CASSVILLE, Mo. —
Pleasant Hill had all the credentials that seemed to pose a credible threat for an upset at No. 1-ranked Cassville on Monday.
By halftime, they were just another Wildcat victim.
Cassville (12-0) jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and a 35-6 advantage by halftime to notch a 42-12 Class 3 sectional victory over the Roosters (8-4). The win set Cassville up against a familiar foe in Saturday’s Class 3 Quarterfinal.
The lopsided early lead was not anticipated by anyone on the Cassville sideline.
“Not at all,” said Cassville coach David Large. “I saw Pleasant Hill had a great defense on film. We were able to mix up some passes with our running game maybe more than they thought we would. They are a good team and well coached.”
The Wildcats had five possessions in the first half, all ending with a touchdown.
Pleasant Hill also had five possessions, and four ended with punts. The Roosters gained 79 yards in the first two quarters, 33 on their only scoring play of the half, a touchdown toss from quarterback Josh Griffith to Hunter Melies with 7:38 remaining, cutting Cassville’s lead to 21-6.
Cassville senior quarterback Ricky Nichols, who sat out last week’s opening playoff contest to rest an injured right knee, came back strong. He scored Cassville’s first touchdown in the first quarter, and its last of the second quarter, both on 1-yard keepers. His two rushing scores bookended a 29-yard touchdown pass to Josh Sexton on the opening play of the second quarter to give the Wildcats a 21-0 advantage.
“I felt good all night,” said Nichols. “I was a little worried about my knee coming in but it held up. Hopefully I can get coach to let me take this brace off for our next game.”
The brace didn’t slow Nichols down as he ran for 149 yards, 93 in the first half, on 19 carries to lead both teams.
Leading 7-0, the Wildcats quickly doubled their lead on a first-down play from the Pleasant Hill 46 on a hand off to Chris Dunker who broke through the line and, sprung by a big block from Sexton, went the distance for a 14-0 lead with 4:43 remaining.
“That was just a trap play,” said Large describing Dunker’s big run. “It’s a quick hitter. We used to run that with Ethan Couch a lot a few years back. When we get a good block on a linebacker it works great. If we don’t ...”
After the Roosters’ lone touchdown of the first half, Cassville answered with a 57-yard, six play drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown run for Kyle Brattin for a 28-6 lead. Brattin, who finished the night with 79 yards on 15 carries, added the final touchdown of the night for the Wildcats in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard scoring run.
Trailing 35-6 at halftime, Pleasant Hill stole a bit of the momentum on Cassville’s second play of the third quarter when Nichols lost the grip on the ball as he rushed into the line, flipping it into the arms of defensive lineman Matt Hobbs, who took the fumble 27 yards for a touchdown. That trimmed the gap to 35-12, but the Roosters could get no closer.
“We knew we couldn’t make too many mistakes, and then in the second half I made one,” said Nichols, able to smile about his fumble after the win. “It was a veer, and I just wanted to pull the ball back in and I slipped as I took off and threw the ball right to the kid.”
Monday’s victory sets up a pair of familiar opponents for Saturday’s Class 3 quarterfinal as Cassville travels to Rogersville for a 1 p.m. game. Cassville is 3-0 in the last three seasons against the Wildcats, but all of the games have been very competitive.
Rogersville beat Springfield Catholic 34-14 Monday night.
“They are a great team this year,” said Large. “They’ve been a great team the last four years. We had a pretty good feeling they’d be back in this game this year, but we didn’t know if we would be. They are a great measuring stick for us. We’ll just go and play.”
Sports
November 8, 2011
Fast start helps Cassville cruise past Pleasant Hill
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Outlaws open season Thursday on the road
Chris Oldner takes a cut during the Joplin Outlaws practice Tuesday afternoon. The Outlaws open their season on Thursday night at Rossville and play seven road games before their home opener on June 5.
The Joplin Outlaws and new coach Rob Vessell have set some lofty goals for the 2012 baseball season.
Continued ... - Heat take 2-0 lead into Boston in East finals
- McIlroy recovers from rugged start for 71
- Former equipment manager sues Rams
- Stanton’s homers fuel Marlins’ surge in May
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- Pittsburg State Sports
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- Vengels sixth in heptathlon; PSU picks up two seventh-place finishes
- Ethan Cordray signs with Pittsburg State
- Lions, Gorillas begin competition in outdoor track and field championship
- Three finalists named for PSU head baseball coach position
- Lions qualify 10, PSU 15 for Division II outdoor track meet
- Missouri Southern Sports
- High School Sports
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Area athletes turn shine at state meet
Webb City's Jarvis Jones takes sixth in the 200.
- Cleo Elbert steps down at Thomas Jefferson
- Frontenac wins first state baseball title
- Joplin's Jeremy Lynn takes fifth at state tennis
- Frontenac advances at state baseball
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