Turnovers tip scales for Tigers in 17-7 win

Turnovers can be big in deciding ball games. Such was the case Friday night for the Mountain Home Tigers, when they capitalized on two Nampa turnovers that led to scores as the Tigers downed the Bulldogs 17-7 in their SIC 4A conference opener.

The game was a basic defensive struggle that saw neither team score in the first quarter.

Trevor Lawson ran back the opening kickoff to the Nampa 27, but the drive stalled, and Kyle Clark's field goal was blocked by the Bulldogs.

The Tigers' first big break came in the second quarter when they punted to Nampa, and the Bulldogs fumbled, with Tyson Sessions recovering the ball on the Nampa 22.

Five plays later, helped out by a roughing the passer penalty that put the ball on the Bulldog five-yard line, Matt Maurer scored from a yard out. Kyle Clark's PAT made it 7-0 Mountain Home with 8:51 left in the first half.

The two teams traded punts for the next few minutes until Josh Reynolds picked off a Zach Heath pass and returned it to the Nampa two-yard line. Two plays later Matt Maurer took it in from the three, and with Kyle Clark's PAT, Mountain Home led 14-0, with 1:09 left in the first half.

Mountain Home had one of its best offensive drives in the third quarter, moving the ball from their own 16-yard line down to the Bulldog 11. Kyle Clark then booted a 28-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 17-0 lead with 2:59 left in the quarter.

Nampa scored on their next possession, with Andres Trejo getting to the outside and racing down the sidelines 59 yards for a score. Tim Matheson kicked the PAT to make it 17-7 with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

The defenses ruled the fourth quarter, with Mountain Home punter Kyle Clark keeping the Bulldogs deep in their own territory to start their drives. Clark averaged 46 yards a punt for the game, getting a 59-yarder off in the second half.

After Nampa was forced to turn the ball over on downs at their own 47, with under eight minutes remaining in the ball game, the Tigers picked up three first downs, the last one with 1:45 left, and ran out the clock at the Nampa five-yard line.

Tiger head football coach Brian Floyd was relieved to come away with the win.

"We didn't play very well offensively, it was pretty ugly. Defensively, we did fine."

Floyd also was happy to be able to open conference play with a win.

"That was very important. We needed to get by Nampa to get that first conference win."

Mountain Home rushed the ball 47 times for 189 yards, led by Matt Maurer, who carried the ball 23 times for 105 yards and two scores.

Keith Yagues rushed 11 times for 43 yards. Shawn Morin ran for 18 yards on five carries, Tyson Sessions had six yards on two carries, and Georgio Sutton rushed six times for three yards.

Through the air, Keith Yagues connected on four of 15 passes for 65 yards. He had one pass picked off.

Brock Zamora caught two passes for 22 yards, Trevor Lawns had one for 27, and Shawn Morin caught one pass for 16 yards.

Nampa rushed the ball 30 times for 147 yards, and completed three of 11 passes for 22 yards.

Kole Spaulding had eight tackles and a sack. Matt Maurer and Zach Anderson were both in on seven tackles and each had a sack.

Bob Daniels was in on five tackles. Brock Zamora had four tackles, including two sacks. Tyson Sessions four tackles and a fumble recovery. Shawn Morin, Kerry Martin and Josh Reynolds each had three tackles, Morin a fumble recovery, and Reynolds a pass interception.

Jason Ward was in on two tackles, and Corey Baum and Sean Lawrence each had one.

After two games on the road, the Tigers are finally home this week, playing a Thursday night game at Tiger Field against the Vallivue Falcons.

"It's going to be nice to be home," said Coach Floyd. "It would be nice to fill the stands. We've been away for two weeks. It'll be nice to put on the black jerseys."

Vallivue lost their season opener last week at Madison High in Rexburg, 23-12, but Coach Floyd expects a tough battle from the Falcons.

"They're going to be a tough team because their offense is a lot of misdirection. We're going to have to play our gaps and stay in control. They played Madison pretty tough and had time of possession in their favor. Madison scored on big plays, so we'll see."

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow (Thursday) night at Tiger Field.