BY KYLE TROUTMAN ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com
Three-year quarterback Bodee Rose has played his final Barry County Brawl, coming away with a 41-24 victory and inspiration to his younger teammates to keep the trophy in Cassville.
The Wildcats jumped to an early lead against the Cubs at home on Friday, and despite losing the lead for a moment in the second quarter, the result was never in question when they took back the lead.
“Credit goes to our kids, who had a good week of prep,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach. “They were excited about this game, and I thought they were focused the whole night and played really well. I was really worried about what Monett does on both sides of the ball. They do a lot of good things on offense, and you’ve got tackle in space. I thought, defensively, they put a lot of guys in line of scrimmage. I was worried about how we execute. I thought our kids played well.”
Rose said when it comes to prep football, it doesn’t get any better than winning over Monett.
“It feels good; it feels great,” he said. “There’s no other feeling that’s better than that, especially football wise, because that’s a team you always want to beat. Especially being my last time playing them, it’s good to keep the trophy for the last go around.
“I’m really proud of all the guys. They allowed us to keep it this year, and hopefully they continue to do so in the future. But you know, my ride with it is over now, so I’m just glad I got to keep it for another year.”
The Wildcats forced a three-and-out for Monett in the game’s opening possession, taking over at their own 22 yard-line after a punt. On Cassville’s first offensive play of the game, sophomore Easton Hughes found an inside gap and a 78-yard lane to paydirt. Junior Colton Roark added a 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to put the Wildcats up 14-0.
Monett found the scoreboard 40 seconds into the second quarter with a 6-yard run, then after a Cassville three-and-out, took a 16-14 lead on an 11-yard run.
From there, the Wildcats took full control. Rose, Hughes, Roark and senior Kyle Bailey combined for a 68-yard drive that took more than 6 minutes, ending with a 5-yard pass to Hughes — the first passing score of the season to a receiver other than Roark.
With over 2 minutes left in the half, Hughes made a big impact again, intercepting a Cubs pass in the middle of the hashes and returning it to the Monett 14.
“I saw the quarterback look over, and as soon as I saw him, he reached back, and I just started running towards where he was looking,” Hughes said. “And, the ball was right there.”
A handful of plays later and Roark caught a fourth-down pass to put Cassville up 27-16 at the break.
In the second half, the teams traded two possessions each with no scoring, then with 1:26 left in the quarter, Rose followed his blockers through a tight hole and found 85 yards of green on the other side.
“We found the space, and I was just thinking, ‘All right, I see daylight, I’m gonna hit it.’” Rose said. “I got past the first level and I saw, I think it was a safety, cutting across to the right, so I bounced it to the left and was just gone from there. I knew I had to hit it hard, but I really thought that that drive was going to need to be a lot more like plays and stuff. So, I was just glad that we could pop that one.”
Monett added a 2-yard touchdown rush early in the fourth quarter, but Rose added one more score with 4:08 to play to put the game out of reach. Cassville forced a turnover on downs for Monett and kneeled out the remainder of clock.
A challenge in the game for the Wildcats they had not seen this year was a speedy pace of play, as the Cubs essentially ran a hurry-up offense for most of the contest. Weldy said Cassville’s success against the strategy was due to the prior week of practice.
“We actually we ran two huddles of our kids at practice,” Weldy said. “We knew that’s what they’re going to do. And like I said, they’re a unique scheme offense. We had a special plan for them, and we did something a little different we usually do, which everyone does against them.
“We practiced the best we could, and we knew we couldn’t assimilate it perfectly. But, I thought our kids did a good job.”
Along with the pace of play was the style, as the Cubs like to go to the air.
“Overall, the secondary played really well,” Weldy said. “We tackled very well in space, which was a thing we didn’t do very well a week ago. I thought we covered very well and tackled on the perimeter and everywhere.
“We also got some turnovers and used a pick to get a touchdown, and that was huge.”
Offensively, Weldy said he was worried with some of Monett’s size in the trenches, but Rose, Bailey, Hughes and Roark all had excellent nights.
“Our line and our tight ends and our backs all played well, and we blocked well,” he said. “This is a good, hardfought team win. I’m just really proud of our kids.”
Rose said the Wildcats’ scoreboard success — their highest one-game total this season — was primarily due to his line and their blocking.
“Whenever we can block guys, it gives the skill backs the ability to make a play,” he said. “We also completed some passes for some big gains, and in some crucial moments. But whenever we can get blocks, it opens up the whole game plan. We can run; we can pass. And, it’s a lot easier for me as a quarterback whenever we got guys just holding them up and blocking for the backs.”
Overall, Rose said he’s just glad the Wildcats got the job done.
“I’m proud of all the guys,” he said. “It takes a team — all 11, in all three phases too. I’m glad that we could get in here and get it done, because we knew it was going to be tough.”
While Rose has done his last dance with Monett, he hopes players like Hughes can keep the winning tradition going. Hughes played for moments in the 2023 Brawl, but this year was his first time getting to start.
“It was a little nerve wracking at the beginning, but once I scored, I was like, ‘Oh, this is just another football game I have got to play,’” he said.
Hughes played it, finishing with a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, interception, two pass breakups and five tackles. The inspiration for his play came not only from his team but from his family, as Hughes’ great-grandfather died just days before the contest.
“[Playing for my great-grandpa really helped, but also thinking for the seniors, this could be the last home game that they play,” Hughes said. “I just wanted it to work out for them and to play good.”
Hughes also hopes to build on the senior leadership in coming seasons.
“I hope to talk those freshmen up and get them ready so when they become sophomores and juniors, they’re ready to play,” he said.
Cassville wraps up its regular season on the road at Aurora (2-6) on Friday, and Weldy said the Wildcats are not looking past the Houn’ Dawgs.
“It’s on my radar that they’re gonna be a big, physical team,” Weldy said. “They’re gonna run right at us. We have got to play way well, and we still have to get a road win. We’ve not done it yet. We’ve got to go find a way to win on the road — get on a bus, drive somewhere, get off the bus and play a good ballgame. We’ve been close, in onescore games with people, but we have to finish one.
“Aurora is a good team. They’re playing well, so we know it’s getting tough challenge.”
Rose said to end on a high note, Cassville must take care of the things it can control.
“We kind of have a rivalry with Aurora ourselves, too,” he said. “We just have to go out there with a game plan and a good week of prep. That’s going to be crucial this week.
“We will go from defending Monett’s passing to Aurora probably running a lot. We’ve got to make tackles, and then offensively, we got to move the ball and be efficient.”
Rose had his best night of the season through the air Friday, going 7-for-9 for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 18 rushes for 152 yards and 2 scores on the ground.
Hughes carries 10 times for 111 yards and a score on the ground, plus 2 catches for 10 yards and a receiving score.
Roark caught 5 balls for 62 yards and a score, adding 7 rushes for 22 yards on the ground.
Defensively, Roark and Hughes led the way with 5 solo tackles each, Roark adding 2 assists. Tristan Thompson tallied 2 sacks, and Zach Myers logged 2 tackles for loss.
Kickoff on Friday in Aurora is at 7 p.m
