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Tigers stopped short in Neosho
By Joe Warren
Nevada Herald
NEOSHO, Mo.--Inconsistency and missed opportunities hurt the Nevada Tigers Friday as they fell to Neosho 14-10 in a Southwest Conference gridiron battle.
The visiting Tigers (2-4 overall, 0-3 in the Southwest Conference) jumped out to an early lead when newly-converted outside linebacker Keith Overton intercepted a pass from Neosho (3-3, 1-0) quarterback Zach Stuart and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown on the third play from scrimmage. Overton had played corner most of the season so he was comfortable in coverage and it showed on the pick.
The turnover was set up by pressure on Stuart from the Nevada defensive line, something that continued throughout the rest of the game.
After the opening score made it 7-0, Nevada held the Wildcats to three-and-out on their next possession and followed that with a good drive.
The Tigers went 63 yards in six plays before settling for a 32-yard field goal attempt by Kyle Quick -- his first this season. Quick missed the kick just wide of the upright, and Nevada still only led by seven.
Nevada started their next possession on their own 48, but could not take advantage of the field position as the Wildcat defense stiffened.
After a sack on first down cost Nevada 9 yards, they eventually were forced to punt again.
A good punt and another strong defensive stand kept the field position advantage for the Tigers. A 10-yard Baker return of a Neohso punt and a personal foul on the Wildcats gave the Tigers the ball at the Neosho 33.
But on the third play of the drive, Eric Atkinson fumbled and Neosho was able to get out of the field position hole.
Neosho scored in the second quarter after an interception of a Justin Reed pass and a 34-yard return by Kelsey Ray gave them the ball at Nevada's 5-yard line. Two plays later Stuart scored on a quarterback sneak from 1-yard out.
On the extra-point the Wildcats faked a kick and Stuart hit tight end Trevor Lewis for a two-point conversion giving Neohso an 8-7 lead.
The ensuing kickoff was short and returned by Atkinson 65 yards to the Neosho 19 giving Nevada abother scoring opportinity.
After three plays netted ony six yards the Tigers again tried a field goal attempt, with Quick connecting from 32 yards to give Nevada a 10-8 lead.
Neosho, which had been trying unsuccessfully to run outside and pass the ball for most of the first half, went to a power-running attack against the smaller Tigers. The approach paid off as the Wildcats moved the ball 64 yards on 17 plays (15 of them running plays) and finished the drive with a 30-yard Stuart field goal as the half ended to regain the lead 11-10.
In the second half neither team did anything on their first two drives until Nevada's offense finally found some rhythm.
A 15-play drive by the Tigers (their longest of the season) came to a crashing end when a sack on third and 10 left Nevada in fourth and 15 at the Neosho 20.
Rather than attempt a long field goal, Nevada coach John Skeans decided to go for it and Reed was sacked again to end the threat.
Neosho answered with another 17-play drive, capping it with a 24-yard field goal by Stuart to provide the final margin, 14-10.
Nevada had one more chance, but on the following possession Reed was intercepted with 2:24 left and the Wildcats ran out the clock.
"That was tough," Skeans said about the close loss.
Skeans said Nevada's inconsistency on offense and inability to take advantage of great field position early in the game were two keys in the loss.
"Everytime we have the ball inside the opponent's territory, we have to come away with some points," he said. "We've got to punch the ball in."
Both defenses played well, as the Tigers were held to 141 yards of total offense while holding Neosho to only 165 yards.
"Defensively I though we played a really strong game," Skeans said.
Skeans also said the lack of depth became a factor when Neosho drove the ball late in the game for the final field goal.
"They put a solid drive together. We've got quite a few kids that go both ways (play offense and defense)," he said. "When you don't get a chance to get off the field, that can be challenging from a conditioning standpoint."
Skeans was proud of his players for keeping Neosho out of the end zone on their two 17-play drives.
"They were just playing their hearts out," Skeans said.
One bright spot for Nevada was the play of Derik Scotten. Scotten played defensive tackle for the first time this season and was a force as a pass rusher collecting a sack and a couple quarterback pressures.
Other players who stepped up were Brad Gash who also had a sack and Nate Uttinger who recovered a fumble.
Nevada also lost the turnover battle 3-2.