Tigers close the book on 2005 season

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

The 2005 high school football season is now over. So, what did we learn?

Nate Uttinger (21) was one of nine seniors who led the Nevada Tigers both on the field and in practice this season.

1. We learned that the 2005 squad was better than the 2004 squad.

Sure the 2004 team beat Lamar, but they seemed to regress as the season went along, going from 2-2, to 2-8.

The 2005 team seemed to improve as the season went along, despite the fact that key players went down to injuries.

Nevada posted a conference win (Neosho), a district win (Carl Junction) and a road win (East Newton). That trifecta for a varsity team with only 10 players above the 10th grade is a mighty high task.

By the way, Nevada finished the last five games 2-3, after a 1-4 start.

2. The future is bright.

Freshman payers Colby Shepherd and Cameron Cartwright got plenty of varsity action. Sophomores dominated the face of the team as Jerrod Alexander, Jacob Anderson, Cole Bond, Jacob Cherry, Spencer Daniels, Ethan Fast, Ronnie Herda, Ryan Herda, Kyle Hughes and Dan Lovinger all started games. Some of them started all 10 games. A few started all 10 games on both sides of the ball.

This core of players along with a slew of freshman coming up and a couple of sophomores who were injured for most of the year, should make the next two seasons mighty entertaining.

By the end of the 2005 season, the aforementioned group were not playing like underclassmen. They were playing varsity-level football like they belonged.

It's not out of the question to expect the 2006 Tigers to win at least half their games. At the very least look for the trend of improvement to continue.

3. Nine seniors showed a lot of heart.

John Skeans said it best after the O'Hara game. "Our nine seniors have given 100 percent every week in practice. They've given tremendous leadership ... we had a great team atmosphere this year. Can the returning players demonstrate the leadership that these seniors did this year? It's a good challenge for our kids."

Despite the obvious fact that they were in the middle of a rebuilding process, nine seniors saw the importance of playing high school football. They envisioned their part in the rebuilding process. They were able to set an example for the younger players in respect to work ethic and desire. In essence, they helped lay the ground work.

Heath Baker, Justin Fleming, Brad Gash, Logan Moore, Thorne Penrod, Andrew Quest, Kyle Quick, Keith Overton and Nate Uttinger played a big role in how this team will perform next year, and the year after.

The upperclassmen next season know how it's done by watching this year's seniors. That's what leadership is all about.

4. There's still a long way to go.

While Nevada showed it can compete with the likes of Neosho, Carl Junction, Lamar, El Dorado Springs, McDonald County and O'Hara, they still have a ways to go before they can catch the Webb City's and the Harrisonville's of high school football.

Even Carthage is simply on a different plane at this level of Nevada's development. If the Tigers wish to contend in the conference, or more importantly, in the district, they need to take the next step. Actually, they need to take the next two or three steps, because the state playoffs only accept the district champion and Harrisonville is the team to beat.