Nevada rallies not enough to defeat Liberators

By Eric Wade

Herald-Tribune

The short-handed Tiger offense got off to a strong start on their first drive, but stalled out when Taylor Scotten was sacked on a 3rd down and long, forcing the first punt of the game. Bolivar took over and marched 65 yards down the field and scored the game's first touchdown on a 31-yard run by Daniel Norman to take a 6-0 lead.

Nevada took over following a strong kickoff return by Colby Shepherd and stuck to the running game on their second drive of the game, but stalled out once again just past midfield after another third down sack. The Liberators took over after a good punt from Ron Johnson and marched past the Tiger defense once again and took the game to the end of the opening quarter.

Bolivar stuck to the running game as well, and were able to march all the way down the field for a 5-yard touchdown run by Josh Moffett. After an unsuccessful 2-point conversion, the Liberators took a 12-0 lead.

Scotten was yet again sacked at nearly the same spot on the field as the first two drives, and the Tiger defense was still unable to stop the powerful Liberator running game. Bolivar took the ball 83 yards downfield and capped off the drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Preston Guiot to Alex Talley, followed by yet another missed 2-point conversion, to put Bolivar up 18-0.

After another offensive stall out and a turnover on downs, Nevada's defense was over-powered yet again and the Liberators added to their lead after a 29-yard pass to Talleyto push the lead to 24-0. After the fourth sack of the game for Bolivar, Nevada gave punter Ron Johnson even more of a workout, turning over the ball once again nearing the end of the half. Bolivar only needed one play to add to their lead with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Norman, giving Nevada a 31-0 deficit at the half.

The Liberators took the opening kick of the second half and still stuck with the running game, marching all the way downfield for yet another touchdown -- a 28-yard run by Guiot -- to push the lead to 38-0. After Nevada was unable to convert on their next drive, Bolivar took the ball downfield once again, threatening to add to their lead as the third quarter came to a close.

It took just one play after the start of the final period for the Liberators to extend their lead once again on a 6-yard touchdown run by Norman to make it 45-0. After Scotten got dropped on third down once again, Nevada quickly gave the ball back to Bolivar with good field position.

Nevada was finally able to get a stop when Grady Porter fumbled the ball near midfield with 7:21 to go in the game. The Tigers failed to convert once again, turning the ball over on downs with just under five minutes to go in the game.

The Tigers were unable to come up with another timely fumble recovery on the subsequent drive, and stuck to the running game to run out the clock, ending the game with a final score of 45-0. "We have to be able to run the ball," head coach Jay Fleeman said.

At the end of the game, Fleeman said, "At different times in the game, we did some good things." Fleeman stressed that the lack of depth for Nevada was a major contributor to the loss, but the defense needed to simply work on making plays when they reach the football.

Fleeman made no excuses for his team's performance, but still held his head high and has the same confidence as always in their abilities. "I wouldn't trade them for anything," he said.