Brandt's fourth quarter miracle rescues Tigers
Nevada Daily Mail
Trailing 28-27 to Sedalia Smith Cotton with 1:12 remaining in the game Friday night, Nevada Tigers star running back and kick returner Chaden Brandt, took a kickoff, accelerated and exploded up field for a dramatic go-ahead touchdown.
Brandt's electrifying 95-yard kickoff return propelled Nevada to a 35-28 road victory over Sedalia.
Brandt also struck twice earlier in the game, scoring on an 88-yard interception return and a 54-yard run.
"He's a special player," Nevada head coach Erik Yoakam said after the game.
As the newest member of the West Central Conference, the victory handed Nevada (1-4, 1-3) its first ever conference win.
Yoakam said his message to Brandt and Taylor Manes, who was also back for the kickoff return, was to get the ball to midfield.
"We just needed a good kick return to get us in good field position," Yoakam said. "We really challenged them to get to midfield. And they had some good backside blocks for Chaden that sprung him."
With Brandt's heroics, Nevada averted disaster, having just watched their 20-point lead evaporate.
Nevada's defense played a critical role in Friday night's victory, as they came up with two first half touchdowns.
The first came on a 30-yard fumble return by Austin Deer, which gave Nevada a 7-0 first quarter lead.
Later in the half, with Smith Cotton driving deep into Nevada territory, Brandt, who has played safety and linebacker this season, picked off quarterback Caleb Reed, and sprinted 88-yards for the touchdown. The Tigers led 13-0 after the extra point failed.
"The defense is starting to come around," Yoakam said. "They caused five turnovers last week. We gave up 48 points (to O'Hara), but a lot of that is what the offense does and puts them in bad situations.
"We expected a good game from our defense. And we told them that if we played up to our potential, they would have a good game. And it showed right off the bat that we were going to try set the tone with our defense."
Sedalia regrouped, marching down the field, capping off their drive on a 2-yard run by Carlton Homan, as Smith-Cotton sliced the lead to 13-7 midway through the second quarter.
After receiving the ball back, Yoakam dialed up a sprint option, in which Nevada quarterback Andrew Heathman pitched the ball out to Brandt, who then broke off a 54-yard touchdown run.
Heathman then pitched out to Manes, who found the end zone on the two-point conversion, handing the Tigers a 21-7 lead with 4:33 remaining in the first half.
"We've gone back offensively (in practice) and worked on the basics," Yoakam said. "We're still a work in progress on offense. We're a young offense trying to grow.
"And you could start to see some of those good things happen offensively, tonight."
Early in the second half, it looked as though Nevada had shut the door on Smith-Cotton, when Manes took a hand off for a 75-yard touchdown gallop. The point after attempt was blocked, and Nevada led 27-7.
"Taylor broke a tackle and then he was gone," Yoakam said. "Taylor's one of those kids who keeps his feet moving at all times. He broke a tackle and saw the edge."
On Sedalia's next drive, Nevada's defense began to wear down, as Reed connected with wide receiver Marquez Raye, and running back Steven Archambault piled up yards on the ground.
A touchdown by Archambault late in the third quarter, gave new life to Smith-Cotton, as they now trailed 27-14.
With Nevada's offense stalling, Smith Cotton took advantage. After converting two fourth down's, Reed had his offense set up with a first and goal midway through the fourth quarter.
However, the Tigers defense stiffened, forcing a fourth down.
On fourth-and-goal from the Nevada 9-yard line, Reed rolled out to his left and found a wide open Archambault in the end zone, bringing Smith-Cotton to within 27-21.
On Nevada's next possession, Heathman was intercepted by outside linebacker Jake Kindle, who was brought down around midfield.
Sedalia then took nearly four minutes off the clock, as they moved the ball down to the Nevada 2-yard line.
From there, Archambault finished off the drive after taking a hand off and going over the right guard for a touchdown. The extra point was successful by a whisker, putting Smith-Cotton on top 28-27, and in the drivers seat with 1:12 remaining in the game.
Yoakam said he had a specific message for his team, as they watched the lead slip away.
"One more, one more play, one more quarter ---- you cannot give up," he said. "The (previous) four weeks, we probably would have given up and lost that football game.
"I really feel like we're starting to grow as a team."
With Nevada facing the possibility of a crushing defeat, Brandt and Manes stepped back onto the field, setting the stage for a spectacular finish.
"He just does the things that you can't really coach," Yoakam said. "Taylor is similar to that as well. And when you have those kinds of kids, it makes life a little bit easier on a coach."
Yoakam said that Brandt has field vision unlike any player he has ever coached.
"He was an All-State kick returner for us last year," Yoakam said. "After he fields it, Chaden can see the field like other people can't. He's one of the players ---- I never tell him not to do it, but it's like 'Oh my goodness, come on.' I have faith in him.
"He's just trying to find his cut, is what he's looking for. He will kind of jog up to the line a little bit, and then all of the sudden he's a hundred miles an hour in no time flat.
"And that's just one of those things that you don't see very often."
Nevada next returns home for Homecoming, as they face Seneca at 7 p.m. Friday.
"We're definitely not the team yet that we want to be, but we're making strides towards that," he said.