Cassville falls to Odessa in Class 3 title game, 49-28
Despite a strong effort to move the ball, the Cassville wide receiver DJ White, 3, is taken down by the Odessa defensive line while #58 Nate Boley tries to come to his aid. Photo by Priscilla Craig.
December 11, 2019
Lee Stubblefield
“Teams to remember play in December” read the banner in front of the Odessa student section. Indeed, the 2019 Class 3 championship was a game to remember for both squads. For Odessa, it was the finishing touch on an undefeated season. For Cassville, this game was a frustrating end to a great playoff run.
Although the sun shone brightly on a cold afternoon in Columbia, the clock struck midnight on Cassville’s Cinderella season. The glass slipper became a doggie boot as the Odessa Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 49-28 with an impressive offensive performance.
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Only Blair Oaks and Seneca had scored more than 21 points against the proud Cassville defense in a long season leading to the Show-Me Bowl. Odessa posted 35 points in the first half alone on Faurot Field, the home of the Missouri Tigers. After shutting out a talented Trinity Catholic team in the semifinals, it was inconceivable that Odessa could put up nearly half a hundred points on Cassville. But the Bulldogs declawed the Wildcats’ defense with over 500 yards of offense and seven scores, and that number burned on the scoreboard as the crowd filed out of Memorial Stadium.
Just keep rowing
“Just keep rowing,” the motto inspired by the book of the same name, was emblazoned on the sweatshirts of the Odessa fans that filled a good portion of the west side of the stadium. Just an hour and a half west of Columbia, the Odessa team and supporters had an easier trip to the game than the Cassville faithful.
The Bulldogs were a team on a mission. Last year, Odessa stumbled against Maryville, and that 29-6 playoff loss derailed a potential perfect season. Coach Mark Thomas preached to his team all year that “We would only worry about the things we could control.”
Just keep rowing.
Shocking start
Cassville won the coin toss and deferred. Facing a cold south wind, Drake Reese’s kickoff fell short of the end zone. Odessa’s Bryley Ray charged up the left sideline and burst through the Cassville coverage team for a 93-yard score. The PAT failed, but Odessa was on the board just 12 seconds into the contest.
Bowen Preddy gave Cassville excellent field position on the ensuing kickoff, streaking to the Odessa 33-yard line. The Wildcats reached the red zone before DJ White was thrown for a third-down loss. Reese trotted onto the field with his kicking tee for a 32-yard attempt.
Typical Cassville old school football. Kick the field goal, hold on defense, then drive the ball into the end zone.
But Reese’s kick sailed wide right, and Odessa took over at the 20-yard line.
The teams traded three and outs, and then Odessa started rolling. The Bulldogs drove 72 yards in just six plays to score again. Bell cow running back Luke Malizzi ran 46 yards to the Cassville 15-yard line and then senior quarterback Josey Meieraren flipped a pass over the Cassville secondary to big tight end Kade Kiehl in the back corner of the end zone. Malizzi barged into the end zone for the conversion, and Odessa claimed a 14-0 lead with 3:57 left in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats went to work. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty on the first play of the drive, they drove 67 yards in nine plays. Deven Bates drilled a 13-yard pass to White for the score, and Reese cut the lead to 14-7 with the PAT.
The bomb
But on the last play of the first quarter, Odessa rocked the Cassville defense. Ray, the hero of the opening kickoff, split wide right against Kade Hayward’s single coverage. Ray shot up the sideline on a fly pattern, tracked down Meieraren’s wind-aided pass, and raced 80 yards to the house with no time showing on the clock. Wade Johnson supplied the PAT to give the
Bulldogs a 21-7 lead.
The Wildcats then drove to the Odessa 16-yard line on a 10-play drive, but Reese missed another 32-yard attempt.
Shock and awe
“We were comfortable with the preparation for Cassville’s defense,” said Odessa’s Thomas after the game. “We wanted to put our offense on display.”
The Bulldogs did just that after the missed kick. Meieraren shredded the Cassville secondary on the drive, completing all four of his passes as Odessa swept down the field for another score. Kiehl, the 6-4 tight end, caught passes for 22 and 20 yards, and Brett Duncan’s 29-yard reception gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Cassville one-yard line. Ethan Uhrlaub banged into the end zone as Odessa opened a 28-7 lead with exactly five minutes left in the first half.
Odessa’s multiple tight end sets seemed to confuse Cassville’s defense. On running plays, the Bulldogs held a blocking advantage. When Meieraren threw, the big ends roamed the secondary, often uncovered.
“What we bring is difficult to prepare for,” coach Thomas explained. “We try to utilize all our athletes. We give them a role and let them do their job.”
Critical sequence
“I was very proud of the way our kids played,” Cassville’s Lance Parnell reflected after the game. “They competed hard.”
The determined Wildcats cut into the Odessa lead and had a chance to pull within one score at halftime. The last five-minute sequence of the second quarter determined the ball game.
White settled under Johnson’s kickoff and raced to the Odessa 48-yard line. Then, Bates directed the Wildcats on an 8-play scoring drive, throwing a scoring strike to Reese on a crossing route in the end zone. Reese added the PAT to cut the lead to 28-14 with 1:48 left in the half.
Then, Odessa’s Meieraren committed a rare mistake, lobbing a deep pass into coverage. Jericho Farris intercepted and weaved his way up the field. But Odessa’s Brett Duncan jarred the ball loose and the Bulldogs recovered at midfield.
If Farris could have got down safely, the Wildcats would have had an opportunity to cut the lead to one score, and then receive the second half kickoff with a chance to tie. But in a cruel twist of fate, the Bulldogs used the reversal of fortune to drive for yet another score. Meiraren found Duncan with a 27-yard strike in the final minute of the quarter to balloon the lead to 35-14 at halftime.
Fireworks
Cassville’s offense took the field to start the third quarter after Farris returned a Johnson kickoff to the 22-yard line. Two plays netted just four yards. Then, Cassville did what Cassville does: open up the play book.
“We don’t call them trick plays because we run them all the time,” said Parnell later after the wildest scoring play of the game.
Bates dropped into the pocket and fired a pass toward Brett Cooper in the left flat. Instead of catching the ball, Cooper batted it with a two-hand shove to the trailing Bowen Preddy. The unorthodox execution of the hitch-and-pitch froze the Odessa secondary momentarily. Preddy scooped up the carom in full stride ala Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception, and flew down the sideline for a 74-yard touchdown.
Reese’s PAT cut the lead to 35-21, illustrating just how important that end-of-half missed opportunity was.
Malizzi, O-line take over
But from that point, the Bulldogs controlled the game. With Odessa’s offensive front dominating the line of scrimmage, Malizzi carried the ball seven times on a 16-play, 80-yard drive. Meieraren found Carter Westerhold open for a 6-yard scoring throw to open a 42-21 lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats would respond, driving 69-yards in 10 plays. Zach Coenen rumbled into the end zone from three yards out to cut the lead to 42-28 as the quarter expired.
But then the Bulldogs drove again.
“We couldn’t get off the field defensively,” said Parnell.
Odessa marched the length of the field again, covering 63 yards in 11 plays. Malizzi carried seven times on the drive, and ran untouched into the end zone from three yards out to finish the drive midway through the fourth quarter.
Final score: 49-28.
Stats
Odessa rang up 505 yards of offense against a good Cassville defense, 280 passing and 225 on the ground. Malizzi carried 27 times for 199 yards, and Meieraren completed 19 of his 25 passes for 4 touchdowns with one interception.
Cassville posted 301 yards of total offense, 167 passing and 134 rushing. Bates completed 11 of 18 throws for 3 touchdowns and one interception. Preddy led the Cassville ground attack with 65 yards on 14 carries.
“We faced a very good Odessa team,” said Parnell. “We came out for the second half and competed hard. That’s the type of kids we have in Cassville. They’re going to give you everything they’ve got and play their hearts out. That’s what they’ve done all year long.”
Odessa finishes their state championship season with a perfect 15-0 record. Cassville claims the second-place Class 3 trophy, finishing with a 12-3 mark.
Lee Stubblefield
“Teams to remember play in December” read the banner in front of the Odessa student section. Indeed, the 2019 Class 3 championship was a game to remember for both squads. For Odessa, it was the finishing touch on an undefeated season. For Cassville, this game was a frustrating end to a great playoff run.
Although the sun shone brightly on a cold afternoon in Columbia, the clock struck midnight on Cassville’s Cinderella season. The glass slipper became a doggie boot as the Odessa Bulldogs defeated the Wildcats 49-28 with an impressive offensive performance.
49
Only Blair Oaks and Seneca had scored more than 21 points against the proud Cassville defense in a long season leading to the Show-Me Bowl. Odessa posted 35 points in the first half alone on Faurot Field, the home of the Missouri Tigers. After shutting out a talented Trinity Catholic team in the semifinals, it was inconceivable that Odessa could put up nearly half a hundred points on Cassville. But the Bulldogs declawed the Wildcats’ defense with over 500 yards of offense and seven scores, and that number burned on the scoreboard as the crowd filed out of Memorial Stadium.
Just keep rowing
“Just keep rowing,” the motto inspired by the book of the same name, was emblazoned on the sweatshirts of the Odessa fans that filled a good portion of the west side of the stadium. Just an hour and a half west of Columbia, the Odessa team and supporters had an easier trip to the game than the Cassville faithful.
The Bulldogs were a team on a mission. Last year, Odessa stumbled against Maryville, and that 29-6 playoff loss derailed a potential perfect season. Coach Mark Thomas preached to his team all year that “We would only worry about the things we could control.”
Just keep rowing.
Shocking start
Cassville won the coin toss and deferred. Facing a cold south wind, Drake Reese’s kickoff fell short of the end zone. Odessa’s Bryley Ray charged up the left sideline and burst through the Cassville coverage team for a 93-yard score. The PAT failed, but Odessa was on the board just 12 seconds into the contest.
Bowen Preddy gave Cassville excellent field position on the ensuing kickoff, streaking to the Odessa 33-yard line. The Wildcats reached the red zone before DJ White was thrown for a third-down loss. Reese trotted onto the field with his kicking tee for a 32-yard attempt.
Typical Cassville old school football. Kick the field goal, hold on defense, then drive the ball into the end zone.
But Reese’s kick sailed wide right, and Odessa took over at the 20-yard line.
The teams traded three and outs, and then Odessa started rolling. The Bulldogs drove 72 yards in just six plays to score again. Bell cow running back Luke Malizzi ran 46 yards to the Cassville 15-yard line and then senior quarterback Josey Meieraren flipped a pass over the Cassville secondary to big tight end Kade Kiehl in the back corner of the end zone. Malizzi barged into the end zone for the conversion, and Odessa claimed a 14-0 lead with 3:57 left in the opening quarter.
The Wildcats went to work. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty on the first play of the drive, they drove 67 yards in nine plays. Deven Bates drilled a 13-yard pass to White for the score, and Reese cut the lead to 14-7 with the PAT.
The bomb
But on the last play of the first quarter, Odessa rocked the Cassville defense. Ray, the hero of the opening kickoff, split wide right against Kade Hayward’s single coverage. Ray shot up the sideline on a fly pattern, tracked down Meieraren’s wind-aided pass, and raced 80 yards to the house with no time showing on the clock. Wade Johnson supplied the PAT to give the
Bulldogs a 21-7 lead.
The Wildcats then drove to the Odessa 16-yard line on a 10-play drive, but Reese missed another 32-yard attempt.
Shock and awe
“We were comfortable with the preparation for Cassville’s defense,” said Odessa’s Thomas after the game. “We wanted to put our offense on display.”
The Bulldogs did just that after the missed kick. Meieraren shredded the Cassville secondary on the drive, completing all four of his passes as Odessa swept down the field for another score. Kiehl, the 6-4 tight end, caught passes for 22 and 20 yards, and Brett Duncan’s 29-yard reception gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Cassville one-yard line. Ethan Uhrlaub banged into the end zone as Odessa opened a 28-7 lead with exactly five minutes left in the first half.
Odessa’s multiple tight end sets seemed to confuse Cassville’s defense. On running plays, the Bulldogs held a blocking advantage. When Meieraren threw, the big ends roamed the secondary, often uncovered.
“What we bring is difficult to prepare for,” coach Thomas explained. “We try to utilize all our athletes. We give them a role and let them do their job.”
Critical sequence
“I was very proud of the way our kids played,” Cassville’s Lance Parnell reflected after the game. “They competed hard.”
The determined Wildcats cut into the Odessa lead and had a chance to pull within one score at halftime. The last five-minute sequence of the second quarter determined the ball game.
White settled under Johnson’s kickoff and raced to the Odessa 48-yard line. Then, Bates directed the Wildcats on an 8-play scoring drive, throwing a scoring strike to Reese on a crossing route in the end zone. Reese added the PAT to cut the lead to 28-14 with 1:48 left in the half.
Then, Odessa’s Meieraren committed a rare mistake, lobbing a deep pass into coverage. Jericho Farris intercepted and weaved his way up the field. But Odessa’s Brett Duncan jarred the ball loose and the Bulldogs recovered at midfield.
If Farris could have got down safely, the Wildcats would have had an opportunity to cut the lead to one score, and then receive the second half kickoff with a chance to tie. But in a cruel twist of fate, the Bulldogs used the reversal of fortune to drive for yet another score. Meiraren found Duncan with a 27-yard strike in the final minute of the quarter to balloon the lead to 35-14 at halftime.
Fireworks
Cassville’s offense took the field to start the third quarter after Farris returned a Johnson kickoff to the 22-yard line. Two plays netted just four yards. Then, Cassville did what Cassville does: open up the play book.
“We don’t call them trick plays because we run them all the time,” said Parnell later after the wildest scoring play of the game.
Bates dropped into the pocket and fired a pass toward Brett Cooper in the left flat. Instead of catching the ball, Cooper batted it with a two-hand shove to the trailing Bowen Preddy. The unorthodox execution of the hitch-and-pitch froze the Odessa secondary momentarily. Preddy scooped up the carom in full stride ala Franco Harris and the Immaculate Reception, and flew down the sideline for a 74-yard touchdown.
Reese’s PAT cut the lead to 35-21, illustrating just how important that end-of-half missed opportunity was.
Malizzi, O-line take over
But from that point, the Bulldogs controlled the game. With Odessa’s offensive front dominating the line of scrimmage, Malizzi carried the ball seven times on a 16-play, 80-yard drive. Meieraren found Carter Westerhold open for a 6-yard scoring throw to open a 42-21 lead with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
The Wildcats would respond, driving 69-yards in 10 plays. Zach Coenen rumbled into the end zone from three yards out to cut the lead to 42-28 as the quarter expired.
But then the Bulldogs drove again.
“We couldn’t get off the field defensively,” said Parnell.
Odessa marched the length of the field again, covering 63 yards in 11 plays. Malizzi carried seven times on the drive, and ran untouched into the end zone from three yards out to finish the drive midway through the fourth quarter.
Final score: 49-28.
Stats
Odessa rang up 505 yards of offense against a good Cassville defense, 280 passing and 225 on the ground. Malizzi carried 27 times for 199 yards, and Meieraren completed 19 of his 25 passes for 4 touchdowns with one interception.
Cassville posted 301 yards of total offense, 167 passing and 134 rushing. Bates completed 11 of 18 throws for 3 touchdowns and one interception. Preddy led the Cassville ground attack with 65 yards on 14 carries.
“We faced a very good Odessa team,” said Parnell. “We came out for the second half and competed hard. That’s the type of kids we have in Cassville. They’re going to give you everything they’ve got and play their hearts out. That’s what they’ve done all year long.”
Odessa finishes their state championship season with a perfect 15-0 record. Cassville claims the second-place Class 3 trophy, finishing with a 12-3 mark.
Breaking through the Odessa defense, Wildcats running back #34 Bowen Preddy moves and shakes his way through a tackle on his way to the end zone. Photo by Priscilla Craig.
