By Jim Fryar
jfryar@joplinglobe.com
Cassville, the defending Class 3 state champion, will enter today’s quarterfinal playoff game at Rogersville as the underdog.
It’s a role Cassville played to perfection last season, with wins over two teams which had been ranked No. 1 at different stages of the season. And it’s a role the Wildcats will have to continue to perfect if they continue their playoff march past today.
Rogersville, 11-1, is the No. 1-ranked team in the final regular-season poll of the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
“They would be the favorite, definitely,” said David Large, Cassville coach.
“Mountain Grove is a great team and (Rogersville) has beaten them twice. The biggest selling story for them is they beat Branson the week after we got whipped by them.”
That opening week loss to Branson, 42-13, is the lone blot on Cassville’s record. The Wildcats have reeled off 11 straight wins since then. One week after Cassville’s loss, Rogersville beat Branson 20-17.
Large and the Cassville staff are familiar with Rogersville entering the battle of the two Wildcat teams. They met at the same stage of the 2008 playoffs and Cassville beat junior-dominated Rogersville 26-14.
“They graduated a really good running back, but most of the rest of them are back with another year of experience,” Large said.
“They do everything well. They’re good in all aspects of the game. This is the first game to come along where we don’t feel like we have an advantage in the kicking game. They have a good kicker, good return guys and they’ve blocked several punts.
“They also have a good quarterback, a playmaker (senior Colton Dill). He’s kind of that extra coach on the field. You get caught up like a fan just watching him play. He’s their best running back, he throws the ball well and he can take off scrambling and get yards.”
Dill has thrown for 869 yards and seven touchdowns and rushed for 756 yards and 10 more scores in a balanced offense. Sophomore Dylan Cole and senior Grant Clouse have added 653 and 609 yards rushing, respectively. Senior Connor Smith is the top receiver with 26 catches.
Rogersville’s strength would appear to be team speed, Large said.
“They’re good at the skill positions, their linebackers run well and they just have a lot of athletic ability, a lot of speed,” he said.
Cassville once again relies on a rigid defense. The Wildcats allowed only five touchdowns in the final seven games of the regular season. They are limiting opponents to an average of just 211.6 yards per game.
Offensive leaders for Cassville have been Trevor Tanner, Joseph Gouvion and Travis Northern.
Tanner has thrown for 582 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 897 yards and eight more scores. Gouvion has rushed for 1,362 yards and scored 28 touchdowns. Northern is the leading receiver (20 catches, 333 yards) and also punts for a 35.1-yard average. Mathew Angel has kicked four of six field goals and 47 of 49 PATs.
“The biggest thing we have to do is to play a ball-control game,” Large said. “We need to put some drives together, get some points on the board, then do a good job of just not giving their offense a bunch of opportunities. If we can limit the number of snaps they’e getting, that’s probably the best way to control the game.”
The Cassville-Rogersville winner will play either Kansas City O’Hara or Pleasant Hill, where former East Newton coach Larry Bunn is an assistant, in the semifinal round.
