Strong effort not enough for Nevada to take out Pleasant Hill

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Nevada's Trevor Foreman tries to evade Pleasant Hill senior Nick Fountain during Friday night's contest. -- Ralph Pokorny/Herald-Tribune

By Eric Wade

Herald-Tribune

The Nevada Tigers suffered a very hard fought loss Friday night at the hands of the Pleasant Hill Roosters, 19-13.

After a short kick and good return coverage by Nevada, the Roosters took the game's first possession at their own 27-yard line. Pleasant Hill was able to put together a strong drive and used up nearly half of the first quarter until the Tiger defense stepped up and came through with a big third down sack near the Nevada 35.

The Roosters took a risk and chose to keep the offense on the field on fourth and 23, giving Nevada the ball at their own 33-yard line. Nevada stuck to the running game on their first drive and seemed to make it work as they were able to pound the ball through the Rooster defense.

The Tigers drive fizzled in a much similar manner to the first for Pleasant Hill as Austin Baldwin was sacked at the Pleasant Hill 27. The Tigers were able to come up with another stop, forcing a long punt that resulted in a touchback.

Nevada's next drive started out with rapid movement in the wrong direction and as the first quarter came to a close, the Tigers found themselves in a third down and 24 situation from their own 6-yard line. The drive quickly stalled and ended with a very short punt of only eight yards by Taylor Scotten that set up the Roosters inside the Nevada 15.

The first play of the Pleasant Hill drive looked as though it may result in a quick touchdown until a fumble gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 3. Nevada continued to stick with the running game and were stuffed by the Rooster defense once again and forced to punt from their own endzone for the second straight time.

Pleasant Hill once again started inside the Nevada 30 and were finally able to take advantage. The Nevada defense was unable to hold and the Roosters pounded the ball into the endzone on the ground to take a 7-0 lead with 8:38 to go in the half.

The Tigers regained possession at their own 30 after a good kickoff return and still stuck to the running game. The Pleasant Hill defense was ready for the run and quickly put the Nevada drive to rest, forcing another punt.

Nevada's defense came up big once again as Matt Herzog coughed up the football to give Nevada good field position. The Tiger running game was again shut down by the strong Rooster defense and Nevada took the risk on fourth down with favorable results.

The Tigers had fourth and six from the Pleasant Hill 25- yard line and Baldwin was able to connect with Colby Shepherd in the endzone to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:23 to go in the half.

Pleasant Hill took over at their own 26 after the kickoff and Nevada was unable to stop the high-powered Rooster pass offense. The Tigers were afforded a big break on a fourth down pass play that resulted in a first down as it was called back by an illegal procedure penalty against Pleasant Hill.

The subsequent play resulted in an incomplete pass and Nevada was able to get the ball back just before the end of the half. The Tigers were unable to take advantage of the turnover as Baldwin threw the first interception of the game on the last play of the half.

The Tigers took the first possession of the second half and continued to try to pound the ball through the defense on the ground. The Tigers were quickly shut down and were forced to punt the ball back to Pleasant Hill.

The Roosters were able to get through the Nevada run defense this time and marched the ball all the way down the field or the score to take a 13-7 lead with 8:28 to go in the third quarter.

The Tigers finally started to open up their offense a bit on their next drive and were able to get the running game going again, mounting a strong offensive series. The Rooster defense was able to step up as the Tigers reached the 40, but the drive was kept alive after a face mask penalty gave Nevada a first down.

The Tigers were unable to capitalize, however, as Trevor Foreman fumbled the ball and gave possession back to the Roosters deep in their own territory.

The Pleasant Hill running game quickly took charge on their next drive and the Roosters were able to move the ball on the ground at will. The Roosters moved the ball all the way down the field and added another touchdown to their lead, making it 19-7 after another failed extra-point -- the second of the game for the Roosters.

Nevada only needed one play to answer as Foreman took the handoff from Baldwin and ran the ball 55 yards to cut the lead to 19-13 with 10:20 to go in the game. The Tiger defense came up with a huge stop deep in their own territory as Foreman came up with an interception with 3:30 to go, but the offense immediately gave the ball back as Baldwin threw an interception of his own on the second play of the series

The Roosters were able to put the game away as they drove the ball deep into Nevada territory before downing the ball and letting the clock run out on the final two plays of the game and knocking off the Tigers 19-13.

After the game, head coach Jay Fleeman said, "As a team, we've got nothing to hold their heads down about." Fleeman said that the team played well and they obviously have some things to improve on, but he was very happy with the overall performance.

In a statement that seems to have become his signature words, Fleeman said, " I wouldn't trade them for any team in the state." With the loss, Nevada falls to 0-4 on the season and will be back at Logan Field next Friday night for the Homecoming game against Parsons, Kan.

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