Mt. Vernon Mt’neers fall to Tigers in offensive battle at Nevada

The Mt. Vernon Mt’neers were defeated by the Nevada Tigers during an away game on Friday, Oct. 18. It was Mt. Vernon’s second loss of the season.
The Mt’neers drew first blood in the game when Braden Dodson made a 59-yard touchdown run to put the team on the board. Landon Popa followed up with a successful PAT to make the initial score 7-0.
The Tigers, however, then made three successive touchdowns. The first one came after they punted on downs, only to recover a fumble to take back possession, ultimately taking the ball into the end zone. Their attempt at a PAT failed, making the score 7-6.
They scored their second touchdown following a turnover on downs, which they followed with a two-point conversion to take the lead, 14-7. In the final seconds of the quarter, they scored another touchdown and two-point conversion to end the first quarter with a score of 22-7.
The Mt’neers struck back at the end of the first quarter, going into the second. Gavin Johnston completed a 64-yard pass to Coy Felton, who ran the ball to the three-yard line. Dodson then punched the ball into the end zone, giving the Mt’neers their second touchdown of the night. Popa followed up with a PAT to make the score 22-14.
The Tigers then made two more touchdowns about midway through the quarter, though the Mt’neers blocked their attempted two-point conversions each time. The Mt’neers then scored again in the final seconds of the half when Johnston completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Felton, followed by a successful PAT from Popa. The Tigers then went on an offensive drive that took them to the Mt’neers one-yard line, but the Mt’neers defense held, and the half ended with a score of 34-21.
The Tigers scored a touchdown at the beginning of the second half, followed by a successful two-point conversion, to make the score 42-21. The Mt’neers answered with their own touchdown on the next drive, which Johnston capped off with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Grayson Gann. Popa again followed up with a successful PAT to make the score 48-28.
Nevada made another touchdown in the latter part of fourth quarter but failed in an attempt to make a two-point conversion. The Mt’neers shot back when Johnston completed a five-yard touchdown pass to Juliun Hernandez, followed by a successful PAT from Popa, but the Tigers scored one more touchdown, followed by a successful PAT. The Mt’neers made the final touchdown of the night when Johnston completed a six-yard pass to Hernandez. Popa again followed up with a successful PAT to make the final score 55-42.
Tox Cox, the Mt’neers head coach, said the team experienced a rough first half during the game.
“That first part of the game was … was like a nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from,” he said, “but the guys settled down. And we just honestly … had a hard time stopping their big plays. Explosive plays and turnovers (are a) huge part of determining wins and losses, and we gave up a lot of explosive plays, which are plays that we define as 20 yards or over. And then we had four turnovers; we had two kickoff returns that were fumbled and lost. We had a third one that hit one of our players, and (the Tigers) recovered, and then we had the interception. And so, four turnovers against those guys, and they converted on half of them.”
This Friday, the Mt’neers will travel to Burl Fowler Stadium in Monett, where they will play the Cubs.