Worth County dug themselves into a 20-6 hole right off the bat, then used the running of Barrett Baker (27 carries, 230 yards) and the passing of Zach Harmening (6 completions, 155 yards) to get themselves out of it to win 73-42 against Nodaway-Holt. The Trojans, who returned everyone from last year's roster, gave Worth County all they could handle before Worth County's superior conditioning paid off as the game wore on and they were able to take over the line of scrimmage. But it looked to be a long night to start off with as Michael Brown returned a kickoff straight up the middle with 11:49 left in the first quarter to put Nodaway-Holt up 6-0.
Alex Harmening gave the Tigers a good runback to give them good field position at their own 39, but they failed to take advantage as Zach Harmening misfired on two passes and Baker could only muster six yards on two other carries. Nodaway-Holt followed up their initial score by running at will on the Tigers, who were not containing the outside. The Trojans used a seven play 45 yard drive, including a 10 yard option from quarterback Blake Shambarger and a 20 yard sweep from Michael Brown to score again with 7:48 left to score again. Carson Long ran in the extra points to make it 14-0.
Worth County finally got on the board as Eli Mullock broke three tackles on the kickof return to give them good field position at their own 36. Barrett Baker ran up the middle for 23 and took a sweep down the left side for eight more down to the Trojan 15. An offsides penalty on the right end moved it to the 10 and then Josh Wagner faked up the middle perfectly as Barrett Baker ran into the endzone down the left side untouched to make it 14-6 with 7:12 left.
The Tigers stopped Nodaway-Holt on their own 18 on the ensuing kickoff, but the Trojans only needed three plays to score again. Nobody covered Shambarger on the option, which gave him a gain of 19 on the play to the 37. A holding penalty moved the Trojans back to their own 25 and they tried an option again. The Tigers had Shambarger contained this time, but then a few missed tackles led to him breaking away again, this time for a 55 yard score to make it 20-6 with 6:43 left in the first quarter.
Worth County once again started off in good field position and converted a critical third down in order to score. From the 30, Barrett Baker picked up 11 as Brian Hall led him through a hole up the middle. Josh Wagner then took a counter for 8 yards and Baker got four more for another first down to the Trojan 27. Two carries by Eli Mullock only netted five yards, but then Zach Harmening aired it out to Alex Harmening for a 22-yard scoring strike with 4:29 left to make it 20-12.
Something must have clicked at that point for, in Coach Chuck Borey's words, "we started coming at them." Eli Mullock, J.J. Mullock, and Barrett Baker ganged up on Michael Brown for a loss of five back to the Trojan 22. Then, Adam Summers and Cody Green combined on a sack of Shambarger for a loss of five. An offsides penalty moved it back up to the 22, but a flat pass to Carson Long lost two as J.J. Mullock got pressure on Shambarger and Brian Hall was there for the hit. That forced Nodaway-Holt to punt and the Tigers wound up with good field position again at midfield.
The blocking was nonexistent for two plays as Eli Mullock could only net three yards in two plays, but Barrett Baker picked up six yards and then an offsides penalty on fourth and one gave the Tigers a first down on the Trojan 26. Josh Wagner slipped and fell and only got two yards, but a strong push by the line netted Baker six yards and Zach Harmening kept it around the left end for a gain of 8 down to the 10. Worth County fumbled a snap, but J.J. Mullock alertly pounced on it at the 9. Two plays later, Barrett Baker scored up the middle from 4 yards out to make it 20-18 with 10:20 left in the half. The Tigers could not tie it as Zach Harmening's pass was behind Alex Harmening.
Nodaway-Holt could not answer as on second and 11 from their own 23, the Trojans fumbled it as J.J. Mullock got the hit and Brian Hall recovered it on the Trojan 22. A shot into the end zone was unsuccessful, but Baker picked up five to the 17, Eli Mullock caught a screen pass to the 8, and two cracks by Baker got the Tigers into the end zone with 8:23 left. Zach Harmening tried a keeper but was stopped short of the end zone and the Tigers lead remained 24-20.
The Tigers scored yet again thanks to a short field. Carson Long caught a 9-yard screen pass to the Trojan 30, but back to back sacks by Cody Green and a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 20. A fouled up punt thanks to pressure from Cody Green gave the Tigers the ball on the Nodaway-Holt 25. They only needed two plays to score as Barrett Baker took a lead sweep left for 25 yards and it was so wide open that lead blocker Josh Wagner had nobody to block until he was about 10 yards downfield. Baker's score made it a two-possession game and his second effort gave the Tigers their first extra points of the game to make it 32-20 with 5:58 left.
But Nodaway-Holt came right back to score; on their third play from scrimmage, Blake Shambarger was all alone for a 40-yard run thanks to a mixup on defense with 4:57 left to make it 32-26. Eli Mullock stopped Michael Brown short of paydirt on the extra point try.
The Tigers were faced with third and 8 at their own 35 thanks to an incomplete pass, but Barrett Baker moved a pile seven yards to the Trojan 38 and then Zach Harmening converted fourth and one with a three yard sneak. A 15 yard facemask tacked onto the end of the run moved it down to the 20. Barrett Baker got a 16 yard run behind a Wagner block and then scored with 3:14 left. Eli Mullock added the two-point conversion on a sweep to the right side as Wagner delivered yet another big hit to make it 40-26.
Worth County nearly got another score before the half, but a blown call by the officials cost them the score. Brian Hall stripped Zach Lemar of the ball and returned it to the Trojan 17, and Barrett Baker got four yards to the 13. The Tigers gave it to Eli Mullock on a sweep and he broke tackle after tackle as he got to the goal line. One official signaled touchdown, and everyone, including the scoreboard operator, assumed that the Tigers had scored. But another official, unbeknownst to everyone else present, overruled the call and put the ball on the one. Worth County fumbled the ball on the next play and Nodaway-Holt ran out the clock.
The Trojans were kicking off to start the second half, and they gambled with an onsides kick and failed as the ball did not travel the necessary ten yards. That gave the Tigers the short field to work with once again, this time at the Trojan 33. A pass over the middle from Zach to Alex Harmening was good for 24 yards to the 9, and Barrett Baker's dive took it the rest of the way to score with 11:35 left. Zach Harmening's extra point pass shorthopped Eli Mullock and the Tigers led 46-26.
Nodaway-Holt lost yardage on the next series after starting at their own 25 as Josh Wagner shot through a gap and dumped Lemar for a two-yard loss. J.J. Mullock and Josh Wagner hurried Shambarger, whose screen pass was batted down; Hall came through and spun Shambarger down for a sack to make it fourth and 24 at the 11 yard line. Nodaway-Holt, which shanked a couple of punts earlier, tried a fake punt this time and tried to spring Shamberger loose, but he could only net 8 yards and the Tigers got the ball on the Nodaway-Holt 20. An incomplete pass and two short running plays made it fourth and 7 at the 17 as there was no blocking and people were not blocking who they were supposed to. But Zach Harmening rescued the Tigers with a 17-yard strike to Alex Harmening to make it 52-26 with 8:47 left. Harmening was sacked on the extra point play.
Nodaway-Holt started off on their own 26 and got the benefit of another blown call by the officials, this time a phantom horsecollar penalty that moved it to the Tiger 39. This was the same crew which threw 15 penalties against the Tigers in one half several years ago. Shambarger then took the ball on an 11-yard keeper down to the 29 as linemen were getting blown out, to Coach Borey's ire. Eli Mullock got a sack to make it second and 16, but Zach Lemar caught a screen pass for an apparent 30-yard gain. But he was hit at the 3 and fumbled it and Dylan Kinsella recovered it in the end zone for the Tigers. Kinsella had been pressuring the quarterback and sprinted over 40 yards down the field to make the fumble recovery on that play.
Worth County needed only two plays to take advantage as they started on their own 15. Barrett Baker got a 10-yarder to the 25 as he kept his legs churning to get extra yardage; Coach Borey had been on Baker to run harder and he obliged Friday night. Of all 27 of Baker's carries Friday night, not one single carry lost yardage for the Tigers. Zach Harmening aired the ball out to Eli Mullock for the 55 yard score to make it 58-26. J.J. Mullock's extra point kick was short and to the left.
The Trojans then turned to Shamberger three straight times to move the ball down to the 28 and then he scrambled down to the Tiger 4. Worth County made a strong stand before giving up the score as Kinsella met Carson Long after a two-yard pickup, a pack of white shirts led by Josh Wagner threw Shamberger for a loss of 1, and Eli Mullock broke up a pass as Kinsella hurried Shamberger on the throw. But the Trojans went to their jumbo offense and gave the ball to Patrick O'Riley, normally a lineman, for the three yard score. O'Riley ran in the extra points to make it 58-34 with 2:15 left in the third quarter.
Nodaway-Holt tried an onsides kick that fooled nobody as two white shirts were all over the ball and Worth County started off on their own 34. Barrett Baker hurdled a defender on his way to a 20-yard gain and Josh Wagner had a hard run of 9 down to the 16. An offsides penalty moved the ball down to the Trojan 11 and then Eli Mullock's sweep with 24.7 seconds left in the third quarter and J.J. Mullock's kick made it 65-34. Shamberger answered with a 69 yard scramble against a mixture of varsity and JV players and O'Riley added the extra points at the end of the third quarter to make it 65-42.
This time, Nodaway-Holt elected to kick it deep and a block in the back penalty buried the Tigers at their own 11. They were able to move the ball against an exhausted Nodaway-Holt team, but they could not score as the same officiating crew that flagged the Tigers for 15 penalties in half a game's work threw four on one drive alone. Dallas Greenland carried the ball for 9 yards to the 19 and then Barrett Baker picked up 6 more to the 25. After a fumble recovery by J.J. Mullock, Eli Mullock ran for an apparent 54 yard touchdown, only to have the refs allege a block in the back. Then, Barrett Baker's sweep as he waltzed the tightrope to the 40, Dallas Greenland's eight-yard gain, and Baker's 10 yard run put on the Nodaway-Holt 20. Eli Mullock's sweep moved it to the 8. Two plays later, a holding penalty moved it back to the 14, and another holding penalty that wiped out a touchdown pass made it fourth and goal at the 27. Eli Mullock caught a short pass over the middle that he turned into a 24 yard gain, but he was stopped at the 3 to kill the drive.
Nodaway-Holt nearly got backed into the end zone as Cody Green pressured Shamberger who barely made it out of the end zone. He then got five yards on a spread draw up to the 6, but a false start moved it back to the 3 and then two Trojan attempts to air it out were incomplete and the Tigers took over on the Trojan 3. Dallas Greenland ran in the touchdown and the extra points to make it 73-42 and round out the scoring for the evening. The JV squads saw the rest of the action; Nodaway-Holt gave up the ball on downs at the Trojan 39 thanks to solid hits by Kinsella and Jordan Harding and Mitch Andrews. Dallas Greenland picked up ten to the 29; a block in the back moved it back to the 38. But Mitch Andrews' sweep for six and a counter from Jordan Harding made it first and 10 at the 25. A delay of game penalty moved it back to the 30, but Adam Summers ran the ball for 18 down to the 12 after getting a block from Bryson Scott and Jordan Harding picked up an 8-yard gain down to the four before time ran out.
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