Cassville shuts out Mt. Vernon 27-0 in season opener
Cassville's Ethan Fuchs (#22) and Hernan Hernandez (#17) combine to bring down Mt. Vernon;s Cody Downing (#35) in first quarter action at Wildcat Stadium. Photo by Prescilla Craig.
September 1, 2021
Lee Stubblefield
The Cassville Wildcats kicked off the 2021 season on Friday night with an impressive 27-0 shutout over the visiting Mt. Vernon Mountaineers in a Big 8 crossover game. Cutter Hicks scored three touchdowns for the Wildcats, and the Cassville defense turned in a stellar performance in the shutout victory.
Always a tough opponent, Mt. Vernon has handed Cassville two of their seven defeats over the last three seasons. Prior to Friday night’s clash between the two perennial Big 8 powers, the last thing anyone expected was a shut-out victory. Both teams, hard hit by graduation, entered this game with multiple question marks. In the end, it was the Wildcats who had all the answers, pummeling the Mountaineers enroute to the 27-0 final score.
TURNOVERS
There were hiccups for both teams along the way. Cassville and Mt. Vernon combined to produce seven turnovers with some sloppy play. But the Cassville defense dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Mt. Vernon only had ten snaps inside Cassville territory, and eight of those came on one third quarter drive.
GAME MANAGEMENT
With so many young players making their first start under the Friday night lights, the Cassville coaching staff directed a conservative game plan. Run, run, run. Junior running back Jadon Ewing torched the Mountaineers for 142 yards IN THE FIRST HALF as the Wildcats built a 20-0 lead. Cutter Hicks played catch with Hernan Hernandez throughout the game, completing five of six passes.
The Wildcats kept it simple. Nearly every play was run out of the I-formation. No novel formations, no wishbone, no trick plays. The plain vanilla running game kept the chains moving, produced points, and kept the Mt. Vernon offense off the field. It was a winning recipe, classic Lance Parnell football. Unofficially, Cassville rushed for 317 yards on 50 carries.
DEFENSE
This Cassville defense lacks the size of last year’s unit, but overcame the Mountaineers with athleticism, speed, and quickness. Shutouts are not common in the Big 8. Cassville only recorded two last year, and both of those came late in the season. Blanking a name opponent like Mt. Vernon is a huge accomplishment for these young ‘Cats.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Drake Reese is gone. Cassville has been spoiled with All State kickers over the years, and replacing a generational talent like Reese is a tough act. Hernan Hernandez handled the kicking duties against Mt. Vernon. He converted three of his four PAT attempts, and punted twice effectively. Lacking the leg and range of Reese, Hernandez’s kickoffs were all squib kicks, forcing the Mountaineers to scramble to cover crazy bounces. No touchbacks, but no touchdowns allowed either.
GAME SUMMARY
Mt. Vernon’s Malachi Hennum’s opening kickoff bounced out of bounds, and the Wildcats started the season at their own 35-yard line. Ewing burst through the line for 37 yards on the first play, finally going down at the Mt. Vernon 28-yard line. Ethan Fuchs gained five yards, but a motion penalty on second down created a second-and-ten situation.
Hicks took the snap, and ran the option off left tackle. The Cassville quarterback made the right read and the right move, slicing through the secondary for a 28-yard touchdown with 10:32 on the first quarter clock. The PAT sailed wide, but Cassville had the 6-0 lead.
The Wildcats held the Mountaineers to a three and out possession, then started their next drive at the Mt. Vernon 49-yard line after a scintillating 21-yard punt return by Hernandez. An 11-play scoring drive ensued, highlighted by a 16-yard Hicks to Hernandez strike on 4th and 15. Three plays later, Hicks scored on a six-yard quarterback blast. Hernandez added the point after for a 13-0 lead with 2:49 left in the quarter.
Then Cassville took control of the contest with a 13-play, 73-yard drive late in the second quarter. Fuchs knifed off left tackle to score from nine yards out, and a Hernandez line drive kick gave the Wildcats a 20-0 lead with 2:30 remaining in the half.
Down three scores to start the second half, the Mt. Vernon offense went for a 4th-and-23 with no success, and then Ethan Hoff threw interceptions on the next two drives, one to Jake Anthonysz and one to Bodee Rose. The second pick set up a five-play, 52-yard scoring drive for the 27-0 lead. Hicks scored his third touchdown of the game from six yards out with 8:13 remaining in the game. Hernandez converted for the third time to create what would become the final score.
STATS
Jadon Ewing led all rushers with 165 yards on 19 carries. Cutter Hicks added 60 yards on nine carries and scored three touchdowns. Ethan Fuchs had 48 yards on 11 carries and a score.
Hicks completed 5 of 6 passing - all of them to Hernan Hernandez - and threw one interception.
WEEK 2
The Wildcats hit the road for the first time this weekend, travelling to Marshfield. The Blue Jays lost to Seneca, 31-28, in their season opener. Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 PM. But, with the shortage of officials causing some games to be moved to Saturday on opening weekend, fans should do their own due diligence in case of a last minute schedule change.
BIG 8 SCORES
Friday:
• Cassville 27, Mt. Vernon 0.
• Hollister 42, Monett 27.
• Seneca 31, Marshfield 28.
• McDonald County 33, Aurora 22.
• Nevada 52, Rogersville 31.
• Reeds Spring 49, East Newton 20.
Saturday:
• Lamar 46, Springfield Catholic 0.
Lee Stubblefield
The Cassville Wildcats kicked off the 2021 season on Friday night with an impressive 27-0 shutout over the visiting Mt. Vernon Mountaineers in a Big 8 crossover game. Cutter Hicks scored three touchdowns for the Wildcats, and the Cassville defense turned in a stellar performance in the shutout victory.
Always a tough opponent, Mt. Vernon has handed Cassville two of their seven defeats over the last three seasons. Prior to Friday night’s clash between the two perennial Big 8 powers, the last thing anyone expected was a shut-out victory. Both teams, hard hit by graduation, entered this game with multiple question marks. In the end, it was the Wildcats who had all the answers, pummeling the Mountaineers enroute to the 27-0 final score.
TURNOVERS
There were hiccups for both teams along the way. Cassville and Mt. Vernon combined to produce seven turnovers with some sloppy play. But the Cassville defense dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Mt. Vernon only had ten snaps inside Cassville territory, and eight of those came on one third quarter drive.
GAME MANAGEMENT
With so many young players making their first start under the Friday night lights, the Cassville coaching staff directed a conservative game plan. Run, run, run. Junior running back Jadon Ewing torched the Mountaineers for 142 yards IN THE FIRST HALF as the Wildcats built a 20-0 lead. Cutter Hicks played catch with Hernan Hernandez throughout the game, completing five of six passes.
The Wildcats kept it simple. Nearly every play was run out of the I-formation. No novel formations, no wishbone, no trick plays. The plain vanilla running game kept the chains moving, produced points, and kept the Mt. Vernon offense off the field. It was a winning recipe, classic Lance Parnell football. Unofficially, Cassville rushed for 317 yards on 50 carries.
DEFENSE
This Cassville defense lacks the size of last year’s unit, but overcame the Mountaineers with athleticism, speed, and quickness. Shutouts are not common in the Big 8. Cassville only recorded two last year, and both of those came late in the season. Blanking a name opponent like Mt. Vernon is a huge accomplishment for these young ‘Cats.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Drake Reese is gone. Cassville has been spoiled with All State kickers over the years, and replacing a generational talent like Reese is a tough act. Hernan Hernandez handled the kicking duties against Mt. Vernon. He converted three of his four PAT attempts, and punted twice effectively. Lacking the leg and range of Reese, Hernandez’s kickoffs were all squib kicks, forcing the Mountaineers to scramble to cover crazy bounces. No touchbacks, but no touchdowns allowed either.
GAME SUMMARY
Mt. Vernon’s Malachi Hennum’s opening kickoff bounced out of bounds, and the Wildcats started the season at their own 35-yard line. Ewing burst through the line for 37 yards on the first play, finally going down at the Mt. Vernon 28-yard line. Ethan Fuchs gained five yards, but a motion penalty on second down created a second-and-ten situation.
Hicks took the snap, and ran the option off left tackle. The Cassville quarterback made the right read and the right move, slicing through the secondary for a 28-yard touchdown with 10:32 on the first quarter clock. The PAT sailed wide, but Cassville had the 6-0 lead.
The Wildcats held the Mountaineers to a three and out possession, then started their next drive at the Mt. Vernon 49-yard line after a scintillating 21-yard punt return by Hernandez. An 11-play scoring drive ensued, highlighted by a 16-yard Hicks to Hernandez strike on 4th and 15. Three plays later, Hicks scored on a six-yard quarterback blast. Hernandez added the point after for a 13-0 lead with 2:49 left in the quarter.
Then Cassville took control of the contest with a 13-play, 73-yard drive late in the second quarter. Fuchs knifed off left tackle to score from nine yards out, and a Hernandez line drive kick gave the Wildcats a 20-0 lead with 2:30 remaining in the half.
Down three scores to start the second half, the Mt. Vernon offense went for a 4th-and-23 with no success, and then Ethan Hoff threw interceptions on the next two drives, one to Jake Anthonysz and one to Bodee Rose. The second pick set up a five-play, 52-yard scoring drive for the 27-0 lead. Hicks scored his third touchdown of the game from six yards out with 8:13 remaining in the game. Hernandez converted for the third time to create what would become the final score.
STATS
Jadon Ewing led all rushers with 165 yards on 19 carries. Cutter Hicks added 60 yards on nine carries and scored three touchdowns. Ethan Fuchs had 48 yards on 11 carries and a score.
Hicks completed 5 of 6 passing - all of them to Hernan Hernandez - and threw one interception.
WEEK 2
The Wildcats hit the road for the first time this weekend, travelling to Marshfield. The Blue Jays lost to Seneca, 31-28, in their season opener. Kickoff is set for Friday at 7 PM. But, with the shortage of officials causing some games to be moved to Saturday on opening weekend, fans should do their own due diligence in case of a last minute schedule change.
BIG 8 SCORES
Friday:
• Cassville 27, Mt. Vernon 0.
• Hollister 42, Monett 27.
• Seneca 31, Marshfield 28.
• McDonald County 33, Aurora 22.
• Nevada 52, Rogersville 31.
• Reeds Spring 49, East Newton 20.
Saturday:
• Lamar 46, Springfield Catholic 0.
Above, Wildcat cheerleader, LExie Yockey, receives a lift from fellow cheerleaders. Photo by Prescilla Craig.
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The Cassville High School Football program was proud to recognize football alumni from the classes of 1985-1989 prior to the varsity game on Friday, August 27.
Shown above, left to right, front row, are: Larry Stockton, Artie Koehler, Daniel Bowman, Terry Madison, Tim Miller, Todd Speakman and Lance Pilant; back row: Coach Joe Cavness, Martin Krallman, Mike Anglum, Doug Bowman, Scott Williams, Daniel Pueppke, Roy Edmondson, Robert Wolf, Tony Montgomery, Joey Rose, Coach Rick Lawson and Jerry James. |
