The Kirksville Tigers made a winner out of Gregg Nesbitt in his first game as head football coach Friday, beating Macon 35-0 at Hugh Dunn Field. Jace Kent had a great game for the Tigers, scoring three touchdowns, rushing for 100 yards on 14 carries, and caught 3 passes for 115 yards. Kirksville took the opening kickoff and marched 77 yards down the field, finishing off the drive with a four yard run by Kent to grab an early 7-0 lead. Late in the first quarter, Logan Martin scampered down the field for 75 yards, getting tackled short of the goal line, but QB Ryder Lyons finished it off with a one yard run to make it 14-0 Tigers with :20 seconds to play in the quarter. Kent took the ball for 86 yards on a screen pass down to the Macon one yard line before Martin finished the drive on a one yard touchdown run with 6:57 to play in the second quarter. Kirksville blocked a Macon punt and took over at the Macon seven before Kent took it in for his second touchdown of the night to make it 28-0 with 1:55 to play. That’s when the adventure with the stadium lights began. They flickered incessantly for nearly 20 minutes before it was decided to send the teams up the hill for an early “halftime”. When they returned to finish the second quarter, the Tigers nearly tacked on another touchdown but time ran out when Kent caught a short pass but was tackled short of the end zone and the score remained 28-0 at the official halftime. The teams quickly lined up to start the third, and Kent scored on a 57 yard run to make it 35-0 with 5:34 to play in the third quarter to send the game into continuous clock and the Tigers second teamers mopped it up for a 35-0 win. Ryder Lyons was 8 of 14 through the air for 154 yards. Next, Kirksville will have their home opener hosting Chillicothe next Friday at 7:00. The Hornets beat up on Marshall Friday 40-6.