CASSVILLE, Mo. —
Most high school football teams would be neck deep in panic mode if their starting quarterback was unavailable for the first round of the playoffs.
With senior starter Ricky Nichols on the bench nursing a knee injury, the Cassville Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in Class 3, had more than enough firepower to offset the loss, shutting down the Clinton Cardinals 35-0 in the regional on Wednesday night.
Nichols suffered an injury to his right knee in last week’s final district contest against Seneca. The Wildcat coaching staff opted to sit Nichols, wearing a knee brace, but moving well on the sidelines, out of the game and go with senior Trey Rose under center.
“I just thought our defense did a great job getting us points, and our special teams, with a blocked punt, were great, so it took some pressure off Trey at quarterback,’’ said Cassville coach David Large. “Trey was actually our quarterback when he was a freshman and Ricky was a wide receiver. You never know what will happen in your high school career. Trey has been a three-year starter on defense and he did great for us tonight.’’
Large said he anticipated Nichols would be back for Monday’s second-round game at home against Pleasant Hill (8-3), a 14-6 winner over Monett.
Senior running back Kyle Brattin helped ease the loss at quarterback for Cassville (11-0), rushing for three touchdowns and 147 yards on 18 carries.
Cassville’s special teams helped set up Brattin’s first touchdown in the opening quarter. Clinton lined up in punt formation at its 27 on a fourth down-and-4 play with two minutes remaining in the period. The snap sailed over punter Brandon Miller’s head and rolled toward the Cardinal end zone. Miller collected the ball and attempted to get a desperation punt off before being leveled at the 3.
Two plays later Brattin scored his first touchdown from the 1. Garrett Barnes booted his first of five PATs for a 7-0 lead with 1:07 left in the first quarter.
The Wildcat special teams struck again on the Cardinals’ next punt at their 25. Junior Garrett Kirk came untouched around the right end of the offensive line and blocked the punt, which was recovered by Cassville senior Justin Pflug at the Cardinal 24.
Four plays later Cassville scored on a seven-yard carry by junior Chris Dunker for a 14-0 lead with 9:40 remaining in the first half.
With 2:49 left before halftime the Wildcats took over at their 12 — their worst starting field possession of the night. That changed quickly on the first play when Brattin took the handoff, planted, and lofted a high pass that wide receiver Kirk leaped and tipped away from a Clinton defender for a 37-yard gain. Four plays later the Wildcats used some trickery as Brattin took the misdirection handoff, stopped as the play seemed to move to the left side of the offense, and streaked around the right side of the field untouched for a 41-yard touchdown and 21-0 halftime advantage.
“That play is called Temple Hideaway,’’ said Large. “That’s an old Larry Bunn (former East Newton head coach) play. There are four or five Big 8 teams that run that. It’s all about timing and just a gut feeling thing when you call it. It’s all about selling it to the defense more than anything.’’
In the second half, in a steady rain, the Wildcats added a pair of scores. Brattin scored his third touchdown, ending a 13-play drive with a three-yard run for a 28-0 lead.
On defense, Rose scored the final touchdown, collecting a Clinton fumble at the Cassville 23 and gliding 77 yards for the score with 3:17 left in the third quarter.
“I thought our defense and special teams just did an incredible job all night with the blocked punts and the fumbles they forced,’’ said Large. “On offense we have running backs we can rely on, and we just let Trey go out there and be a quarterback. He’s a heck of an athlete.’’
The Wildcats rolled up 248 yards on the ground compared to just 95 for Clinton. Gabe Suthoff, Clinton’s top running threat, with more than 1,000 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, was held to 49 yards on 15 carries.
Sports
November 2, 2011
Cassville rolls with starting QB on sideline
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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
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- Pittsburg State Sports
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- Vengels sixth in heptathlon; PSU picks up two seventh-place finishes
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- Lions, Gorillas begin competition in outdoor track and field championship
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- 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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