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Big plays doom Nevada junior varsity football squad
Nevada Daily Mail
In a junior varsity matchup Tuesday evening at Logan Field, the Kansas City Center Yellowjackets defeated the Nevada Tigers, 38-22.
"The effort was there," NHS JV coach Jamie Alexander said. "There are some things we have to work on. Obviously tackling, being disciplined, and getting off the football. But overall I'm very proud of the effort, and we're continuing to get better."
Yellowjackets quarterback Amaun Ryan ran wild, racking up 138 first half rushing yards, to go along with two rushing touchdowns.
On Nevada's opening drive, the Yellowjackets came up with a fumble, after Nevada quarterback Jacob Hammontree lost control of the ball.
Yellowjackets tailback Maliek Collins, who rushed for over 100 yards on the day, scored on Center's first possession. The successful two-point conversion put Center up 8-0.
Nevada's offense prominently featured sophomore running back Cameron Diaz, who broke a couple of nice runs on Nevada's scoring drive late in the first quarter. Diaz also capped the drive with a rushing touchdown.
With time winding down in the first quarter, Collins dodged several Tiger defenders on his way to a 65-yard touchdown dash. Collins also converted the two-point conversion, giving the Yellowjackets a 16-6 lead.
Later in the second quarter, Nevada was stopped on four plays from inside of the 5-yard line, turning the ball over on downs at the Yellowjackets 1-yard line.
After regaining possession, and with the ball resting on the 9-yard line, Ryan took a quarterback keeper and exploded for a 91-yard touchdown run, staking Center to a 22-6 lead.
"We have to get better at angle tackling and breaking down," Alexander said. "A lot of guys were there, we were just over-pursuing."
With Center now leading 22-14 with under a minute remaining before halftime, the Tiger defense faltered. On the final play before half time, Ryan reversed field on a designed quarterback keeper, seemingly eluding all 11 Tiger defenders on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion put the Yellowjackets up 30-14, as they coasted to the 38-22 victory.
Game notes
Diaz suffered a head injury early in the third quarter. He was put onto a stretcher and taken off the field by ambulance. Diaz was then life-flighted to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for further observation.
Nevada football coach Erik Yoakam provided an update on Diaz's condition. Yoakam said the initial test results on Diaz were "better than expected," and that he was life-flighted primarily for precautionary reasons.