Nevada senior Cole Ogle intercepts a pass and runs it back 35 yards for a touchdown during Friday night's win over the Parson's Vikings. -- Ralph Pokorny/Herald-tribune [Click to enlarge]

Herald-Tribune

NEVADA, Mo. -- The Nevada Tigers earned their first win of the year over the Parsons, Kan. Vikings Friday night, 47-0.

Colby Shepherd catches a pass in the endzone, for the first of his four touchdowns during Friday's game. -- Ralph Pokorny/Herald-Tribune [Click to enlarge]

During pregame festivities, each of the homecoming queen candidates was introduced before the final vote was revealed and Sabrina Jones was crowned 2008 Nevada High School homecoming queen. After pregame ceremonies, Nevada won the opening coin toss, but chose to defer to the second half.

Thanks to good return coverage, the Vikings took over at their own 25-yard line after a short kickoff. Nevada's defense came up big early with a first-down sack that eventually led to a three-and-out on the opening possession for Parsons. This came only after two Nevada defenders collided, preventing an interception on the third down play.

A blocked punt by Cole Ogle gave the Tigers tremendous starting field position at the Parsons 22. Nevada took advantage with a long pass play of 31 yards to Colby Shepherd after a holding penalty backed them up nine yards from the original line of scrimmage to take an early 7-0 lead.

The Tigers' kick return coverage stayed strong on the subsequent kickoff as Parsons was only able to bring the ball out to the 23. The Vikings tried to make the running game work early, but Nevada was able to shut them down again after a dropped snap by quarterback Brett Cares resulted in a third down sack.

After another bad snap on the punt attempt, Nevada had excellent field position again, at the Parsons 21. Nevada was able to capitalize after a 23-yard pass to Shepherd kept the drive alive on fourth down. The Tigers were eventually able to pound the ball into the endzone on the ground to extend the lead to 14-0.

Confusion on the next kickoff return allowed Nevada to once again pin the Vikings deep in their own territory. The Vikings' offensive stagnance continued, giving Nevada the ball back at midfield after a punt that was not returned.

The Parsons defense was no match for the Nevada running game and Trevor Foreman was able to move the ball down field on the ground almost at will. The Tiger offense stalled at around the 10-yard line and Parsons was able to take over on downs at their own 12.

Shepherd was able to come up with another big play -- this time on the defensive side of the ball -- as he picked up a third down interception and returned it 18 yards for the score to put Nevada up 20-0 after the missed PAT. Parsons took over after the subsequent kickoff with their best field position of the night at the 31-yard line.

The Vikings were able to get the ball moving this time, but stalled out just across midfield and were again forced to punt. The Tigers were able to move the ball well, but also stalled just across midfield and Taylor Scotten came on to punt for the first time in the game.

After the punt, another fumbled snap gave Nevada the ball once again at the Parsons 20. The Tigers added to their lead once more in just three plays as Austin Baldwin was able to complete another touchdown pass to Shepherd, making the score 27-0 with 4:36 to go in the half.

Ogle came up with Nevada's second interception of the game on the Vikings' next possession and was able to return it 35 yards to extend Nevada's lead to 33-0. Parsons got the ball back with their best field position of the night -- their own 37 -- but ended up moving the ball the wrong direction and were again forced to punt.

The Tigers kept the ball on the ground, seemingly content to run out the clock on their last drive of the half and ended up taking a 33-0 lead into the locker room. Nevada's offense finished out the half outgaining the Vikings on the ground 71-1 and through the air 92-10.

The Vikings offense remained stagnant to start the second half and went three-and-out once again on the opening possession. The Tiger's followed suit, sending the ball quickly back to Parsons after early offensive struggles of their own.

The Parsons offense started the possession in Nevada territory for the first time in the game but were unable to overcome the strong defensive play of the Tigers, giving the ball up on fourth and 28 when Foreman came up with the Tigers' third interception of the night.

The Tigers quickly drove the ball down the field and added another score to their already sizeable lead as Austin Baldwin ran the ball 28 yards for the touchdown to give Nevada a 40-0 lead with 4:21 to go in the third quarter. The Vikings were finally able to get some offense going on their next drive, pounding the ball through the Nevada defense down to the 38-yard line as the third quarter came to a close.

The Tigers were able to come other with another defensive stop, however, and got the ball back again after the punt. The Tigers were unable to do anything with their next possession and were forced to punt the ball back to Parsons.

The Vikings took little time giving the ball back to Nevada as their offenseive struggles continued. The Tigers took advantage, hammering their way past the Parsons defense almost at will and were able to cap off a strong drive with a 20-yard run by Jake Lawryto extend the lead to 47-0 with 44 seconds to go.

The Vikings were not able to get another play off after the ensuing kickoff, sealing the shutout and Nevada's first win of the year. Parsons finished the game with only 47 yards in total offense -- 27 rushing and 20 passing -- while Nevada put up Nevada 173 yards on the ground and 113 through the air for a total of 286 yards of offense.

An obviously tired and excited head coach Jay Fleeman spoke very highly of his team at the end of the game. The defense, Fleeman said, played an excellent game and the team as a whole had a very strong showing.

"My compliments to the defense and the defensive coaches," he said.

Fleeman had very kind words for the team as a whole and their performance, citing strong plays and a solid effort that carried over from last week's game at Pleasant Hill.

Fleeman noted that everyone on the team was putting forth superior effort and playing well, along with other teams at every level of football in Nevada. "It's a very good time for Nevada football right now," he said.

With the win, Nevada's record improves to 1-4 on the year with their next contest scheduled for Friday night, as they travel to Cassville.