Wildcats dominate Aurora in season opener
Wildcat senior wide-receiver Cade Pendergraft is pictured above as he breaks away from his defender during Friday night’s game against Aurora. Photo by Jeremy Huse.
August 27, 2014
Lee Stubblefield
The Cassville Wildcats made a strong statement with their 36-12 destruction of Aurora on Friday, August 22. Opening the 2014 season on the road, Lance Parnell’s troops won the battle with a dominant defensive effort and a punishing, clock-devouring running game.
The Wildcats strangled Aurora’s offense in the first half. The Houns reached their own 38-yard line twice, but never crossed their own 40, much less the midfield stripe. The second half was no kinder to the Aurora offense, but the home team did mount a drive against Cassville’s depth-chart reserves on its final possession of the game. The 70-yard drive ended with a three-yard Tanner Schnelle touchdown run - Aurora’s only offensive score of the night.
The hype leading up to the game concentrated on Aurora’s big line and the expected aerial arsenal from quarterback Payton Evans, a sophomore with a big-time arm. But Evans, who endured three sacks and a lot of hits, spent much of the night running from the Cassville front seven. His stat line showed four completions in fourteen attempts, for a net of only 12 yards, and two interceptions.
The Wildcats punished the Aurora defense with a classic power running game. Senior tailback Chase Jackson led the charge, scoring two touchdowns while gaining 115 yards on 25 carries. Gabe Kirk, the senior signal-caller, added a score while posting 91 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Tyler Arndt also scored on the ground for the ‘Cats.
Cassville rolled up 270 yards of total offense on the night, leading to a lopsided 31:11 to 16:49 advantage in time of possession.
On a night when many games pushed their kickoffs to a later time to avoid the miserable and dangerous heat conditions, Cassville and Aurora teed it up at 7 p.m. as usual. The officials did stop play regularly for needed water breaks, but that was the only concession to the weather.
Lee Stubblefield
The Cassville Wildcats made a strong statement with their 36-12 destruction of Aurora on Friday, August 22. Opening the 2014 season on the road, Lance Parnell’s troops won the battle with a dominant defensive effort and a punishing, clock-devouring running game.
The Wildcats strangled Aurora’s offense in the first half. The Houns reached their own 38-yard line twice, but never crossed their own 40, much less the midfield stripe. The second half was no kinder to the Aurora offense, but the home team did mount a drive against Cassville’s depth-chart reserves on its final possession of the game. The 70-yard drive ended with a three-yard Tanner Schnelle touchdown run - Aurora’s only offensive score of the night.
The hype leading up to the game concentrated on Aurora’s big line and the expected aerial arsenal from quarterback Payton Evans, a sophomore with a big-time arm. But Evans, who endured three sacks and a lot of hits, spent much of the night running from the Cassville front seven. His stat line showed four completions in fourteen attempts, for a net of only 12 yards, and two interceptions.
The Wildcats punished the Aurora defense with a classic power running game. Senior tailback Chase Jackson led the charge, scoring two touchdowns while gaining 115 yards on 25 carries. Gabe Kirk, the senior signal-caller, added a score while posting 91 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Tyler Arndt also scored on the ground for the ‘Cats.
Cassville rolled up 270 yards of total offense on the night, leading to a lopsided 31:11 to 16:49 advantage in time of possession.
On a night when many games pushed their kickoffs to a later time to avoid the miserable and dangerous heat conditions, Cassville and Aurora teed it up at 7 p.m. as usual. The officials did stop play regularly for needed water breaks, but that was the only concession to the weather.