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Nevada Tigers take the win, 56-0, in season opener
The 2023 version of the Nevada Football Tigers opened their season last night at Logan Field. The Tigers played host to the Springfield Catholic Irish. Catholic is coming off an 0-10 season in the fall of 2022. The Tigers, 9-3 last fall, were 62-7 winners over Catholic in last year's season opener.
The contest was pushed back an hour due to the excessive heat Nevadahas been experiencing. That turned out to be an excellent move by Athletic Director David Hawks and the R5 Administration. The temperature at 6:30 pm registered at 103 degrees but had dropped to 89 by kickoff.
Nevada deferred the kick off and Catholic quickly registered a three and out. Nevada took possession on their own 39 yard line. Junior running Jack Cheaney back scampered for 11 yards followed by 8 yard run by senior back, Brice Budd. After an encroachment call against the Irish, Budd ran for another 8 yards to the Nevada 26 yard line. Jack Cheaney took the carry right and found paydirt after a 28 yard run only to have the touchdown negated by a Nevada penalty. It was then from the Nevada 16 yard line that senior back Dezmon Robinson found the endzone at 6:29 left in the first quarter. Robinson ran the ball for a successful two point conversion that made the score 8-0 in favor of the Tigers.
After a second consecutive three and out, Nevada started their second drive of the evening on their own 18 yard line. Quarterback Kellen Braden passed to back Dezmon Robinson for a 13 yard gain. Eventually the drive would stall after a penalty and a 4th and 2 yard run that failed to achieve a first down. As the 1st quarter came to a close, the Tigers held an 8-0 advantage
The second quarter saw a continuation of the stellar defensive effort by the Crimson clad Tigers and an offensive explosion of 24 points by the offense. There were several long runs by tiger running backs behind stellar offensive line play. Two time all state offensive lineman Talan Chandler made several jaw dropping blocks pulling from his guard position and his fellow Tiger lineman dominated the trenches. Cheaney had back to back 15 yard runs followed by a 10 yard run by Robinson. The Tigers had pushed the ball to the Catholic 10 yard line for a first and goal. It was then with 7:33 left in the second quarter that Robinson galloped for a 10 yard score. The successful 2 point conversion was a pass from Braden to Budd to bring the score Nevada 14 and Catholic 0.
The rest of the 2nd quarter would see a 57 yard touchdown run by Cheaney at 4:09 left in the half. The two point conversion, a pass from Braden to Grady Stewart was successful, Brice Budd would follow at 2:33 with a 33 yard touchdown of his own. The PAT kick was good. As a result the Tigers took a commanding 31-0 lead into halftime.
The second half saw more of the same. Dominating offensive line play and outstanding runs by Cheaney, Budd, Robinson and Junior Gabe Smith who scored his first touchdown of the season. The defense gave the Irish no chance to establish any momentum and pitched the shut out.
Nevada finished off Catholic by a final score of 56-0 to move to 1-0 on the season.
Tiger fans can look forward to a more complete game review including a complete scoring summary and comments from Head Coach Wes Beachler in next Tuesday's Daily Mail along with a look ahead to next week's opponent Reeds Spring.