From staff reports
sports@joplinglobe.com
WARSAW, Mo. — Wayne Sooter and Mitchell Gibson hooked up for two first-half touchdown passes as Pierce City knocked off undefeated Warsaw 14-12 Wednesday night in a Class 2 sectional football game.
The Eagles (7-4) held off Warsaw in the closing minutes and advanced to Monday night’s second-round game at Lamar, a 28-0 winner over El Dorado Springs.
Sooter, who passed for 191 yards, found Gibson with touchdown strikes of 32 yards with 4:45 left in the first quarter and 41 yards early in the second period. Garrett Garman added both PATs as Pierce City grabbed a 14-0 lead. The Eagles had other scoring chances but turned the ball over twice inside the 5-yard line.
Warsaw (10-1 and ranked fourth in the state poll), playing without its starting quarterback for the fourth straight game, pared the deficit to 14-6 by halftime on John Ward’s 1-yard run.
Ward scored again with 8:42 remaining in the game on a 15-yard run, but the Wildcats failed on the 2-point conversion run.
Warsaw regained possession and reached the Pierce City 20, but on fourth down-and-4, the Wildcats’ pass fell incomplete.
“We made some big plays in the passing game, and we were able to shut down their running game for the most part,” Pierce City head coach Brad Hocker said. “With their quarterback out, we knew if we could force them to pass, it would be to our advantage. Our defensive line played great, and the linebackers did a good job reading their keys and were pretty disciplined.”
While the victory raised some eyebrows across the state, it didn’t come as a surprise to the Eagles.
“I knew we are a good team,” Hocker said. “If we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, we’re a pretty tough out. The kids believed they could win all week long, and they showed up and did it.”
“Pierce City did a nice job,” veteran Warsaw head coach Randy Morrow said. “Their quarterback was better than what we saw on film. We spotted them too much. Not being at full strength got us tonight, especially in the secondary.”
Ray Hoover rushed for 152 yards on 32 carries for Warsaw, and Ward added 82 yards on 22 carries.
Greenfield 61, Archie 13
GREENFIELD, Mo. — Jordan Bryant and John Riley accounted for three touchdowns apiece as the Wildcats took command in the first half.
The Wildcats (10-1) built leads of 25-0 after one quarter and 53-0 at halftime and advanced to Monday’s second-round game, also at home against Adrian. The Blackhawks advanced with a 48-13 victory over Liberal.
Bryant competed 6-of-10 passes for 199 yards and a 35-yard touchdown strike to Jamie Gray. Bryant also scored on a five-yard run, and he returned an interception 20 yards for a score.
Riley touchdowns came on distances of 51, 35 and 60 yards, Gray had a 5-yard run, and Greenfield broke two long runs for their final touchdowns — 74 yards by Tyler Boyd and 64 yards by Austin Emery.
Thayer 36, Lockwood 21
THAYER, Mo. — Thayer, last year’s Class 1 state runner-up, scored two touchdowns in the fourth period to turn back upset-minded Lockwood.
The Tigers (6-5) trailed 14-7 at halftime and 22-15 after three quarters. Lockwood scored first in the fourth period to pull within 22-21 before the Bobcats widened their margin.
Thayer (9-1) plays host to Miller on Monday night in a rematch from its district schedule.
Adrian 48, Liberal 13
ADRIAN, Mo. — Liberal struck first, on a 77-yard touchdown rnn by Jordan Meadows.
But Adrian steadily pulled away behind the running of Tuff Wemberly, the passing of Trevor Gregg and the receiving of Skyler Kariker.
The Blackhawks, 9-2, led 21-7 by halftime and 35-7 after three quarters.
Gregg threw touchdown passes of 30, 13 and 25 yards to Kariker and 18 yards to Wemberly. Overall, the Adrian quarterback hit on 11 of 17 passes for 247 yards.
Wemberly had 10 carries for 103 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 33 yards.
Liberal had 339 yards rushing, according to Adrian statistics. But the Bulldogs were stopped on downs twice inside the Blackhawks’ 10-yard line. Liberal finished the season 6-5.
