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Tigers upended by McDonald County, bad offense
By Joe Warren
Nevada Herald
When the Nevada Tigers and the McDonald County Mustangs squared off at Logan Field Friday, it was a game featuring two football teams headed in opposite directions in the standings.
Nevada had lost three straight while McDonald County was coming off a big 36-point win.
However, Friday's game looked like two teams similar in talent level, and neither team looked like an offensive juggernaut.
For Nevada, the game was not unlike last week's 14-10 loss to Neosho.
For the second straight week it was defense that dominated the game and like the first time, the Tigers came up short.
McDonald County scored on their first possession of the game and that was all they needed (and would get) as the Mustangs beat the Tigers 7-0.
A 36-yard catch and run by McDonald County running back Seth Walters on a screen pass gave McDonald County their lone touchdown with 5:52 left in the first quarter.
From there it was a grudge match between two defenses that would not break and two offenses that went backwards almost as much as they went forward.
Nevada (2-5 overall, 0-3 in the Southwest Conference) had chances to score, four times getting receivers open behind the McDonald County (2-5, 1-0) secondary only to not connect with the passes.
Besides that, the Tigers had trouble moving the football offensively.
Nevada ended the game with only 55 yards of total offense.
To make matters worse, Nevada also committed 53 yards in penalties.
The offensive futility is something that concerned Nevada coach John Skeans.
"We've got to get better, there's nothing else to it," Skeans said.
Even though the yardage might say differently, the Tigers were not dominated by the McDonald County defense. The Tigers did have seven first downs, but were not able to get more than two in a series the entire game.
Both times the TIgers did string together consecutive first downs, the offense self-imploded and were eventually forced to punt.
On Nevada's opening possession they started on their own 35-yard line and drove to the Mustangs 43 where they had a first down.
From there the offense went backwards. A McDonald County blitz caught the Nevada offense out of position and quarterback Justin Reed was sacked for a 7-yard loss.
On the next play Reed was operating from the shotgun and the snap went over his head, rolling all the way to the Nevada 26-yard line before Reed could recover it.
After a short pass did not net any yards, the Tigers were forced to punt facing fourth-and-41.
On their next possession the Tigers started at their own 32 and picked up a first down after runs by Thorne Penrod and Keith Overton.
However another potential drive went south when a holding call cost Nevada 16 yards and another sack set them back three more.
Again Nevada would punt facing fourth-and-long, this time needing 18 yards.
On their third drive of the game Nevada again looked to have something started offensively.
Quarterback Ronnie Herda (who rotated in every third series for Nevada) completed a short pass to Overton that netted 3 yards. Then Overton ran for 6 yards setting up third-and-1.
Heath Baker ran for four yards to pick up the first down.
Herda picked up 4 yards on a quarterback draw, then Baker ran for another first down by picking up 8 yards around the left end.
Overton gained 2 yards on the next play, but the Nevada offense stalled again.
A busted running play cost Baker and the Tigers offense 6 yards, and Herda was sacked for a loss of three on the final play of the drive, forcing another punt.
Nevada would not put together any meaningful offense again, only collecting two first downs the rest of the game.
The Tigers did have receivers open deep on a few occasions though, plays that would have gone for touchdowns had the quarterback and receiver been able to hook up.
The first time was in the first quarter on the Tigers second possession when Blake Sanderson got behind the Mustang defense.
It was second-and-20 from the Nevada 33, and Sanderson was in McDonald County territory, but Reed was unable to hit him, overthrowing the streaking receiver.
In the second quarter it was Andrew Quest who was open behind the secondary. Nevada was on their own 10 and Quest likely would have gone all the way, but Reed again overthrew the receiver, with the ball going over Quest's head at midfield.
Quest again got open late in the first half, but again the throw was over his head, this time as he was running inside the McDonald County 30.
Perhaps the best chance Nevada had to connect on a deep pass was with tight end Ben Wilson open on a seam route during Nevada's opening possession of the third quarter.
Reed had looked the safety off beautifully, then turned left to throw the ball to Wilson. The throw was perfect, but Wilson got turned around trying to find the ball and ended up being short of the pass.
Any one of the four pass plays would have tied the score.
The fact Nevada was still in the game was a testament to how well the defense played.
Despite some poor tackling in the second half, Nevada was able to hold the Mustangs to 194 yards of offense.
Nevada picked off McDonald County quarterback Jake Woolard twice, once by Eric Atkinson and once by Nate Uttinger.
Woolard was also pressured all night, getting sacked five times and stopped behind the line twice on draws by the Tiger defense.
Both teams start district play this week. Nevada hosts defending Class 3 champion Harrisonville, while McDonald County returns home to play Carthage.
Notes: Wilson and Brad Robison both had 1 1/2 sacks to lead the Tigers ... Nevada was held to -2 yards rushing ... the Tiger offense has not scored a touchdown since the first quarter of their Sept. 24 game against Webb City, a span of 15 quarters ... since defeating East Newton Sept. 17, Nevada has scored 16 points in four games ... McDonald County also was penalized heavily, losing 59 yards to flags ... Nevada can still make the postseason if they win all three district games.