Tiger eighth-graders close out season with loss to Carthage

Saturday, October 18, 2014
Matt Resnick/Daily Mail After taking a hand off, Nevada running back Justin Guy looks to break a tackle, Thursday evening at Logan Field.

Nevada Daily Mail

The Nevada Tigers eighth-grade A football team concluded their 2014 campaign with a 32-6 loss to the Carthage Tigers, Thursday evening at Logan Field.

Nevada finished the season 1-5.

Matt Resnick/Daily Mail Nevada's Jaren Powrie (17) and Justin Guy (43) attempt to bring down Carthage quarterback Zeke Sappington.

Carthage jumped on the board when quarterback Zeke Sappington rolled out to his left and found a wide open Reed Ledford in the left corner of the end zone. The two-point run from Colton Winder put Carthage up 8-0 with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.

"The kids came out excited and positive and wanted to compete," Nevada coach Blake Howarth said. "And they competed well in the first quarter."

Early in the second quarter, Carthage again struck, as Sappington hit his favorite target, Ledford, in stride for a 30-yard touchdown completion. After the two-point play, Carthage led 16-0.

Just before halftime, Carthage running back Blake Schrader plowed into the end zone from 5-yards out. A Sappington to Ledford connection on the two-point attempt, put Carthage in control, 24-0, heading into halftime.

The only scoring to take place in the second half, came on the final play of the game, when Nevada's Jaren Powrie put his head down and steamrolled a Carthage safety at the goal line, falling forward for the touchdown.

"That was a great way to end, with the touchdown," Howarth said. "We came out playing pretty hard. This was definitely our best game of the year, against a great Carthage team.

"It took us a little longer than we wanted to finally score. But the kids didn't give up, and that was the best part about it."

Howarth said that his players finally bought in.

"I wish it didn't take until the last game of the year," he said. But this was by far our best game."

Howarth said he thinks his players have the potential to be good next year at the high school.

"They just need to have that mentality of knowing they're good players," he said. "And to play physical.

"We came out today and didn't care who we were playing," he said. "We left it all out there. And hopefully they see when you lay it all out there, that we can compete against teams."

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