Lamar Tigers defeat Wildcats
September 30, 2020
Lee Stubblefield
In a game eerily reminiscent of Cassville’s loss to Odessa in the 2019 state championship game, the Lamar Tigers returned home Friday night with a resounding 40-20 victory over the Wildcats. Turnovers and penalties certainly marred the Cassville effort, but Lamar earned this win, controlling every facet of the contest.
There are a couple of different ways to look at Lamar’s victory at Cassville. For Wildcat fans, the glass-half-full perspective says this would have been a much closer game, a game within Cassville’s reach even, if it wasn’t for the two turnovers that resulted in short-field scores for the Tigers. But the Lamar backers can point to the inability of Cassville’s defense to get off the field as evidence that the Tigers could have mounted scoring drives from anywhere on the field. Either way, it was a long night for the Wildcats, and a feather in the cap for first year head coach Jared Beshore in the post-Scott Bailey era.
Size
Discrepancies were revealed as the game unfolded. As intimidating as Cassville’s offensive line was against Rogersville, it struggled to create running lanes and protect Hayden Sink on passing plays against the huge Lamar front. Ryan Wooldridge, at 6-4 and 330, was a mountain the Wildcats could not move.
Speed
Game note: Lamar was faster. Cassville usually holds a speed advantage over opposing teams. But on the manicured field of Wildcat Stadium, the Tigers passed the eye test as the faster team. Lamar exaggerated that advantage with a blur of jet sweeps and reverses to gain a step advantage at the outset of nearly every offensive snap.
Drake Reese’s 85-yard score on a go route catch-and-run in the third quarter earned Cassville’s lone gold medal in the Friday night track meet.
The Tigers won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, throwing conventional wisdom to the wind. Then the ball blew off the tee just as Drake Reese launched his kick, and with return, the Tigers started at their 47 yard line instead of the 20, a predictable result of most Reese offerings.
The Tigers then drove 52 yards in just 8 plays to take a 7-0 lead with 8:34 left in the quarter.
Disaster
On Cassville’s first drive, Sink fumbled and the Tigers recovered in the red zone. Two snaps and 17 yards later, the Tigers had a 14-0 lead.
Following the kickoff, Sink waas stripped on a quarterback draw and the Tigers recovered at the Cassville 6-yard line. THE SIX YARD LINE.
A holding call had negated a Zach Coenen run out to the 35-yard line. Then on 3rd and 23, Sink fumbled while trying to gain a few more yards for a Drake Reese punt.
Chase Tucker stormed into the end zone from 3 yards out, and Lamar owned a 21-0 lead with 4:03 on the first quarter clock.
In a real test of manhood, Cassville answered with a 14-play drive to get on the scoreboard. After converting on 4th and 7 at the Lamar 35-yard line, the Wildcats scored when Sink bulled into the end zone on 4th and 1 from the Lamar 3-yard line to finish the drive. Except for the 4th-and-7 conversion, the Wildcats gained no more than 6 yards on any play in the long drive, fighting for every inch against that brutal Lamar defensive front.
Reese tacked on the Pat for a 21-7 score with 9:44 left in the half.
The Wildcats finally forced a punt, but could not take advantage of the opportunity. After Reese punted the ball back to the visitors, the Tigers drove 69 yards in 12 plays to take a 28-7 lead with just seconds remaining in the half.
Footrace
Lamar’s lead grew to 34-7 before Sink found Reese open down the right sideline on 3rd-and-8 from the Cassville 15-yard line. Sink threw his best ball of the night, hitting Reese in stride at the 50-yard line, and the Wildcat sprinter won the race to the goal line. The PAT attempt failed however, but the lead was cut to 34-13 with 6:22 left in the quarter.
Third down
Lamar answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive to take a 40-13 4th-quarter lead, a drive that chewed 8:16 off the clock and left only 9:59 to play in the game. The Tigers converted three times on third down in that drive. All night long, the Cassville defense simply could not get off the field in crucial situations, and this drive was a prime example of that.
The Wildcats would score late on a 17-play, 67-yard drive. Sink valiantly fought off would-be sackers in the backfield and found Brett Cooper open in the end zone for an 8-yard score to create the 40-20 final.
Both teams entered this game state-ranked at 3-1. The Class 3 rankings will likely shuffle next week with both Cassville and Mt. Vernon losing.
The Wildcats travel to Monett on Friday night to resume the Barry County Brawl rivalry. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
• Rogersville 29, Mt. Vernon 23
• Lamar 40, Cassville 20
• Nevada 20, Monett 7
• Reeds Spring 24, Hollister 18
• Marshfield 41, East Newton 7
• Aurora 36, Buffalo 35
• McDonald County 39, Frontenac 13
In a game eerily reminiscent of Cassville’s loss to Odessa in the 2019 state championship game, the Lamar Tigers returned home Friday night with a resounding 40-20 victory over the Wildcats. Turnovers and penalties certainly marred the Cassville effort, but Lamar earned this win, controlling every facet of the contest.
There are a couple of different ways to look at Lamar’s victory at Cassville. For Wildcat fans, the glass-half-full perspective says this would have been a much closer game, a game within Cassville’s reach even, if it wasn’t for the two turnovers that resulted in short-field scores for the Tigers. But the Lamar backers can point to the inability of Cassville’s defense to get off the field as evidence that the Tigers could have mounted scoring drives from anywhere on the field. Either way, it was a long night for the Wildcats, and a feather in the cap for first year head coach Jared Beshore in the post-Scott Bailey era.
Size
Discrepancies were revealed as the game unfolded. As intimidating as Cassville’s offensive line was against Rogersville, it struggled to create running lanes and protect Hayden Sink on passing plays against the huge Lamar front. Ryan Wooldridge, at 6-4 and 330, was a mountain the Wildcats could not move.
Speed
Game note: Lamar was faster. Cassville usually holds a speed advantage over opposing teams. But on the manicured field of Wildcat Stadium, the Tigers passed the eye test as the faster team. Lamar exaggerated that advantage with a blur of jet sweeps and reverses to gain a step advantage at the outset of nearly every offensive snap.
Drake Reese’s 85-yard score on a go route catch-and-run in the third quarter earned Cassville’s lone gold medal in the Friday night track meet.
The Tigers won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, throwing conventional wisdom to the wind. Then the ball blew off the tee just as Drake Reese launched his kick, and with return, the Tigers started at their 47 yard line instead of the 20, a predictable result of most Reese offerings.
The Tigers then drove 52 yards in just 8 plays to take a 7-0 lead with 8:34 left in the quarter.
Disaster
On Cassville’s first drive, Sink fumbled and the Tigers recovered in the red zone. Two snaps and 17 yards later, the Tigers had a 14-0 lead.
Following the kickoff, Sink waas stripped on a quarterback draw and the Tigers recovered at the Cassville 6-yard line. THE SIX YARD LINE.
A holding call had negated a Zach Coenen run out to the 35-yard line. Then on 3rd and 23, Sink fumbled while trying to gain a few more yards for a Drake Reese punt.
Chase Tucker stormed into the end zone from 3 yards out, and Lamar owned a 21-0 lead with 4:03 on the first quarter clock.
In a real test of manhood, Cassville answered with a 14-play drive to get on the scoreboard. After converting on 4th and 7 at the Lamar 35-yard line, the Wildcats scored when Sink bulled into the end zone on 4th and 1 from the Lamar 3-yard line to finish the drive. Except for the 4th-and-7 conversion, the Wildcats gained no more than 6 yards on any play in the long drive, fighting for every inch against that brutal Lamar defensive front.
Reese tacked on the Pat for a 21-7 score with 9:44 left in the half.
The Wildcats finally forced a punt, but could not take advantage of the opportunity. After Reese punted the ball back to the visitors, the Tigers drove 69 yards in 12 plays to take a 28-7 lead with just seconds remaining in the half.
Footrace
Lamar’s lead grew to 34-7 before Sink found Reese open down the right sideline on 3rd-and-8 from the Cassville 15-yard line. Sink threw his best ball of the night, hitting Reese in stride at the 50-yard line, and the Wildcat sprinter won the race to the goal line. The PAT attempt failed however, but the lead was cut to 34-13 with 6:22 left in the quarter.
Third down
Lamar answered with a 14-play, 70-yard drive to take a 40-13 4th-quarter lead, a drive that chewed 8:16 off the clock and left only 9:59 to play in the game. The Tigers converted three times on third down in that drive. All night long, the Cassville defense simply could not get off the field in crucial situations, and this drive was a prime example of that.
The Wildcats would score late on a 17-play, 67-yard drive. Sink valiantly fought off would-be sackers in the backfield and found Brett Cooper open in the end zone for an 8-yard score to create the 40-20 final.
Both teams entered this game state-ranked at 3-1. The Class 3 rankings will likely shuffle next week with both Cassville and Mt. Vernon losing.
The Wildcats travel to Monett on Friday night to resume the Barry County Brawl rivalry. Kickoff is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
• Rogersville 29, Mt. Vernon 23
• Lamar 40, Cassville 20
• Nevada 20, Monett 7
• Reeds Spring 24, Hollister 18
• Marshfield 41, East Newton 7
• Aurora 36, Buffalo 35
• McDonald County 39, Frontenac 13