MOUNT VERNON, Mo. —
In a Big Eight Conference game filled with big plays, Mount Vernon came out on top of Carl Junction 47-28 with the help of strong work up front.
“I thought our offensive line was the key,” Mountaineer coach Joy Maberry said. “They were able to control things up front.”
The Mountaineers, 1-1 overall after their conference and home opener, struck first with a special teams play, getting a blocked punt from Seth Haymes which was returned 25 yards for a score by Kyler Kalbaugh. Devon Morris kicked the extra point.
The Mountaineer defense forced a turnover after a big hit by Kaden Jones led to a fumble which was recovered by Shane Williams, and the home team went up 13-0 on a 19-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Kyler Shoff to Blake Grooms.
Shoff was starting because senior quarterback M.J. Swortwood is out 6-to-8 weeks because of broken fingers.
“Kyler did a good job of playing within himself.” Maberry said. “He didn’t make a lot of mistakes, and took advantage of good protection."
Shoff was 15 of 21 for 208 yards with a pair of TD passes and a pair of conversion passes in his first varsity start.
Carl Junction got on the board with 3:15 left in the first period on a 26-yard TD pass from Drew Snyder to Ryan Anderson. Anderson made a diving catch in the end zone on a ball which was deflected by the defense.
Hunter Brown broke loose for a 52 yard score after snagging a pass from Shoff with just 11 seconds left in the high scoring first period to give Mount Vernon a 19-6 lead.
Anderson started the second quarter scoring with another TD catch after a deflection by the Mount Vernon defense, maintaining his concentration while snagging a 17-yard scoring strike from Snyder. Chase Marrs’ kick pulled the Bulldogs within 19-13.
Mount Vernon answered with a 75-yard scoring drive on just five plays, capped by a Caleb Myers run of 16 yards. Shoff hit Grooms, who gave the ball to Brown for a 23-yard gain, and Shoff had a 39-yard run during the scoring drive.
Carl Junction dominated play early in the second half. The Bulldogs marched 59 yards — capped by Snyder’s 12-yard carry — and Marrs’ conversion made it 25-20.
Williams went to work for Mount Vernon with the ensuing kick, returning the ball 15 yards before reeling off runs of 12 and 4 yards, and scoring on a 17-yard run after Shoff hit Grooms with a 33 yard pass. Shoff also passed to Grooms for the conversion and a 33-20 lead.
Carl Junction, which fell to 0-2 in the Big 8, suffered a back-breaking turnover late in the period when what looked like a 33-yard scoring run turned into a fumble in the end zone recovered by Grooms.
The Mountaineers turned that turnover into an 80-yard scoring drive. Brown scored the TD on an 15-yard run and Shoff hit Grooms for the conversion at 10:13.
Grooms scored the final Mount Vernon TD with an interception return of 27 yards.
Mount Vernon finished with 166 yards rushing on 33 attempts. Carl Junction rushed 38 times for 248 yards and passed for 139.
“We’re going to have to improve on our tackling.” Maberry said. “I thought we were getting people to the right spot, but we need to be sure tacklers.”
Sports
Offensive line sparks Mount Vernon past Carl Junction
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