Seneca Indians end Cassville winning streak, 28-21
September 25, 2019
Lee Stubblefield
The Seneca Indians staked their claim to a brawl trophy Friday night, handing the Cassville Wildcats their first defeat of the season, 28-21.
“The more physical team won the football game,” said Cassville’s Lance Parnell after the contest.
For the second week in a row, Cassville’s line struggled against a bigger, stronger opponent. Monett wore down Cassville in the second half, but the Wildcats escaped with a victory. At Seneca, the ‘Cats could not hang on to a fourth quarter lead.
From the very start, Cassville looked like a team still licking its wounds from the fray with Monett. The Indians came out of the dressing room and hit the Wildcats square in the mouth with their punishing style of play. Seneca was penalized nine times in this game, four of those calls for roughing the passer.
Senior quarterback Deven Bates was under duress all night. Seneca’s front four controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing the Indians to play an umbrella pass defense that stymied the Cassville passing offense for much of the game.
After a 2-1 start, Seneca’s schedule had what appeared to be a four-game gauntlet, facing Cassville, Lamar, Monett and Mt. Vernon in successive weeks. But with a big upset of the seventh-ranked Wildcats, the Indians turned their division of the Big 8 Conference into the Wild West, scrambling both conference standings and district seeding numbers.
Seneca drove 80 yards with the opening kickoff with Lance Stephens throwing a 14-yard scoring strike to Jakob Sampson. The Indians converted the 2-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead.
Cassville answered with a two-play drive after a long kickoff return. Zach Coenen crashed the line for 2 yards, then Bates found DJ White loose on a long post route for a 48-yard touchdown connection. Drake Reese added a PAT to cut the Seneca lead to 8-7 with 4:52 left in the first quarter.
Cassville took a 10-8 lead early in the second quarter on a 21-yard Reese field goal. The ‘Cats wasted a golden first and goal opportunity when they had to settle for the Reese kick.
Then, Seneca mirrored Cassville’s earlier two-play drive, with powerful running back Trey Wilson bruising the Cassville defense for a 40-yard touchdown run. The conversion failed but the Indians had reclaimed the lead, 14-10.
Late in the half, the Wildcats mounted a desperate drive from their own 8-yard line. A long pass from Bates to a game but lame Bowen Preddy gained 41 byards to the Seneca 35-yard line. Cassville reached the Seneca 21-yard line but could not enter the red zone as the clock ran down. Reese came on and boomed a 43-yard field goal in the final minute to cut the Seneca lead to 14-13 at halftime.
Then Cassville regained the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Bates found White with a completion to the Seneca 27-yard line. One of those roughing penalties on the play advanced the ball another 8 yards. Coenen gashed the line twice, scoring on the latter attempt. Bates tossed to White for two points and a 21-14 Cassville lead.
Seneca stormed down the field to answer. Cassville’s lack of size and depth in the line were exposed in this game. Schemes and alignments are important but it all still comes down to blocking and tackling. The Indian attack swept into Cassville territory, and then Stephens bombed away for a 39-yard touchdown to Preston Armstrong.
But the Cassville defense rose up and stopped Wilson on the conversion attempt, and the Wildcats held a slim 21-20 lead.
Neither team could manage a single first down for the remainder of a brutal third quarter.
As the fourth quarter rolled around, the Wildcats took 9 plays to move from their own 15-yard line out to the 40-yard stripe. But that drive stalled and Reese punted to the Seneca 26-yard line.
The Indians rallied to take the lead on a time-consuming, 10-play, 74-yard drive. Monty Mailes bulled into the end zone with 2:13 left in the game to give Seneca a 28-21 lead.
Fighting both Seneca and the clock, Cassville’s offense hurried the ball down the field. After converting two fourth down plays along the way, two costly penalties - the ninth and tenth penalties of the game against Cassville - doomed the comeback effort. The clock ran out when Jericho Farris caught a Bates throw at the Seneca 25-yard line, but slipped and fell before he could get out of bounds.
The Seneca players celebrated the 28-21 victory as the tomahawk chop echoed through the home stands.
The stats reflect the physical superiority of Seneca on the night. The Indians rushed 37 times for 209 yards, and added another 108 yards through the air. Total yards = 317.
Cassville managed 202 yards of total offense, with the aerial attack netting 175. Cassville’s inability to finish drives with touchdowns was a critical factor in this game.
But don’t forget that Cassville held a 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter. The opportunity for victory was there. #NEEDASTOP.
The Indians improved to 3-1 on the season. Their only loss came in week 1 when Springfield Catholic overcame a 20-point deficit to win at Seneca. Without that collapse, Ryan McFarland’s team would be undefeated and state ranked.
The Wildcats slip to 3-1 and will host East Newton on Friday night at Wildcat Stadium. Who could have predicted that Cassville and Lamar would both lose on a night when East Newton would end a 25-game losing streak with a convincing win over Nevada.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Big 8 Scores
Mt. Vernon 30, Reeds Spring 0
Seneca 28, Cassville 21
Monett 28, Lamar 7
Springfield 38, Marshfield 28
Hollister 20, McDonald County 6
East Newton 35, Nevada 8.
Lee Stubblefield
The Seneca Indians staked their claim to a brawl trophy Friday night, handing the Cassville Wildcats their first defeat of the season, 28-21.
“The more physical team won the football game,” said Cassville’s Lance Parnell after the contest.
For the second week in a row, Cassville’s line struggled against a bigger, stronger opponent. Monett wore down Cassville in the second half, but the Wildcats escaped with a victory. At Seneca, the ‘Cats could not hang on to a fourth quarter lead.
From the very start, Cassville looked like a team still licking its wounds from the fray with Monett. The Indians came out of the dressing room and hit the Wildcats square in the mouth with their punishing style of play. Seneca was penalized nine times in this game, four of those calls for roughing the passer.
Senior quarterback Deven Bates was under duress all night. Seneca’s front four controlled the line of scrimmage, allowing the Indians to play an umbrella pass defense that stymied the Cassville passing offense for much of the game.
After a 2-1 start, Seneca’s schedule had what appeared to be a four-game gauntlet, facing Cassville, Lamar, Monett and Mt. Vernon in successive weeks. But with a big upset of the seventh-ranked Wildcats, the Indians turned their division of the Big 8 Conference into the Wild West, scrambling both conference standings and district seeding numbers.
Seneca drove 80 yards with the opening kickoff with Lance Stephens throwing a 14-yard scoring strike to Jakob Sampson. The Indians converted the 2-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead.
Cassville answered with a two-play drive after a long kickoff return. Zach Coenen crashed the line for 2 yards, then Bates found DJ White loose on a long post route for a 48-yard touchdown connection. Drake Reese added a PAT to cut the Seneca lead to 8-7 with 4:52 left in the first quarter.
Cassville took a 10-8 lead early in the second quarter on a 21-yard Reese field goal. The ‘Cats wasted a golden first and goal opportunity when they had to settle for the Reese kick.
Then, Seneca mirrored Cassville’s earlier two-play drive, with powerful running back Trey Wilson bruising the Cassville defense for a 40-yard touchdown run. The conversion failed but the Indians had reclaimed the lead, 14-10.
Late in the half, the Wildcats mounted a desperate drive from their own 8-yard line. A long pass from Bates to a game but lame Bowen Preddy gained 41 byards to the Seneca 35-yard line. Cassville reached the Seneca 21-yard line but could not enter the red zone as the clock ran down. Reese came on and boomed a 43-yard field goal in the final minute to cut the Seneca lead to 14-13 at halftime.
Then Cassville regained the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Bates found White with a completion to the Seneca 27-yard line. One of those roughing penalties on the play advanced the ball another 8 yards. Coenen gashed the line twice, scoring on the latter attempt. Bates tossed to White for two points and a 21-14 Cassville lead.
Seneca stormed down the field to answer. Cassville’s lack of size and depth in the line were exposed in this game. Schemes and alignments are important but it all still comes down to blocking and tackling. The Indian attack swept into Cassville territory, and then Stephens bombed away for a 39-yard touchdown to Preston Armstrong.
But the Cassville defense rose up and stopped Wilson on the conversion attempt, and the Wildcats held a slim 21-20 lead.
Neither team could manage a single first down for the remainder of a brutal third quarter.
As the fourth quarter rolled around, the Wildcats took 9 plays to move from their own 15-yard line out to the 40-yard stripe. But that drive stalled and Reese punted to the Seneca 26-yard line.
The Indians rallied to take the lead on a time-consuming, 10-play, 74-yard drive. Monty Mailes bulled into the end zone with 2:13 left in the game to give Seneca a 28-21 lead.
Fighting both Seneca and the clock, Cassville’s offense hurried the ball down the field. After converting two fourth down plays along the way, two costly penalties - the ninth and tenth penalties of the game against Cassville - doomed the comeback effort. The clock ran out when Jericho Farris caught a Bates throw at the Seneca 25-yard line, but slipped and fell before he could get out of bounds.
The Seneca players celebrated the 28-21 victory as the tomahawk chop echoed through the home stands.
The stats reflect the physical superiority of Seneca on the night. The Indians rushed 37 times for 209 yards, and added another 108 yards through the air. Total yards = 317.
Cassville managed 202 yards of total offense, with the aerial attack netting 175. Cassville’s inability to finish drives with touchdowns was a critical factor in this game.
But don’t forget that Cassville held a 21-20 lead late in the fourth quarter. The opportunity for victory was there. #NEEDASTOP.
The Indians improved to 3-1 on the season. Their only loss came in week 1 when Springfield Catholic overcame a 20-point deficit to win at Seneca. Without that collapse, Ryan McFarland’s team would be undefeated and state ranked.
The Wildcats slip to 3-1 and will host East Newton on Friday night at Wildcat Stadium. Who could have predicted that Cassville and Lamar would both lose on a night when East Newton would end a 25-game losing streak with a convincing win over Nevada.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Big 8 Scores
Mt. Vernon 30, Reeds Spring 0
Seneca 28, Cassville 21
Monett 28, Lamar 7
Springfield 38, Marshfield 28
Hollister 20, McDonald County 6
East Newton 35, Nevada 8.
