Wildcats roll luckless Irish, 49-21
September 11, 2019
Lee Stubblefield
Trailing 14-7 on the road to an inspired Springfield Catholic team, the Cassville Wildcats responded with 42 points to down the Fighting Irish, 49-21. Both Bowen Preddy and Zach Coenen topped the century mark in rushing as Casssville’s offensive line took over the game late in the first quarter.
But it was an ugly first few minutes for Cassville. After claiming a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard, Bowen Preddy run and a Drake Reese PAT, the Wildcats fumbled on back-to-back possessions. The fired up Irish took full advantage of the gifts. Matthew Schmittling scored from 5 yards out, and Will Squibb tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Zach Gebhard to give Springfield Catholic a 14-7 lead.
In sports and in life, your true character is best revealed in adversity. Lance Parnell’s troops regrouped on the sideline and took over the game from that point. Cassville scored touchdowns on their next six possessions to turn the luck of the Irish into a lock for the Wildcats.
Deven Bates completed a 72-yard drive with a 21-yard scoring pass to DJ White to tie the score at 14-14 with 7:18 left in the second quarter.
Then, a disastrous fourth down saw Springfield Catholic’s punter flushed by the Cassville rush, then throw an incomplete pass, giving Cassville the ball at the SC 24-yard line. Four plays later, Preddy burst off tackle for a 16-yard score, and Cassville regained the lead at 21-14 at the 2:46 mark.
Another three and out for the Irish gave the Wildcats the ball at the SC 37-yard line with just 1:38 remaining in the half. A 21-yard run by White was negated by a penalty, but Preddy broke loose for 10 yards, and then White turned a bubble screen into a 15-yard gain to the 22-yard line. Then Bates tossed to Preddy for another 14 yards.
With the clock running down, the ‘Cats hurried to the line but instead of spiking the ball, Bates took a knee in the confusion. Parnell used his last time out to preserve the waning seconds.
On the ensuing play, Bates drilled a quick out to White at the 2-yard line, and he muscled into the end zone for another score. Reese remained perfect on conversions as Cassville built a 28-14 halftime lead.
The scoring avalanche continued in the third quarter. White intercepted a Squibb pass and returned it to the Catholic 35-yard line on the second play of scrimmage. The Wildcats navigated the short field in just five plays, with Preddy blasting through the line for a short touchdown run. Reese drilled his fifth PAT for a 35-14 Cassville lead with exactly 9:00 on the clock at Swisshelm Field.
Catholic’s hopes hung by a thread as they started their next possession after Reese boomed another touchback kickoff. Three running plays netted nine yards, and the Irish faced a 4th-and-1 situation at their own 29-yard line.
Every game has one of those turning point moments, when everything has to go right for a team to have a chance for victory. Trailing by three scores midway through the third quarter, the Irish would have to convert on this fourth down to keep any hope alive for a comeback.
Instead, they punted, and the Wildcats took over at their own 39-yard line.
Zach Coenen’s ferocious runs led Cassville on a 61-yard scoring drive. Coenen led off the drive with a 31-yard burst, and followed that with runs of 13 and 9 yards. Preddy creased the line for 6 yards to set up 1st and goal, and Coenen plowed into the endzone as the Wildcats extended the lead to 42-14 at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter.
Schmittling ran a short kickoff all the way back to the Cassville 45-yard line, but the Irish quickly faced 4th and 12 against the dominating Wildcat defense. After punting on 4th and 1, Catholic went for 4th and 12, but Squibb’s pass was intercepted by Jericho Farris and returned to the SC 30-yard line.
Bates capped off a 6-play drive, scoring off right tackle out of the wishbone set to establish a 49-14 lead with just 51 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Irish would post one more score in the abbreviated fourth quarter, with Squibb finding Liam O’Riley with a 35-yard scoring toss to create the 49-21 final score.
Just two weeks into the season, the Big 8 puzzle is quickly coming together.
Cassville looks very deserving of their Top 10 state ranking after demolishing Aurora and Springfield Catholic. The Irish received a lot of love from the Springfield media after their comeback win over Seneca, but Cassville exposed Catholic’s weakness on the line of scrimmage.
Except for the two fumbles, Cassville dominated this game in every phase.
Deven Bates finished 5-for-8 for 73 yards, and 2 TDs in another stellar passing performance.
Bowen Preddy had 20 carries for 132 yards and 3 TDs.
Zach Coenen had 12 carries for 103 yards and a score.
DJ White’s stock continued to rise with his 4 catches for 63 yards and 2 TDs.
As a team, Cassville rushed 39 times for 275 yards and added 73 yards in the passing game. The Wildcats amassed 20 first downs while dominating the line of scrimmage.
Cassville improves to 2-0 with the victory and returns home to face forever rival Monett in the Barry County Brawl in week 3. The Cubs enter this game 1-1 after losing a 22-21 heartbreaker to Mt. Vernon in week 1 and then posting a 49-20 victory at Marshfield.
Kickoff at Wildcat Stadium is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
Cassville 49, Springfield Catholic 21
Mt. Vernon 43, Nevada 22
Lamar 34, Hollister 3
Monett 49, Marshfield 20
Seneca 28, Reeds Spring 16
Rogersville 53, McDonald County 20
Aurora 18, East Newton 13.
Lee Stubblefield
Trailing 14-7 on the road to an inspired Springfield Catholic team, the Cassville Wildcats responded with 42 points to down the Fighting Irish, 49-21. Both Bowen Preddy and Zach Coenen topped the century mark in rushing as Casssville’s offensive line took over the game late in the first quarter.
But it was an ugly first few minutes for Cassville. After claiming a 7-0 lead on a 10-yard, Bowen Preddy run and a Drake Reese PAT, the Wildcats fumbled on back-to-back possessions. The fired up Irish took full advantage of the gifts. Matthew Schmittling scored from 5 yards out, and Will Squibb tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Zach Gebhard to give Springfield Catholic a 14-7 lead.
In sports and in life, your true character is best revealed in adversity. Lance Parnell’s troops regrouped on the sideline and took over the game from that point. Cassville scored touchdowns on their next six possessions to turn the luck of the Irish into a lock for the Wildcats.
Deven Bates completed a 72-yard drive with a 21-yard scoring pass to DJ White to tie the score at 14-14 with 7:18 left in the second quarter.
Then, a disastrous fourth down saw Springfield Catholic’s punter flushed by the Cassville rush, then throw an incomplete pass, giving Cassville the ball at the SC 24-yard line. Four plays later, Preddy burst off tackle for a 16-yard score, and Cassville regained the lead at 21-14 at the 2:46 mark.
Another three and out for the Irish gave the Wildcats the ball at the SC 37-yard line with just 1:38 remaining in the half. A 21-yard run by White was negated by a penalty, but Preddy broke loose for 10 yards, and then White turned a bubble screen into a 15-yard gain to the 22-yard line. Then Bates tossed to Preddy for another 14 yards.
With the clock running down, the ‘Cats hurried to the line but instead of spiking the ball, Bates took a knee in the confusion. Parnell used his last time out to preserve the waning seconds.
On the ensuing play, Bates drilled a quick out to White at the 2-yard line, and he muscled into the end zone for another score. Reese remained perfect on conversions as Cassville built a 28-14 halftime lead.
The scoring avalanche continued in the third quarter. White intercepted a Squibb pass and returned it to the Catholic 35-yard line on the second play of scrimmage. The Wildcats navigated the short field in just five plays, with Preddy blasting through the line for a short touchdown run. Reese drilled his fifth PAT for a 35-14 Cassville lead with exactly 9:00 on the clock at Swisshelm Field.
Catholic’s hopes hung by a thread as they started their next possession after Reese boomed another touchback kickoff. Three running plays netted nine yards, and the Irish faced a 4th-and-1 situation at their own 29-yard line.
Every game has one of those turning point moments, when everything has to go right for a team to have a chance for victory. Trailing by three scores midway through the third quarter, the Irish would have to convert on this fourth down to keep any hope alive for a comeback.
Instead, they punted, and the Wildcats took over at their own 39-yard line.
Zach Coenen’s ferocious runs led Cassville on a 61-yard scoring drive. Coenen led off the drive with a 31-yard burst, and followed that with runs of 13 and 9 yards. Preddy creased the line for 6 yards to set up 1st and goal, and Coenen plowed into the endzone as the Wildcats extended the lead to 42-14 at the 4:56 mark of the third quarter.
Schmittling ran a short kickoff all the way back to the Cassville 45-yard line, but the Irish quickly faced 4th and 12 against the dominating Wildcat defense. After punting on 4th and 1, Catholic went for 4th and 12, but Squibb’s pass was intercepted by Jericho Farris and returned to the SC 30-yard line.
Bates capped off a 6-play drive, scoring off right tackle out of the wishbone set to establish a 49-14 lead with just 51 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Irish would post one more score in the abbreviated fourth quarter, with Squibb finding Liam O’Riley with a 35-yard scoring toss to create the 49-21 final score.
Just two weeks into the season, the Big 8 puzzle is quickly coming together.
Cassville looks very deserving of their Top 10 state ranking after demolishing Aurora and Springfield Catholic. The Irish received a lot of love from the Springfield media after their comeback win over Seneca, but Cassville exposed Catholic’s weakness on the line of scrimmage.
Except for the two fumbles, Cassville dominated this game in every phase.
Deven Bates finished 5-for-8 for 73 yards, and 2 TDs in another stellar passing performance.
Bowen Preddy had 20 carries for 132 yards and 3 TDs.
Zach Coenen had 12 carries for 103 yards and a score.
DJ White’s stock continued to rise with his 4 catches for 63 yards and 2 TDs.
As a team, Cassville rushed 39 times for 275 yards and added 73 yards in the passing game. The Wildcats amassed 20 first downs while dominating the line of scrimmage.
Cassville improves to 2-0 with the victory and returns home to face forever rival Monett in the Barry County Brawl in week 3. The Cubs enter this game 1-1 after losing a 22-21 heartbreaker to Mt. Vernon in week 1 and then posting a 49-20 victory at Marshfield.
Kickoff at Wildcat Stadium is set for 7 PM.
Big 8 scores
Cassville 49, Springfield Catholic 21
Mt. Vernon 43, Nevada 22
Lamar 34, Hollister 3
Monett 49, Marshfield 20
Seneca 28, Reeds Spring 16
Rogersville 53, McDonald County 20
Aurora 18, East Newton 13.
