Bullish Nixon sparks victory

Fifteen yards and five defenders separated Cimarron-Memorial running back Stephen Nixon from the end zone. He covered the ground fast and made the defense look foolish.

"Every time I touch the ball, I want a touchdown," he said.

Nixon's touchdown run on third-and-goal from the 15-yard line with 2:59 remaining carried the 10th-ranked Spartans to a 20-14 road victory over Centennial on Thursday night.

After taking a pitch and sprinting around the left end, Nixon eluded three defenders before plowing into two more at the 2-yard line. He was knocked back a step but regained his balanced and walked across the goal line.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 165-pound sophomore showed impressive power and speed on the tiebreaking run.

"Nixon is the 100-meter champ in the state, so we're trying to take advantage of that," Cimarron coach Ron Smeltzer said.

"He did a great job not only of getting outside but making some people miss, and he showed some toughness getting the ball in the end zone."

Nixon touched the ball 11 times in the game and scored twice. His 1-yard run with 8:38 left in the second quarter put the Spartans on top, 7-0.

The Bulldogs (3-1, 0-1 Northwest Division) tied it on Matt Holley's 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half.

Junior running back Kevin Cormier provided a quick answer for Cimarron (3-1, 1-0). On his first carry, Cormier raced 70 yards down the left sideline to make it 14-7.

Centennial quarterback Tyson Turley tied it again with 6:36 to go in the third quarter, scoring on a 26-yard run on fourth-and-1.

After Nixon's go-ahead touchdown, the Bulldogs blocked Alex Ramos' point-after kick, leaving the door open for a potential Centennial comeback.

But with just over two minutes remaining, Turley rolled around the right end near midfield and was met by a crushing hit from Cimarron cornerback Julian Dupree. Turley fumbled and the Spartans recovered.

Turley, under constant pressure from the Cimarron defensive line, completed 7 of 15 passes for 90 yards with one interception.

The Bulldogs were threatening to score late in the third quarter when a Turley pass was picked off by Spartans linebacker Darius Hogans at the 20-yard line.

Cimarron's three tailbacks -- Nixon, Cormier and Rashan Lawrence -- controlled the flow of the game and combined for 191 yards rushing.