By Richard Polen
rpolen@joplinglobe.com
ST. LOUIS — Cassville used a little razzle-dazzle on offense in the first half and shut down Bowling Green in the second to claim its second Class 3 championship with a 24-7 victory Saturday at the Edward Jones Dome.
Senior quarterback Trevor Tanner led the Wildcats with 144 yards rushing and two touchdowns as Cassville repeated its 2008 state championship.
“We’re normally a power-running team but their defensive tackles and middle linebackers were very good,” Cassville head coach David Large said. “We felt like we would have to coach on the fly.”
The Wildcats (14-1) broke a 7-7 tie with a 98-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter after a 52-yard Bowling Green punt pinned Cassville deep in its territory.
Tanner’s quarterback keeper gave the Wildcats a first down at the 18 before Cassville ran a double-reverse, then pitched the ball back to Tanner, who completed a 63-yard pass to Travis Northern for a first down at the Bowling Green 19.
Tanner scored five plays later when he kept the ball on a quarterback option and put Cassville ahead 14-7 with three minutes, three seconds left in the first half.
The Wildcats’ defense, after allowing 130 yards passing in the first quarter, permitted just two first downs in the second half.
“I was nervous,” Tanner said of the long pass that set up the go-ahead touchdown. “We hadn’t run it against an actual defense yet.”
Bowling Green (14-1) had taken a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game by driving 67 yards in 13 plays.
On fourth-and-5 from the Cassville 10 quarterback Ryan Cox pumped-faked toward the corner of the end zone, then threw to receiver Zach Pease in the middle of the field to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead.
Cassville did not respond until its third possession of the game. One play after a Bowling Green punt, Joseph Gouvion took a pitch from Tanner. beat a Bobcat defender to the sideline, turned up field and sprinted 85 yards for a touchdown that tied the score at 7 early in the second quarter.
“Our defense kind of hung their heads after their first touchdown,” Bowling Green head coach Jimmy Tucker said. “I don’t know. That hadn’t happened all year.”
Gouvion’s run ignited a Cassville crowd that occupied four sections on the Dome’s lower level, plus spillover, including the school band, in the second level of seating.
“The Wildcat Nation is pretty crazy,” Large said. “Everybody is so excited. There aren’t many road games where we don’t have more fans. It’s a great community.
“With an unknown team like Bowling Green, it just took a little time. Coach (Clay) Weldy called a quick pitch from up top. Sometimes, it’s easy calling plays with these two guys.”
Cassville began the second half by pinning Bowling Green at its 2 with a 55-yard punt by Northern. The Wildcats’ defense forced a punt, and Cassville started its second possession from the Bowling Green 38.
Tanner weaved through the Bobcat secondary on a 35-yard touchdown run that gave Cassville a 21-7 lead with 8:05 left in the third quarter.
Matt Angel’s 38-yard field goal with 3:11 to go in the third gave the Wildcats a 24-7 lead.
Cassville had two interceptions, one by sophomore Tony Rose in the first half and the other by junior Chris Smith in the fourth quarter.
“They won it last year, but they wanted it this year,” Tucker said. “I was a little surprised by that.”
