NEVADA, Mo. — A 25-year district championship drought was vanquished on Friday night at Logan Field.
Utilizing a potent rushing attack, the top-seeded Nevada Tigers cruised past the third-seeded Carl Junction Bulldogs 33-13 to secure the program’s first district crown since 1998.
The victory propels the Tigers (9-2) to the MSHSAA Class 4 quarterfinals and a matchup with host Kearney (10-2) at 1 p.m. next Saturday.
Nevada coach Wes Beachler, who has reversed the fortunes of several prep programs during his nearly three-decade coaching career, called his squad “a special group,” adding that Friday night’s Class 4 District 7 triumph was the culmination of several years of hard work.
“This is about the three and four year guys that have been dedicated to the program and have done all the little things right,” he said.
Beachler said that the experience of having played in a third consecutive district title game paid dividends.
“You can’t simulate that in practice,” he said. “We’ve been here three years in a row, and they knew that they couldn’t treat this game special and do more than they’re supposed to do. You just have to play football and do your job — and they did that really well tonight.”
For Carl Junction, turnover woes were compounded by an inability to contain star tailback Jack Cheaney, who entered the contest averaging 182 yards per game on 10.5 yards a carry. Cheaney concluded the title tilt with 193 yards on 32 carries, to go along with four rushing touchdowns.
A fumble recovery on the game’s opening kickoff had the Tigers in business deep in Carl Junction territory. Cheaney plowed in from a yard out to punctuate the five-play scoring drive —and after coming up short on the 2-point play, the Tigers led 6-0.
Nevada stretched its advantage to 19-0 late in the first half after Cheaney found paydirt on runs of 3 and 11 yards.
With under a minute remaining in the half, Carl Junction suddenly found success in the passing game. A quick scoring drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Dexter Merrell, trimmed the deficit to 19-7.
The Bulldogs were again marching downfield early in the second half, but momentum swung back in Nevada’s favor when a holding penalty on a 27-yard run snuffed out the potential scoring drive.
Nevada put the contest out of reach in the fourth quarter via touchdowns from Cheaney and Tyler Longobardi, swelling the Tigers’ lead to 33-7.
Carl Junction tacked on a late touchdown when Merrell connected with Tony Stewart for a 55-yard touchdown strike.
Beachler said that he anticipated a “grind-it-out type game,” adding that they would have to match the Bulldogs’ physicality and move the ball consistently — and do so in racking up 373 yards on the ground to Carl Junction’s 115.
Cheaney not only eclipsed the program’s single-season rushing record, previously held by Avious Steadman, but also went over 2,000 yards on the season.
“Jack is a ‘once every five or 10 years’ type guy,” Beachler said. “He’s a very talented open-field runner and sees the field as well as any back I’ve ever coached.”
Nevada senior tackle Talan Chandler, who has inked with NCAA D1 Colorado, said that the Tigers’ “ultimate goal” is to advance to the state title game.
“And this victory is a stepping stone that we haven’t been able to accomplish,” he said.
Cheaney credited Nevada’s dominant offensive line for his sparkling campaign.
“I’ve been working my whole life for this, and will give (credit) to the O-line too,” he said. “It’s just awesome.”
Carl Junction coach Todd Hafner said he was proud of his club’s performance.
“We played through a tough conference schedule and have prepared to win every single week,” he said, “and that preparation led us to where we were tonight. We got beat by a very good football team.”
Merrell finished 8-of-19 for 165 yards through the air, but the number of passing attempts deviated from the Bulldogs’ game-plan.
“We threw the ball a little more than we wanted to,” Hafner said. “It’s not really who we are, but we can do it. In the end, we had to try anything we could to score as fast as we could.”
Carl Junction concludes the season with a record of 3-9. The Bulldogs were in a district title game for the first time since 2020.
