By Richard Polen
rpolen@joplinglobe.com
CASSVILLE, Mo. — Cassville head coach David Large knows his Wildcats’ defense faces a challenge today in the Class 3 semifinal matchup with Archbishop O’Hara of Kansas City.
The Celtics, led by quarterback T.J. White, overcame Pleasant Hill 50-49 in last week’s quarterfinal after a 35-7 O’Hara lead vanished and became a 49-42 deficit.
In fact, O’Hara has won two of three playoff games by scoring in the final 35 seconds of the game.
“They’re a great football team,” Large said. “They have some very good athletes. There are tough matchup propositions with their quarterback, running back and receiver. They have a lot of speed. Their quarterback is really special and can run or pass, and they have a good, quick running back.”
White, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound senior, is the West Central Conference player of the year and is O’Hara’s all-time leader with 4,431 yards passing in his career. Running back Raphael Spencer, who holds the school record in the 100 meters, has about 1,100 rushing yards this season.
Aaron Stubblefield, who had five receptions for 105 yards in a 21-16 sectional victory over Savannah, is the Celtics’ No. 2 all-time leading receiver with 48 career catches.
Cassville’s primary threats on offense are running back Joseph Gouvion, the offensive player of the year in the Big 8 Conference, with 1,432 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns.
Quarterback Trevor Tanner has 958 rushing yards and has completed 45 of 87 passes for 711 yards and five touchdowns. The Wildcats’ leading receiver is Travis Northern, who has 22 receptions for 345 yards and three touchdowns.
One difference between the two teams is the makeup of the defensive units.
“They play eight or nine both ways and we play one or two,” Large said. “We hope to take advantage of that late in the game if we can stay close. But at the end of the game, you really don’t want the ball in their (O’Hara’s) hands.”
Large said the Wildcats didn’t prepare for the game any differently than they have for any other opponent. And it helps to be playing at home.
“We just try to get better week to week. We try to be a good, disciplined football team,” he said. “We have a great atmosphere, fan base, and the community loves football. We think in the last couple of years we’ve built a pretty good home-field advantage.”
