By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In a game where both teams were averaging a combined 86 points per week, it took more than 44 minutes of football before the first offensive touchdown was scored Friday night in Nevada.
Instead of Class 4 No. 7 Nevada and Class 2 No. 1 Lamar lighting up the scoreboard, it was a special teams play that proved the difference.
Lamar’s Ian Ngugi returned a second-quarter punt 73 yards for a touchdown and then the visitors put the game away with a nearly seven-minute scoring drive in the fourth quarter as Lamar pulled out a 14-0 win to maintain possession of the Silver Tiger trophy.
“It’s a big deal,” Lamar coach Jared Beshore said. “These kids maybe don’t know the whole history of it but we try to educate them on a yearly basis of how important this is to our community and to former players and alumni who have played in this game. This game’s been played for 100 years and the Silver Tiger rivalry started in the 30’s. Once the kids realize how important it is to a century of people around our community they really started to buy into the energy and hype of this ballgame.”
Lamar made it six straight wins in the series since it was renewed in 2018. Friday’s edition was by far the lowest scoring.
Lamar, 6-1, entered the night averaging 39 points per game and giving up just 14. And Nevada, 6-1, was averaging 47 and had scored at least 34 points in every game.
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By halftime, though, Lamar had only possessed the ball three times and the teams had combined for five punts and a turnover on downs. Ngugi’s punt return touchdown came with 2:08 left in the half.
It was more of the same after the break, with both teams going 3-and-out to start the third quarter. Nevada drove to the Lamar 40 on its second possession but came up two yards short on a fourth-and-3, and then went 3-and-out again on its next possession.
The dagger was Lamar’s 11-play scoring drive that ate up most of the fourth quarter and featured a fourth-and-1 conversion. The visitors possessed the ball for 6:43 before Logan Kish punched it in from the 2 with 3:40 left.
JR Romero put down any thoughts of a late comeback with an interception and lengthy return after that. And Lamar officially iced it with another fourth-and-1 conversion.
“We didn’t play super clean and against a good football team they’re going to do some things to give you trouble,” Beshore said. “When we needed big plays and first downs and a big drive there in the second half, we got one and we were able to drive them off the football which is kind of what we hang our hat on. We did it when we needed to and kind of put the game away.”
Lamar’s defense earned its second shutout of the season and Beshore heaped credit on everyone involved – the players, defensive coaches Chris Wilkerson, Scott Bailey and Eddie Long, and even the scout team.
“People don’t understand how important that is, our scout team giving guys a look Monday through Wednesday,” Beshore said. “And then our guys showed up and executed the game plan perfectly. Like coach Wilkerson said, they did exactly what he asked of them. Coach Bailey and him have done a great job this year. Just finally got to see all the work we put in kind of come to fruition here in a big game.”
“Special teams played an outstanding game,” Beshore said. “Defensive played an outstanding game and offensively we did what we needed to do to seal the win.”
