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Second half blitz lifts Tigers to 28-24 victory
A dominant second half punctuated by Payton Bright's 27-yard touchdown run propelled the Nevada Tigers to its first victory of the season Friday night at Logan Field.
The 28-24 West Central Conference triumph over the visiting Archbishop O'Hara Celtics moves Nevada to 1-3 overall (1-2 WCC-play).
Spearheading the comeback was the play of ball-hawking cornerback Cameron Diaz, as well as a defensive line that came up with three second half sacks of O'Hara quarterback Matthew Johnson.
Nevada trailed 24-13 at halftime before outscoring O'Hara 15-0 in the second half.
"At halftime we talked about it's gut-check time," NHS head coach Erik Yoakam said. "In the second half, we shut down the running game and forced them to pass."
Yoakam said he made halftime adjustments that aimed to exploit O'Hara's thin depth, as the Celtics entered the game with only 29 players who dress out."
"(O'Hara) was tired and gassed and we knew it," Yoakam said. "It was a humid night, and miserable for some of our guys."
Key adjustments made by Yoakam included holding back several of his players from playing on both sides of the ball in the second half.
"We were just trying to keep some of our guys fresh, which was to our advantage," he said.
After having not found the end zone since week one, Nevada took the opening-drive and marched 55-yards on eight plays, capped by Jacob Johnson's two-yard touchdown plunge. After a bad snap on the extra point attempt, Nevada led 6-0.
On the Celtics first play from scrimmage, dynamic tailback Peyton Jones swept left, before reversing field and accelerating for a 70-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point conversion put the Celtics on top 8-6 midway through the first quarter.
"Every time (Jones) touches the ball, you hold your breath," Yoakam said.
A safety with 3:50 to play in the first quarter put O'Hara up 10-6. O'Hara added to its lead late in the first quarter, when Johnson completed a short pass to Corbin Jones, who broke an arm tackle, and then spun out of another tackle en route to the 8-yard touchdown scamper. The two-point conversion handed O'Hara an 18-6 advantage.
While leading Nevada downfield, quarterback Braeden Hinton scrambled for a 12-yard gain, but was injured on the tackle. On Jacob Hammontree's second play under center, he hit a wide-open Braxton Shadden in stride for a 34-yard touchdown strike. Hammontree also drilled the extra point through the uprights, as Nevada trailed 18-13. With 5:54 to play in the first half.
O'Hara answered back with a touchdown, courtesy of a fade route ran by Corbin Jones, who hauled in the 12-yard touchdown reception after out-leaping a Nevada defender in the left corner of the end zone. After a failed two-point attempt, O'Hara led 24-13.
With 3:43 to play in the third quarter, momentum shifted back in Nevada's favor when Diaz intercepted a pass in the end zone intended for Tyrez Scott, thwarting a drive that could have put O'Hara up by 18 points.
Back in possession, and facing a fourth-and-13 from the O'Hara 34-yard line, a Hinton dump-pass to Shadden resulted in a 34-yard pickup down to the 3-yard line. On the next play, Bright plowed up the middle, capping the make-or-break drive with a rushing touchdown. Jacob Johnson's reception on the two-point play trimmed O'Hara's lead to 24-21 with 7:09 remaining in regulation.
After another defensive stop, Nevada received the ball back with excellent field position after an O'Hara punt that netted only 10 yards.
On second-and-8 from the O'Hara 27-yard line, Bright took a handoff from Hinton and exploded up the middle, breaking a tackle on his way to the end zone. Hammontree's extra point with 5:13 on the clock put Nevada on top 28-24.
"Payton is a hard runner," Yoakam said. "He came up to me (before the game) and told me that he wanted to touch the ball, and help out as much as he could. He does a good job of getting downhill and keeping his legs moving."
Things got tense late for Nevada, as Peyton Jones broke off another big run, setting up O'Hara deep in Nevada territory. Nevada, however, forced Johnson into an incompletion on fourth-and-14 from the NHS 25-yard line, securing the victory.
"It was a heck of a game by (lineman) Peyton Denney and Treyton Fleeman," Yoakam said, "two sophomores that really stepped up to the occasion. I'm really proud of those two.
"Our secondary did a good job of staying over the top, especially late in the game when the pressure was on."
Up next
The Tigers head north next Friday for a matchup with West Central Conference foe Sedalia-Smith Cotton, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m.