Cats clip Cubs in homecoming comebac
The Cassville Wildcats and the Monett Cubs faced off Friday night in the annual “Barry County Brawl,” a tradition that gives neighboring rivals an opportunity to show which team’s boss. This year’s nail-biting brawl resulted in a last-minute, one-point win in the Wildcats’ favor. Photo by Priscilla Craig.
October 6, 2021
Lee Stubblefield
Great teams win great games when great players make great plays.
So a fitting end to Friday’s Barry County Brawl came with Cassville’s Isaac Hadlow crushing Monett’s Ethan Umfleet to blow up a potential hook and lateral on the final play of a one-point game.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Cassville Wildcats earned the Brawl trophy, claiming a 21-20 victory with a wild comeback victory. Monett last housed the Brawl hardware back in 2016, when the Cubs pulled out a 21-20 win at Burl Fowler Stadium. Since then, it’s been all Cassville.
• 2017: 21-0
• 2018: 49-12.
• 2019: 21-14.
• 2020: 50-0.
Add a 21-20 Cassville victory to that list.
Despite all the glitz and glamor of Homecoming and the annual Barry County Brawl, this game at Wildcat Stadium was widely dismissed as just an exercise between two 1-4 rebuilding programs. Instead, this turned into a game for the ages, one that will endure in Cassville football lore. It’s a loss that Monett would like to forget.
No one from Cassville will soon forget the visual of Cutter Hicks limping up and down the field in the final quarter, willing himself and his team to a stirring comeback victory in a defining display of courage, character, and calm.
Game
The first half was an old-school defensive battle. The scoreboard finally changed when Monett drove 73 yards in 13 plays on the first possession of the second quarter. Corbin McCully banged into the end zone from three yards out, and Erik Chavez added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 7:43 left in the half.
Cassville responded with a long drive that stalled at the Monett five-yard line with 1:50 on the clock. But Peter Littlefield’s 23-yard field goal attempt hooked left, as Monett maintained the 7-0 advantage.
The stalwart Cassville defense held Monett to a quick three-and-out, and the Wildcats stormed down to the Monett 25-yard line with three seconds remaining. But a desperate Hicks pass was intercepted in the end zone
The third quarter belonged to Cassville.
Littlefield dribbled an onside kick off the tee, and the Wildcats recovered at the Monett 48-yard line to open the second half. Hicks delivered to Hernan Hernandez on the Monett sideline for a 29-yard catch and run touchdown, but that score was wiped out by penalty. Then two plays later, Cassville coughed up the football, and Monett recovered to end the drive.
But the Cubs managed only one first down and punted. Umfleet’s kick reached only to midfield, and the Wildcats enjoyed great field position to start the next drive. No turnovers this time. It took eleven plays to cover 50 yards, but Hicks put Cassville on the scoreboard with a one-yard sneak with 1:20 remaining in the quarter.
Littlefield’s PAT attempt hooked left though, and Monett still led, 7-6.
The Cubs drove to the Cassville 45-yard line to open the final quarter, but failed to move the chains on a critical fourth down attempt. The Wildcats reached the Cubs’ 36-yard line in two plays, thanks in part to the third personal foul penalty of the game whistled against Monett.
Then Hicks tossed a Tim Tebow jump pass over the middle to Hadlow, and Cassville’s big tight end rumbled down to the two-yard line. Hicks creased the line for his second touchdown of the night, then followed blockers around left end for the two-point conversion to give Cassville a 14-7 lead with 6:06 left in the game.
Monett would not go away.
The Cubs stormed back to tie the game in just five plays. Facing fourth and forever at the Cassville 45-yard line, Umfleet ran a reverse, then launched a long bomb that found a diving Drew Ervin just short of the goal line. McCully scored on the next play, and the Chavez PAT tied the score at 14-14 with 4:27 remaining.
Cassville could not move the chains and punted back to Monett’s 40-yard line at the 2:50 mark.
The Cubs stormed to the Cassville 39-yard line in four plays. Then Davin Madrid found Umfleet loose for a 39-yard scoring bomb. Chavez missed on the PAT, but the Cubs had moved in front, 20-14, with only 73 seconds left to play.
How would Cassville respond?
Jake Anthonysz hauled in the kickoff at the Cassville nine-yard line and broke free up the Monett sideline. Chavez - the kicker - finally forced Anthonysz out of bounds at the Monett 32-yard line.
Hicks threw complete to Hernandez for 17 yards, but an incompletion and a sack resulted in a third and long at the Monett 24-yard line with only 39 seconds remaining. Anthonysz came up with a clutch catch on a wheel route, spinning in mid-air to bring in a Hicks pass for 17 yards down to the Monett 7-yard line.
The Wildcats hurried to the line and Hicks spiked the ball to kill the clock.
Hicks found Hadlow over the middle for six yards, then Anthonysz knifed off right tackle into the end zone. Littlefield put aside his previous misses and nailed the game-winning PAT, as Cassville moved back in front, 21-20.
Hernandez punched a squib kickoff to avoid any heroics from Umfleet. Then the Cassville defense closed it out, not surrendering a yard on Monett’s final desperate possession.
Stats
The stats bear witness to how close this game was.
Cassville amassed 286 total yards to 260 for Monett. As a team, the Wildcats rushed for 161 yards on 41 carries, led by an 85 yard performance by Jake Anthonysz. Cutter Hicks scored twice on a pair of one-yard runs, and Anthonysz scored from a yard out in the final seconds.
Hicks connected on 7 of 14 passes for 125 yards.
The Cubs hurt their cause with penalties. The visitors were flagged seven times for 75 yards, with three personal fouls included. The Wildcats were flagged just twice for 20 yards in the contest.
Cassville improves to 2-4 with the victory, while Monett skids to 1-5. The Wildcats travel to Seneca on Friday night to face the 3-3 Indians. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
Friday:
• Cassville 21, Monett 20
• Lamar 63, Mt. Vernon 7
• Nevada 52, Seneca 35
• McDonald County 35, East Newton 13
• Marshfield 50, Reeds Spring 28
• Rogersville 35, Springfield Catholic 7
Sunday:
• Aurora 42, Hollister 31
Lee Stubblefield
Great teams win great games when great players make great plays.
So a fitting end to Friday’s Barry County Brawl came with Cassville’s Isaac Hadlow crushing Monett’s Ethan Umfleet to blow up a potential hook and lateral on the final play of a one-point game.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Cassville Wildcats earned the Brawl trophy, claiming a 21-20 victory with a wild comeback victory. Monett last housed the Brawl hardware back in 2016, when the Cubs pulled out a 21-20 win at Burl Fowler Stadium. Since then, it’s been all Cassville.
• 2017: 21-0
• 2018: 49-12.
• 2019: 21-14.
• 2020: 50-0.
Add a 21-20 Cassville victory to that list.
Despite all the glitz and glamor of Homecoming and the annual Barry County Brawl, this game at Wildcat Stadium was widely dismissed as just an exercise between two 1-4 rebuilding programs. Instead, this turned into a game for the ages, one that will endure in Cassville football lore. It’s a loss that Monett would like to forget.
No one from Cassville will soon forget the visual of Cutter Hicks limping up and down the field in the final quarter, willing himself and his team to a stirring comeback victory in a defining display of courage, character, and calm.
Game
The first half was an old-school defensive battle. The scoreboard finally changed when Monett drove 73 yards in 13 plays on the first possession of the second quarter. Corbin McCully banged into the end zone from three yards out, and Erik Chavez added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 7:43 left in the half.
Cassville responded with a long drive that stalled at the Monett five-yard line with 1:50 on the clock. But Peter Littlefield’s 23-yard field goal attempt hooked left, as Monett maintained the 7-0 advantage.
The stalwart Cassville defense held Monett to a quick three-and-out, and the Wildcats stormed down to the Monett 25-yard line with three seconds remaining. But a desperate Hicks pass was intercepted in the end zone
The third quarter belonged to Cassville.
Littlefield dribbled an onside kick off the tee, and the Wildcats recovered at the Monett 48-yard line to open the second half. Hicks delivered to Hernan Hernandez on the Monett sideline for a 29-yard catch and run touchdown, but that score was wiped out by penalty. Then two plays later, Cassville coughed up the football, and Monett recovered to end the drive.
But the Cubs managed only one first down and punted. Umfleet’s kick reached only to midfield, and the Wildcats enjoyed great field position to start the next drive. No turnovers this time. It took eleven plays to cover 50 yards, but Hicks put Cassville on the scoreboard with a one-yard sneak with 1:20 remaining in the quarter.
Littlefield’s PAT attempt hooked left though, and Monett still led, 7-6.
The Cubs drove to the Cassville 45-yard line to open the final quarter, but failed to move the chains on a critical fourth down attempt. The Wildcats reached the Cubs’ 36-yard line in two plays, thanks in part to the third personal foul penalty of the game whistled against Monett.
Then Hicks tossed a Tim Tebow jump pass over the middle to Hadlow, and Cassville’s big tight end rumbled down to the two-yard line. Hicks creased the line for his second touchdown of the night, then followed blockers around left end for the two-point conversion to give Cassville a 14-7 lead with 6:06 left in the game.
Monett would not go away.
The Cubs stormed back to tie the game in just five plays. Facing fourth and forever at the Cassville 45-yard line, Umfleet ran a reverse, then launched a long bomb that found a diving Drew Ervin just short of the goal line. McCully scored on the next play, and the Chavez PAT tied the score at 14-14 with 4:27 remaining.
Cassville could not move the chains and punted back to Monett’s 40-yard line at the 2:50 mark.
The Cubs stormed to the Cassville 39-yard line in four plays. Then Davin Madrid found Umfleet loose for a 39-yard scoring bomb. Chavez missed on the PAT, but the Cubs had moved in front, 20-14, with only 73 seconds left to play.
How would Cassville respond?
Jake Anthonysz hauled in the kickoff at the Cassville nine-yard line and broke free up the Monett sideline. Chavez - the kicker - finally forced Anthonysz out of bounds at the Monett 32-yard line.
Hicks threw complete to Hernandez for 17 yards, but an incompletion and a sack resulted in a third and long at the Monett 24-yard line with only 39 seconds remaining. Anthonysz came up with a clutch catch on a wheel route, spinning in mid-air to bring in a Hicks pass for 17 yards down to the Monett 7-yard line.
The Wildcats hurried to the line and Hicks spiked the ball to kill the clock.
Hicks found Hadlow over the middle for six yards, then Anthonysz knifed off right tackle into the end zone. Littlefield put aside his previous misses and nailed the game-winning PAT, as Cassville moved back in front, 21-20.
Hernandez punched a squib kickoff to avoid any heroics from Umfleet. Then the Cassville defense closed it out, not surrendering a yard on Monett’s final desperate possession.
Stats
The stats bear witness to how close this game was.
Cassville amassed 286 total yards to 260 for Monett. As a team, the Wildcats rushed for 161 yards on 41 carries, led by an 85 yard performance by Jake Anthonysz. Cutter Hicks scored twice on a pair of one-yard runs, and Anthonysz scored from a yard out in the final seconds.
Hicks connected on 7 of 14 passes for 125 yards.
The Cubs hurt their cause with penalties. The visitors were flagged seven times for 75 yards, with three personal fouls included. The Wildcats were flagged just twice for 20 yards in the contest.
Cassville improves to 2-4 with the victory, while Monett skids to 1-5. The Wildcats travel to Seneca on Friday night to face the 3-3 Indians. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
Friday:
• Cassville 21, Monett 20
• Lamar 63, Mt. Vernon 7
• Nevada 52, Seneca 35
• McDonald County 35, East Newton 13
• Marshfield 50, Reeds Spring 28
• Rogersville 35, Springfield Catholic 7
Sunday:
• Aurora 42, Hollister 31