We're stressing solid defensive principles in practice and the defense is playing very well right now. We hope that continues."

Nevada's offense did just enough.

Klingaman ran 18 times for 140 yards to lead the way. Hunholz carried the ball 12 times for 38 yards, Dalton Hendren ran eight times for 36 yards and Denney had 25 rushing yards on six carries. The Tigers rushed for 245 yards on 52 carries. Nevada did not complete a pass.

Now 3-2, Nevada heads to William Chrisman on Saturday, Oct. 1.

NEVADA 8, EL DORADO SPRINGS 0

NEV 0 2 0 6 -- 8

ELD 0 0 0 0 -- 0

Friday's scoring summary

Second quarter

NEV: Safety, 0:16.

Fourth quarter

NEV: Klingaman, 1 yard run, 1:06. Kick failed.