Nevada’s Anthony Eaton discusses the Cubs’ win over Roland-Story
Nevada’s Anthony Eaton on the 3A No. 10 Cubs’ 20-14 victory over 2A No. 9 Roland-Story in Iowa high school football Friday at Story City.
Nevada had one goal on offense during its 20-14 victory over 2A No. 9 Roland-Story on Friday in Story City.
The Cubs, ranked 10th in 3A, were determined to control the line of scrimmage when they had the ball. With a veteran offensive line led by all-state left tackle Garrett Stringer, the Cubs did just that.
Nevada finished the game with 218 yards rushing on 52 carries in an impressive grind-it-out performance in the trenches against a tough Roland-Story defense. They had two touchdown drives go over 15 plays during the game.
Stream Iowa HS football games on the NFHS Network
Running back Anthony Eaton got most of the headlines after the win. He carried the ball a whopping 40 times for 180 yards and all three Cub touchdowns.
But he said it was the big guys up front who deserved most of the credit.
“I’ve got to give congrats to my big boys up here,” said Eaton. “They really put out for me. Props to those guys. They always set me up.”
Nevada’s talented offensive line consists of Stringer, left guard Isaac Harrington, center Carson Reed, right guard Kobe Thiphasouk and right tackle Will Claussen. Stringer made the Des Moines Register’s All-Iowa high school football teams teams last year in 3A.
“We have good size and athleticism up front,” said Nevada coach Andrew Kleeman. “Also, for several years they’ve watched players before them take pride in playing offensive line for us. We pride ourselves on our ability to be strong up front. This group has certainly embraced those expectations.”
More: Ranking Ames-area’s 10 best offensive players in 2024 Iowa high school football season
During Friday’s victory over Roland-Story, Nevada led 7-6 at the half thanks to a 16-play scoring drive capped by a 3-yard Eaton touchdown run early in the second quarter.
The Cubs completely controlled the clock during the second half. They topped the big first-half drive with an 18-play, 71-yard touchdown drive in the second half.
That drive ate up most of the third quarter. Eaton scored on another 3-yard run to put Nevada up 14-6 with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter.
Eaton credited his line for making it possible for him to gash Roland-Story for small and medium-sized chunks of yards during the drive.
“They’re big and strong,” Eaton said. “We play fast, we play physical and they’re big up front.”
After Roland-Story later tied the score at 14-14, Eaton recovered a fumble at the Norsemen 16 and there was little doubt Nevada was going to score another touchdown.
Roland-Story’s stout defense was unable to hold up against Nevada’s line with a short field. Eaton’s third touchdown run put the Cubs ahead to stay with 3:39 left.
“I love it,” said Thiphasouk. “I did my job and Tony did his job. That’s what makes us special.”
Kleeman has had to tinker with his line a little bit this season. But with Stringer, Thiphasouk and Claussen as the anchors, it was clear the Cub coach was going to lean heavily on them to start the season, especially against a talented Roland-Story team.
“We have a very experienced group, but with some shuffling around at positions, they are forced to communicate more,” Kleeman said. “For much of the (Roland-Story) game, I thought we did a nice job of identifying the front and our assignments.”
The Nevada linemen have developed a special bond.
“We put our bodies on the line,” Thiphasouk said. “Tony (Eaton) does his job. We trust him to read the holes and hit them hard.”
The Nevada offensive line not only did a great job of opening holes for Eaton against Roland-Story, they kept quarterback Connor King’s jersey clean all game.
“It’s my personal goal,” said Stringer. “Keep him from getting any injuries. Give him a clean pocket to pass from, and he’s shown last year that he’s able to ball out and deliver when we need it the most.”
King, who completed a key 40-yard pass to Gavin Egeland in the fourth quarter, is very appreciative of the five guys protecting him in the pocket.
“I don’t have to worry about much in the pocket,” said King. “I read the field and pay attention to what I need to do. They take care of the rest for me.”
Eaton now has 386 yards and eight touchdowns rushing in just two games. The Nevada offensive line is looking forward to helping him keep things rolling next Friday when the Cubs (2-0) have a huge road test at 2A No. 4 Prairie City-Monroe (2-0).
“We know how the game works,” Stringer said. “We just trust our steps and trust our back, who has been going crazy. Anthony’s been doing a lot of work for us and making us shine.”
Stringer wants to help Nevada get back to the playoffs.
The Cubs have a tough road ahead with PCM, trips to Knoxville and 3A No. 7 Harlan, and home games against Hampton-Dumont-CAL, Perry, Creston and Atlantic. But if the offensive line keeps performing at a high level, they have a good shot at making it to the postseason for the fifth year in a row.
“Take it one game at time,” Stringer said. “Focus on the one and don’t get too ahead of yourself. We’re a good team and we know that we can go far.”
Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66e187352ad64b3291949c14307fab2e&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amestrib.com%2Fstory%2Fsports%2Fhigh-school%2F2024%2F09%2F11%2Fstrong-offensive-line-lifts-nevada-football-team-past-roland-story%2F75078535007%2F&c=17457652404048874073&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-11 00:30:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
