By Richard Polen
rpolen@joplinglobe.com
LAMAR, Mo. — Signs offering encouragement are all around town as the Lamar Tigers face the Maryville Spoofhounds in a Class 2 semifinal game at 1:30 p.m. today.
The Tigers, 7-6, have won six in a row since a 28-21 loss at Monett, a Class 3 team that has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the state this season.
But Lamar head coach Scott Bailey is quick to warn that Maryville is not just another Class 2 team on Lamar’s schedule. The Spoofhounds, 12-1, were state runners-up last season.
“We didn’t beat those Class 3 and 4 teams we played. The Maryville team compares really well with the Big 8 teams we played,” Bailey said. “Unfortunately, our Big 8 record was 1-6.”
Lamar’s ground-oriented offense relies on a mix of power football and misdirection plays. Quarterback Trenton Doyle went over the 1,000-yard mark in rushing in the Tigers’ 34-18 sectional victory against Pierce City, and surpassed the 1,000-yard mark in passing in a 42-14 quarterfinal victory at previously unbeaten Fair Grove.
Lamar’s leading rusher is Markell White, who has gained about 1,700 yards and has 25 touchdowns. Wingback Cory Lear has 782 yards rushing and six touchdowns.
A speedy Kansas City Hogan Prep team gave Maryville a scare in its 35-32 quarterfinal victory.
“We have some speed at a number of our skill positions,” Bailey said. “But whether we have Hogan Prep caliber speed, that’s yet to be seen.”
But Maryville head coach Chris Holt said it is the Tigers’ defensive unit that concerns him the most.
“Not so much speed, just how physical they are,” he said Friday afternoon just before the team bus left from Maryville. “Obviously, their size, but we’ve played big teams before.”
He said Lamar’s offensive style is similar to Chillicothe, a team Maryville defeated 7-0 in a midseason game at Chillicothe.
“We don’t really deviate from what we do,” Holt said. “We’re a wing-T offense, so we try to run the ball and we’ll throw it if we have to.”
The Tigers’ defensive leaders are Colby Hall and Nick Gariss, who each have been involved in more than 100 tackles, with Kyle Smith and Chaz Blackwell not far behind. Gariss has three interceptions to go with four sacks. Zach Yokley is the leader up front with 5.5 sacks.
The semifinal game is a first for Lamar, which had never qualified for the quarterfinals before this season. In fact, Lamar was 0-10 in 2007 and 6-6 last season with a victory in the playoffs.
The hometown support comes as no surprise to Bailey.
“This is my fourth year here,” Bailey said. “We’ve had successful seasons and pretty unsuccessful seasons, and our community has supported us regardless of the outcome of our season.”
