Cassville Wildcats clinch top district seed with win over Mac County
October 28, 2020
Peter Littlefield was a busy man in his varsity debut Friday night. With Drake Reese sidelined, Littlefield kicked off seven times, and attempted one PAT in Cassville’s 44-21 victory over McDonald County. Photo by Caden Swearingen.
Lee Stubblefield
On the last night of the regular season, the Cassville Wildcats made a statement with their 44-21 victory over the McDonald County Mustangs, and Jericho Farris may have clinched an all state position.
The Mustangs with their high-flying offense met their match in a Cassville team intent on securing a top district seed. Cassville jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the two teams combined for 28 points in the final 7:47 of the second quarter. The Wildcats outscored the visitors 16-7 in the third quarter, then ran the clock out in a scoreless fourth quarter to claim the victory.
In between the opening kickoff and the final whistle, Jericho Farris turned in an incredible performance. After Zach Coenen opened the scoring with a 49-yard run on Cassville’s first possession, Farris scored the last five touchdowns for the Wildcats, pushing his season total to 21.
THE LAST FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.
Three rushing touchdowns. A 40-yard TD reception. A 77-yard kickoff return for a score.
Farris did everything except throw for a touchdown, and he almost did that on Cassville’s second play of the game. If he hadn’t overthrown a wide open receiver with his halfback pass attempt, Farris would have made national headlines.
MUSTANG MANIA
The Mustangs didn’t come to town just to be a centerpiece on Cassville’s table. The high-risk, pass-heavy Mac offense sparkled at times, and the Mustangs were not shy about rolling the dice on fourth down. Quarterback Cole Martin showed off a big-time arm, challenging the Cassville secondary time and time again. The Class 4 Mustangs had a chance to clinch the Big 8 West with a win, after defeating Lamar 42-41 back in week 3.
But Cassville, intent on clinching a first round bye and home field advantage throughout district play, was up to the challenge.
FAST START
In the absence of Drake Reese, Peter Littlefield took over Cassville’s placekicking duties. Trent Alik ran his opening kickoff back to the Cassville 35-yard line before the Wildcats could drag him down. But that long return went for naught, as the Wildcats held on four plays and gained possession.
Hayden Sink kept the Cassville drive alive, blasting for 5 yards on 4th-and-1 to the Mac 49-yard line. Then Zach Coenen gashed the line, cut hard right to the Cassville sideline, and raced to the end-zone for the game’s initial score with 7:10 on the first quarter clock. Sink tossed to a wide open Killian Barbee for a 2-point play and an 8-0 lead.
A long drive into Cassville territory ate up most of the remaining quarter, but Martin’s 4th-down pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats took over at their own 28-yard line.
RIDE THE FARRIS WHEEL
The Cassville offense then drove down the field in 9 plays. On a 3rd-and-9 play from his own 41-yard line, Sink lofted a deep throw to Spencer Moeller on the sideline for a 39-yard gain. Four plays later, Farris bucked the line for 5 yards and his first score of the night and a 14-0 Cassville lead with 7:47 left in the half.
A Wildcat turnover led to the first Mac score of the game. A Mustang defender ripped the ball away from Coenen at the Cassville 33-yard line. Seven plays later, Martin drilled a slant to Alik for a 9-yard touchdown.
BOOM
Farris and Brent Cooper dropped deep to accept Jared Mora’s kickoff. Farris scooped the one-hopper off the grass at the Cassville 23-yard line and shot through the McDonald County cover team for a 77-yard score. Although the PAT failed, the Wildcats had negated the Mac score and opened a 20-7 lead with 2:50 on the clock.
PONY EXPRESS DELIVERS
Alik returned Littlefield’s kick out near midfield. On 2nd-and-7, Martin took a deep drop and fired a long pass to Levi Malone down to the Cassville 7-yard line.
Zion Guttierez plowed off left tackle to score and cut the Cassville lead to 20-14 with less than a minute left in the half.
RIDE THE FARRIS WHEEL
Cooper returned Mora’s kickoff out to the 31-yard line as the clock ticked down to 44 seconds.
Instead of taking a knee and running out the clock, the Wildcats attacked.
Coenen ripped through the line, dragging tacklers along on a 19-yard gain. Then Coenen creased the line again, this time for 10 yards to the McDonald County 40-yard line as the Cassville linemen joined the fray and moved the pile an extra 5 yards.
With the clock running out, Sink took the shotgun snap, rolled right, and then threw back across the field. Farris had delayed, then leaked out to the left sideline on a wheel route. Sink hit Farris in stride at the 25-yard line, and he scurried into the end zone with just 4 seconds to spare.
That Clay Weldy wizardry gave Cassville a 28-14 halftime lead.
GAME OVER
Cassville put this game on ice with a 57-yard drive to open the third quarter. Farris bounced off right tackle for a 6-yard score as the Wildcats opened a 36-14 lead after taking four minutes off the clock.
Martin led the Mustangs to an answering score on a strange drive where Barbee snared an interception but coughed up the ball on his return. Bailey Lewis found the end zone from 6 yards out to trim the lead to 36-21, but the clock had already bled down to 2:04 in the quarter. That’s not much time to make up a two-touchdown deficit.
Farris made that a moot point when he bounced outside, then used a crushing block by Coenen to run away from the d-backs for a 46-yard score. Coenen plowed in for the extra 2 points to give Cassville a 44-21 lead with just seconds left in the quarter.
There would be no more scoring, and the Wildcats improved to 7-2 while running their win streak to 4 games.
STATS
Cassville dominated statistically. The Wildcats rushed for 350 yards, and added 79 more through the air.
Farris finished his monster night with 134 yards rushing and three touchdowns, 40 yards receiving and a touchdown, and a kickoff return for a score. Coenen actually had more rushing yards, totalling 142 on the night with a score. Sink was 2 for 6 passing, including the touchdown connection with Farris.
Martin led McDonald County with a valiant effort, completing 19 of his 32 throws for 253 yards and a touchdown.
BIG 8 SCORES
• Cassville 44, McDonald County 21
• Marshfield 33, Mt. Vernon 22
• Nevada 39, Aurora 20
• Rogersville 42, Reeds Spring 7
• Springfield Catholic 41, Hollister 27
• Monett 27, Seneca 6
• Lamar 53, East Newton 14
DISTRICTS
Lance Parnell’s Wildcats, with their top seed in Class 3 District 6, earn a first-round bye, as does Mt. Vernon, the second seed. Cassville also enjoys home field advantage throughout district play.
Cassville’s season-ending win streak contrasts starkly with Mt. Vernon’s graveyard spiral. The Mountaineers opened the season with a 21-13 win over the Wildcats, then reeled off three more victories to reach 4-0. But five straight stunning losses to finish the regular season send Mt. Vernon limping into the playoffs with zero momentum. The 4-5 Mountaineers leapfrogged 6-3 Aurora in district seeding on the strength of their head-to-head 19-6 victory over the ‘Dawgs back in week 4.
In fact, Cassville was the only Class 3 District 6 team to post a victory on the final night of the regular season.
So the Wildcats await the winner of the Reeds Spring-Hollister contest. Mt. Vernon will play the winner of the Aurora-Seneca game.
On the last night of the regular season, the Cassville Wildcats made a statement with their 44-21 victory over the McDonald County Mustangs, and Jericho Farris may have clinched an all state position.
The Mustangs with their high-flying offense met their match in a Cassville team intent on securing a top district seed. Cassville jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the two teams combined for 28 points in the final 7:47 of the second quarter. The Wildcats outscored the visitors 16-7 in the third quarter, then ran the clock out in a scoreless fourth quarter to claim the victory.
In between the opening kickoff and the final whistle, Jericho Farris turned in an incredible performance. After Zach Coenen opened the scoring with a 49-yard run on Cassville’s first possession, Farris scored the last five touchdowns for the Wildcats, pushing his season total to 21.
THE LAST FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.
Three rushing touchdowns. A 40-yard TD reception. A 77-yard kickoff return for a score.
Farris did everything except throw for a touchdown, and he almost did that on Cassville’s second play of the game. If he hadn’t overthrown a wide open receiver with his halfback pass attempt, Farris would have made national headlines.
MUSTANG MANIA
The Mustangs didn’t come to town just to be a centerpiece on Cassville’s table. The high-risk, pass-heavy Mac offense sparkled at times, and the Mustangs were not shy about rolling the dice on fourth down. Quarterback Cole Martin showed off a big-time arm, challenging the Cassville secondary time and time again. The Class 4 Mustangs had a chance to clinch the Big 8 West with a win, after defeating Lamar 42-41 back in week 3.
But Cassville, intent on clinching a first round bye and home field advantage throughout district play, was up to the challenge.
FAST START
In the absence of Drake Reese, Peter Littlefield took over Cassville’s placekicking duties. Trent Alik ran his opening kickoff back to the Cassville 35-yard line before the Wildcats could drag him down. But that long return went for naught, as the Wildcats held on four plays and gained possession.
Hayden Sink kept the Cassville drive alive, blasting for 5 yards on 4th-and-1 to the Mac 49-yard line. Then Zach Coenen gashed the line, cut hard right to the Cassville sideline, and raced to the end-zone for the game’s initial score with 7:10 on the first quarter clock. Sink tossed to a wide open Killian Barbee for a 2-point play and an 8-0 lead.
A long drive into Cassville territory ate up most of the remaining quarter, but Martin’s 4th-down pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats took over at their own 28-yard line.
RIDE THE FARRIS WHEEL
The Cassville offense then drove down the field in 9 plays. On a 3rd-and-9 play from his own 41-yard line, Sink lofted a deep throw to Spencer Moeller on the sideline for a 39-yard gain. Four plays later, Farris bucked the line for 5 yards and his first score of the night and a 14-0 Cassville lead with 7:47 left in the half.
A Wildcat turnover led to the first Mac score of the game. A Mustang defender ripped the ball away from Coenen at the Cassville 33-yard line. Seven plays later, Martin drilled a slant to Alik for a 9-yard touchdown.
BOOM
Farris and Brent Cooper dropped deep to accept Jared Mora’s kickoff. Farris scooped the one-hopper off the grass at the Cassville 23-yard line and shot through the McDonald County cover team for a 77-yard score. Although the PAT failed, the Wildcats had negated the Mac score and opened a 20-7 lead with 2:50 on the clock.
PONY EXPRESS DELIVERS
Alik returned Littlefield’s kick out near midfield. On 2nd-and-7, Martin took a deep drop and fired a long pass to Levi Malone down to the Cassville 7-yard line.
Zion Guttierez plowed off left tackle to score and cut the Cassville lead to 20-14 with less than a minute left in the half.
RIDE THE FARRIS WHEEL
Cooper returned Mora’s kickoff out to the 31-yard line as the clock ticked down to 44 seconds.
Instead of taking a knee and running out the clock, the Wildcats attacked.
Coenen ripped through the line, dragging tacklers along on a 19-yard gain. Then Coenen creased the line again, this time for 10 yards to the McDonald County 40-yard line as the Cassville linemen joined the fray and moved the pile an extra 5 yards.
With the clock running out, Sink took the shotgun snap, rolled right, and then threw back across the field. Farris had delayed, then leaked out to the left sideline on a wheel route. Sink hit Farris in stride at the 25-yard line, and he scurried into the end zone with just 4 seconds to spare.
That Clay Weldy wizardry gave Cassville a 28-14 halftime lead.
GAME OVER
Cassville put this game on ice with a 57-yard drive to open the third quarter. Farris bounced off right tackle for a 6-yard score as the Wildcats opened a 36-14 lead after taking four minutes off the clock.
Martin led the Mustangs to an answering score on a strange drive where Barbee snared an interception but coughed up the ball on his return. Bailey Lewis found the end zone from 6 yards out to trim the lead to 36-21, but the clock had already bled down to 2:04 in the quarter. That’s not much time to make up a two-touchdown deficit.
Farris made that a moot point when he bounced outside, then used a crushing block by Coenen to run away from the d-backs for a 46-yard score. Coenen plowed in for the extra 2 points to give Cassville a 44-21 lead with just seconds left in the quarter.
There would be no more scoring, and the Wildcats improved to 7-2 while running their win streak to 4 games.
STATS
Cassville dominated statistically. The Wildcats rushed for 350 yards, and added 79 more through the air.
Farris finished his monster night with 134 yards rushing and three touchdowns, 40 yards receiving and a touchdown, and a kickoff return for a score. Coenen actually had more rushing yards, totalling 142 on the night with a score. Sink was 2 for 6 passing, including the touchdown connection with Farris.
Martin led McDonald County with a valiant effort, completing 19 of his 32 throws for 253 yards and a touchdown.
BIG 8 SCORES
• Cassville 44, McDonald County 21
• Marshfield 33, Mt. Vernon 22
• Nevada 39, Aurora 20
• Rogersville 42, Reeds Spring 7
• Springfield Catholic 41, Hollister 27
• Monett 27, Seneca 6
• Lamar 53, East Newton 14
DISTRICTS
Lance Parnell’s Wildcats, with their top seed in Class 3 District 6, earn a first-round bye, as does Mt. Vernon, the second seed. Cassville also enjoys home field advantage throughout district play.
Cassville’s season-ending win streak contrasts starkly with Mt. Vernon’s graveyard spiral. The Mountaineers opened the season with a 21-13 win over the Wildcats, then reeled off three more victories to reach 4-0. But five straight stunning losses to finish the regular season send Mt. Vernon limping into the playoffs with zero momentum. The 4-5 Mountaineers leapfrogged 6-3 Aurora in district seeding on the strength of their head-to-head 19-6 victory over the ‘Dawgs back in week 4.
In fact, Cassville was the only Class 3 District 6 team to post a victory on the final night of the regular season.
So the Wildcats await the winner of the Reeds Spring-Hollister contest. Mt. Vernon will play the winner of the Aurora-Seneca game.
