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Tigers rock solid, roll over Houn' Dawgs. 39-20
In their regular-season finale Friday night the Nevada Tigers steamrolled the Aurora Houn' Dawgs, 39-20.
The Big 8 Conference cross-division clash moves Nevada to 6-3 overall. The six victories are their highest win total since Fall 2012.
After losing star tailback Case Sanderson a week ago to a season-ending injury Nevada didn't miss a beat with its ground-game, as a heavy dose of Kaden Denney and Eli Cheaney ultimately proved too much for the beleaguered Houn' Dawgs' defense.
Late in the opening frame the first of Nevada defensive back Drew Beachler's two interceptions had the Tigers setting up shop near midfield. After moving the ball inside the 5-yard line a holding penalty threatened to stall the drive. Facing a third-and-long, quarterback Dylan Beachler connected with Denney for an 18-yard TD strike. Nevada led 6-0 after a failed point-after attempt.
Aurora (6-3) responded on its ensuing possession, with fullback Brody Sims rumbling straight up the middle for a 62-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point play handed the Houn' Dawgs an 8-6 advantage.
Nevada wasted little time regaining the lead, as a quick drive was punctuated by Cheaney's two-yard TD plunge. A misfire on the two-point play left Nevada with a 12-8 lead.
Facing a fourth-and-3 from their own 40, the Houn' Dawgs rolled the dice but came up short, as they were stuffed by Nevada's defensive line on the run play. After taking over on downs, Cheaney struck for paydirt on a 40-yard scamper. Another missed two-point play left Nevada with an 18-8 lead with 9:12 remaining in the first half.
Aurora, however, had some fight left, as signal-caller Aaron Fisher linked up with Gavin Youngblood for a 24-yard TD reception. The two point attempt failed, and Nevada maintained an 18-14 advantage.
A key play that seemed to swing the pendulum heavily in Nevada's favor occurred late in the first half. Facing a second-and-30 from deep in their own territory, Fisher threw an ill-advised pass that was snagged by linebacker Logan Marquardt. On first down from the Aurora 26, Cheaney, absorbing a massive hit, aired out a half-back option pass to a diving Kartman Highley in the end zone. With the successful two-point play Nevada led 26-14 at the half.
Receiving the ball to open the second half Nevada's methodical, smashmouth drive was capped off by Denney's one-yard run. The drive, which chewed up more than eight minutes of the third quarter clock, put the Tigers on top, 32-14.
Nevada's lead swelled to 25 early in the fourth, as Denney's third touchdown of the evening, plus an Omar Vargas extra point, staked the Tigers to a 39-14 advantage, sealing the impressive victory.
Nevada’s first home playoff game since 2017 is on tap for next Friday night. The district playoff showdown pits No. 4 seed Nevada against No. 5 Harrisonville. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. from Logan Field.
"I've heard some people say the Big 8 is down a little bit," began Nevada head coach Wes Beachler during his postgame radio interview. "That is yet-to-be seen. I think Cassville and Lamar have a great chance to make some noise. (Logan) Rogersville does as well on the east side, and hopefully we can make some noise in the playoffs. I think there's more balance, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's down. And anytime you can win back-to-back road games in the big 8 Conference to end your year, that's pretty solid."
Beachler said he was pleased with his squad's all-around effort.
"I thought our offense responded well tonight," he said. "Drew had two picks on defense. Our defense got some key stops. We did a lot of nice things. About as complete game as I've seen."
Added Beachler: "We had to go for some tough yards off-tackle, and up-the-middle, and our kids responded well. We told our kids they needed to play a complete game tonight, and they came out and scored on that opening second half drive. That was huge for us tonight.”