Tigers fall in season finale at home

Photos By Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail Nevada's Johnathan Klingaman (7) and Tyler Dobson (8) splash down on the Carthage sideline after Dobson was tackled during Thursday's game against the Carthage Tigers. [Click to enlarge]

The Nevada Tigers varsity football team made their final return to Logan Field Thursday night for Senior Night hoping the get back on the winning track as they hosted the Carthage Tigers.

Entering the contest at 7-2 on the year, the Tigers of Carthage represented the fifth ranked opponent that Nevada faced over the course of the year as they entered the season finale as the fourth-ranked team in Class 4, according to maxpreps.com. Carthage came into the contest with wins in six of their last seven games overall, including a 40-3 victory over Carl Junction in district competition last week.

Nevada, on the other hand, has suffered losses in each of its last four games, losing to Cassville and Webb City at home and McDonald County and Carl Junction on the road. Thursday night's contest represented one of the toughest challenges the Tigers had seen all year and their last chance at getting into the win column at home.

Nevada junior Jordan Herren dives for a first down with 50 seconds left in the first quarter of Thursday's game against the Carthage Tigers at a very wet and slippery Logan Field. [Click to enlarge]

The Webb City Cardinals have already clinched the Class 4 District 12 victory and Carthage entered Thursday night's contest needing a win to seal the second spot in the state playoffs. For Nevada, Thursday night's game marked the end of the 2009 season and the high school careers of 10 seniors.

"This group of seniors is very special. They're special to the program, they're very special to me and more importantly, they're great young men," Nevada head coach Jay Fleeman said. "Those 10 guys are destined to do great things in life, I know it. They've got those attributes that winners have and they're going to put it forth as they finish their high school career."

Carthage wasted little time in exhibiting their ability to succeed in both the running and passing game as they needed just two plays to take the ball 71 yards down field for the score. That drive was capped off by a 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Peterson down the middle of the field to his leading receiver, Mason Siebert.

Nearing the midpoint of the first half, Carthage went back to the running game and was able to make it work nearly at will, mounting a very strong drive on their second possession of the night to extend their lead to 15-0 on an 8-yard touchdown run by Trevor Hole that was followed by a two-point conversion with 3:21 to go in the first quarter.

Nevada struggled to get anything going offensively early in the contest, gaining just 15 yards on their first two drives combined and the very sloppy and wet conditions on the field ultimately allowed Carthage to pick up the game's first turnover. That turnover gave Carthage a short field and they needed just one play to take advantage.

Senior running back Brian Poston's number was called once again and he took a 32-yard scamper right past the left side of Nevada's defense and into the end zone for his first touchdown of the game with 1:24 to go in the first quarter to make it 21-0, Poston has been Carthage's leading rusher throughout the season and that touchdown represented his 13th of the year.

Early in the second quarter, Peterson connected with Siebert on a long touchdown pass for the second time in the contest as Siebert took a 38-yard catch and run into the end zone to give Carthage a 27-0 lead with 9:48 to go in the half.

As the minutes wore on in the opening half, the Tigers were finally able to begin to find their offensive rhythm, mounting a strong drive near the midpoint of the second quarter, but the Carthage defense maintained their composure, continuing to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard.

The Tigers defense continued to be unable to find an answer for the strong running of Poston and he ultimately made them pay once again, leading Carthage on a very strong touchdown drive. Poston capped off that drive with his second touchdown of the night -- a 5-yard run -- to give Carthage a 35-0 lead with 3:24 to go in the half.

Poston came into the night averaging 130 yards rushing per game and surpassed that total in the first half as he notched a total of of 179 yards on 15 carries. Siebert surpassed his season receiving average of 49 yards on the year in the opening half as well as he caught three passes for 116 yards.

Team totals were stacked in Carthage's favor as well as they ran the ball for a total of 212 yards while Peterson completed three of four passes for 116 yards and one interception. Nevada quarterback Austin Baldwin didn't complete a pass in four attempts in the first half and the Tigers ran for just 30 yards on the ground.

The sloppy conditions on the field continued to be a major course of issue for both teams early in the second half, but the running clock that came with the 35-point Carthage lead made the half go by much more quickly.

"It was wet, absolutely," Fleeman said "It was muddy and there's nothing you can do about it but play in and have some fun."

Penalties became a major course of issue for both sides in the second half as well. Neither team seemed to be able to reign in the level of intensity that always comes with a Nevada-Carthage matchup and as a result, flags seemed to fly nearly continuously in the second half.

As the third quarter wore on, the Tigers of Carthage added to their lead once again as Poston took the ball 37 yards down field for his third touchdown of the game. That run capped off yet another strong drive for Carthage that gave extended their advantage to 42-0 with 2:34 to go in the third quarter.

Nevada was finally able to find the scoreboard for the first and only time in the game with 8:34 to go in the game as Baldwin took the ball down the field nearly on his own, capping off a strong drive with a 36-yard touchdown run up the Carthage sideline to make it 42-6.

As they have done all year, the Tigers didn't seem to pay any attention to the scoreboard in the second half as they continued to pick up their level of intensity throughout the final 24 minutes.

"This group doesn't have one ounce of quit in them and it showed," Fleeman said. "I mean, we're going to keep playing all the way through and I'm going to miss these guys."

Baldwin looked as though he had made the decision to take his team on his shoulders in the waning minutes as he ultimately finished the game as the responsible party for nearly all of Nevada's yardage. That surge proved to be too little, too late, however as Carthage took the victory by a final score of 42-6.

With that loss, the Tigers completed the 2009 season with an overall record of 3-7, while Carthage improved to 8-2 and will move on to the state playoffs.