TexasFootball.com Team to Watch: Nevada Community

Share or Save for Later

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Save to Favorites

On a bi-district weekend that saw a dozen 4th-seeded teams upset district champions, Nevada Community’s upset of No. 10 Glen Rose stood out.

Nevada Community hadn’t won a playoff game since 2008 and few outside of the locker room felt they’d knock off Glen Rose. They didn’t even qualify for the playoffs until beating Wills Point in the regular season finale.

But thanks to a grueling 91-yard, 15-play drive that ate up nearly the entire fourth quarter, the Braves pulled off the 28-25 upset.

“Everything worked perfectly,” Braves coach Dustin Blann said. “I’m really proud of our kids. They played their tails off. Glen Rose is a really good team and we had to play extremely well for this to happen.”

The Braves used a physical defense and ball-control offense to slow Glen Rose’s high-powered offense throughout the game.

“That’s been our identity for the whole season,” Blann said. “We play old-school football. We’re a Wing-T team and I felt like that really helped us out.”

The Braves, especially in the fourth quarter, ground out first down after first down, and when Paul Testa finally cross the goal line to end that 91-yard drive and put the Braves ahead, Glen Rose had just two minutes to mount a comeback of its own.

Austin Worthen, who finished with 159 yards rushing and 125 more passing, put the Tigers on his back and drove them quickly across midfield, but the Nevada Community defense did enough to force the Tigers into a 39-yard field goal try on the last play, where Jace Karels’ kick fell just short.

“It was a game of inches,” Blann said. “They moved the ball downfield quickly, but we stepped up when we needed to. I think they were caught in a position where they had to make a choice to try and kick the field goal to tie or throw it in the end zone. It was really close. We came out on top.”

Sean Outlaw and Quinton Hall anchored a defensive effort that held the Tigers to a season-low 25 points.

The Braves took the weekend to celebrate before getting ready for their next test – fifth-ranked Texarkana Pleasant Grove, who’s won two of the last three 4A, D2 championships. Out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire, so to speak.

“That’s the way it works,” Blann said. “If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. This is surreal for me as a first year head coach. I’ve already talked to [PG coach Josh Gibson]. I told him I’m used to watching him coach on TV in December.”

Facing a highly-ranked team won’t come as anything new for Blann, whose team has already played a handful of games against ranked teams. He sees Saturday’s game as one more chance to create a memory in what has already been a memorable season.

“This win was huge for what we are trying to build here,” he said. “This is only the second time that this has happened. We want to build on this moving forward.”

The gold ball the Braves earned for beating Eustace in the 2008 Bi-District playoffs now has company.

“We admire that 2008 team and I also want us to show off this team’s accomplishments,” Blann said. “Now we have a gold ball, too. That’s a big thing.”

This article is available to our Digital Subscribers.
Click "Subscribe Now" to see a list of subscription offers.
Already a Subscriber? Sign In to access this content.

Sign In
Don't Miss Any Exclusive Coverage!

We've been the Bible of Texas football fans for 64 years. By joining the DCTF family you'll gain access to all of our exclusive content and have our magazines mailed to you!