SENECA — Is there anything Roman Miller can’t do on a football field? The Seneca senior’s performance Friday in a 54-33 win over Nevada suggests the answer is likely no.
Miller starts on both sides of ball at tailback and linebacker, handles short snaps on extra points, and on Friday, found himself playing on both the kickoff and return teams.
“He never comes off the field defensively,” said Seneca Coach Cody Hilburn. “Tonight, he was on everything. We had to put him on kickoff because we weren’t doing well there. And then we put him on return because they were wanting to squib the ball in the middle. His offensive performance was impressive for a running back, but then you add up everything else he’s doing for our football team. I am super proud of him.”
That offensive performance? Just a workaday 271 yards on 25 carries and four touchdowns.
“We couldn’t stop Miller all night,” said Nevada Coach Wes Beachler. “And we couldn’t stop their quarterback either.”
Indian quarterback Brodie Probert was an effective counter-punch to Miller’s bruising running, amassing 207 yards on 22 carries, scoring four touchdowns of his own.
“We have a two-headed monster back there,” Hilburn said. “Both guys run the ball physically. At 195 pounds, [Probert] is a north-south runner that doesn’t mind contact at all. In addition to outside linebacker, we stuck him out there on kickoff in the second half.
“But that’s both guy’s personality: What can I do to help the team win?”
Seneca (3-0 overall and Big 8) opened the game with a eight-play, 61-play drive – all on the ground – that culminated in Probert’s first touchdown of the night, a 17-yard run that gave the Indians a 6-0 lead.
After forcing a punt, Seneca appeared headed for the end zone again, but Probert had the ball knocked away after he’d broken into the Tiger secondary and fumbled, the only turnover the Indians committed all night.
Seneca forced a fumble of its own early in the second quarter, and turned it into a 13-0 lead on a 47-yard touchdown run from Miller.
Nevada answered with a 85-yard kickoff return for touchdown from Will Jackson, cutting the lead to 13-7.
Seneca responded with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that culminated in Probert’s second score of the night, and a 20-7 lead with 4:19 to play in the half.
Jackson got loose again on the ensuing kickoff, but was dragged down at the Indian 20-yard line. Four plays later, junior John Collins scored on a three-yard run to make it a one-score game at 20-13.
But as they would do all night, every time the Tigers would get close, the Indians would run away.
Miller made it a 27-13 lead with 30 seconds to play in the half on a 27-yard touchdown run.
Nevada (2-1 overall and Big 8) scored on the opening drive of the second half to get within eight points at 27-19 after an unsuccessful two-point conversion.
Miller carried the ball on four of five plays on the ensuing drive, including a 2-yard touchdown that followed a 38-yard scamper, to push the lead to 34-19.
Nevada quarterback Kellen Braden hit a 31-yard pass over the middle to start the next drive, and a three-yard pass to Sean Simmons for a touchdown to cap it. A two-point conversion cut the Indian lead to 34-27 with 4:06 to play in the third quarter.
A 63-yard kickoff return by Hunter Hanes gave the Indians great field position on the ensuing drive and Seneca scored quickly to push the lead to 41-27 with 1:34 to play in the third.
Despite racking up 500 yards of rushing offense, the Indians worked quickly and efficiently, never quite chewing up the clock in a way that the statistics might suggest.
“We felt good about our game plan coming in, and our offensive line played well,” Hilburn said. “We thought about trying to slow the tempo down a bit, but when you do that, you risk putting your kids back on their heels a bit. We wanted to keep answering the bell.”
Nevada cut the lead to 41-33 with 9:27 to play, but could get no closer. In all, the Tigers got within a single score four times in the game.
“We thought if we could just get a three-and-out, then we could get some things going,” Beachler said. “But we couldn’t, and that’s a credit to them.”
Probert added a pair of late touchdowns to push the final score to a 21-point win.
Other than Probert and Miller, junior Jagger Wilson was the only other Indian to carry the ball. He ran three times in the first half for 16 yards. Probert attempted just four passes, completing one for six yards.
Nevada was led by Jackson, who scored twice and ran for 59 yards on 14 carries. Collins added 45 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
Braden completed seven of 12 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Collins caught two passes for 65-yards, Drew Miller caught two passes for 58-yards, Simmons had two catches for 14 yards, and Jett Snyder caught one pass for 31 yards.
Seneca travels to Monett next Friday night, while Nevada will host McDonald County, the other undefeated team in the Big 8.
