Special teams can make or break a game, and the Cassville football team (1-1) took full advantage of the power those few plays have to earn a road win over Hollister on Friday.

Bolstered by good field position on kickoff and punt returns, the Wildcats turned a 21-20 halftime lead to a 35-26 final.

“To me, special teams was the difference in the game,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach. “Our punt and kickoff returns gave us great field position every time – every time. We also had great coverage on our kickoffs, and Peter [Littlefield] hit two touchbacks.

“He also was 5-for-5 on PATs, and they missed a PAT and then a 2-point conversion that made it a two-possession game.

Weldy also credited Hernan Hernandez for his punting, pinning the Tigers deep multiple times and converting a fake punt for a first down, a drive that resulted in a touchdown.

“We won the third phase of the game by a large margin,” Weldy said. “To go on the road and win, and to play as well as we did, was great. We played more clean than we normally play in Week 1, and that was with a bunch of injuries, including two of our four captains being out.

“We had a lot of position changes, and I am proud of how the team overcame adversity to play as they did, especially on the road.”

The Wildcats hope to bring the road show back to Barry County Friday, hosting Aurora for the home opener and Alumni Night.

“We’re excited to play at home,” Weldy said. “We expect a good crowd and have more than 20 guys signed up for Alumni Night. Last year, we played way better at home than on the road, and though we hope to be better on the road this year, coming into our crowd from our field house with the black on black is big for us.”

Coming to Wildcat Stadium will be a hefty Houn’ Dawgs squad looking to bounce back from a 44-6 loss to Seneca.

“A lot of teams make big jumps from Week 1 to Week 2, and I bet Aurora will be vastly better this week than they were last week,” Weldy said. “It will be a tough game, especially with the size of their offensive and defensive lines. I think Aurora is a way better team than the score of the Seneca game shows.”

Pleased with how Cassville played in Week 1, Weldy’s goal this week is to make sure the Wildcats have a strong Week 1 to Week 2 improvement.

“We still made a lot of mistakes in Hollister,” he said. “We had two fumbles, so we’ve got to get better at protecting the football, and we also had some drops and missed assignments. We told the guys after the game, we are proud of the effort. We told them to play hard, and they did. Now, we have to combine effort with better execution of the fundamentals.”

Hollister recap

After a 15-minute rain delay, the Wildcats started the contest by forcing a punt on the Tigers’ first drive, and Hernandez returned the ball from his own 40 to Hollister’s 32.

Sophomore quarterback Bodee Rose picked up a 10-yard first down, then Trey Wilson moved the ball down to the 10-yard line. The back finished the drive with a cutting run through the middle to start the season with a 7-0 lead.

Hollister answered with poise, going 74 yards in 9 plays to tie the game at 7-7.

Wilson hit a big return on the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball up to the Tigers’ 40-yard line. Rose then hit receiver Garrett Ewing for a 20-yard gain, and after a penalty, Ewing took a pass in the flat and juked his way to a 35-yard dive across the pylon for a 14-7 lead.

Again, Hollister answered, with Blake Russell cutting through the middle to go 65 yards untouched for his second touchdown of the night.

On the next kickoff, Wilson broke another big return, but a fumble resulted in Russell scoring on a 38-yard run to tie the game at 14.

The next score was a turning point in the game.

Forced to punt, Hernandez employed the Wildcats’ rugby style and found an open lane right to get the first down. With a big first down by Rose on a sweep, the Wildcats used multiple plays to inch their way in from the 10 to take a 21-20 lead.

Hollister threatened as the second-quarter clock wound down, but a missed pass and an 11-second scramble led to the Wildcats taking the lead into the half.

Midway into the third, Cassville began driving hard, ultimately hitting a 46-yard pass to Ewing to take a 28-20 lead.

After some possession changes, a punt by the Wildcats pinned Hollister at its own 11, but shortly after, the Tigers produced a 76-yard touchdown run from a freshman to bring the score back to one possession.

Cassville minted the game by capitalizing on another big special teams play, a Rose kickoff return to midfield.

Converting a fourt-hand-1 with a Jacobson plunge, the Wildcats capitalized on the risk with a 29-yard Rose gain on the next play, then a blocker- led 29-yard touchdown for Wilson, his third of the night, also providing the 35-26 final scoreline.

Cassville forced Hollister to punt on its next drive, with Hernandez fair catching the ball in space to maximize field position. The Wildcats milked the clock but were eventually forced to punt.

A Hollister touchdown with under 3 minutes to play was taken off the board for a penalty, and after a sack and incomplete pass on fourth down, the Wildcats took the ball in victory formation.

Stats

Quarterback Bodee Rose led the Wildcats through the air, going 5-of-9 for 106 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 18 times for another 149 yards.

Running back Trey Wilson lit up the board for three scores rushing, tallying 77 yards on 12 carries.

Wide Receiver Garrett Ewing led receivers with 106 yards on 5 catches, finding paydirt twice.

Kicker Peter Littlefield went 5-for-5 on point-after attempts Friday, also hitting two touchbacks on six kickoffs.

Returning kickoffs, Wilson has two for 62 yards, and Ewing also had two, racking up 49 yards.

Hernan Hernandez had one punt return of 30 yards and faked a punt for a 20-yard gain. He finished with 277 all-purpose yards.