The late-season roller coaster of opponents is taking its final turn this week, as the Cassville football team is set to host a winless Monett squad for the annual Barry County Brawl — with district implications on the line.
The Wildcats endured an offensive onslaught on Friday, falling to Class 2 No. 1 Lamar on the road, 41-7, in a game that was lopsided on the scoreboard but still contained some silver linings.
Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said the Wildcats knew Lamar was a good team, and a few plays and mistakes made all the difference.
“The things we wanted to control, we did not control very well,” he said. “Ultimately, penalties, missing a few plays here and there, and not having the same physicality or mentality as the last couple weeks made the difference.”
The Tigers struck just 19 seconds into the game, with a runner weaving left through the Wildcats’ defense 55 yards to be tackled in the end zone.
Cassville’s first drive looked like what the team was looking for all game, using a mix of short runs and passes to reach the Lamar 12-yard line. A 29-yard field goal, however, hooked left of the goal post.
On Lamar’s next drive, two Hunter Morse tackles for loss stifled the Tigers, but a bomb up the middle where the ball hung in the air at least 50 yards, found its receiver for a 71-yard touchdown with 3:31 left in the opening quarter.
Cassville forced a punt on Lamar’s next drive, but a punt back was returned 83 yards to put the Tigers up 21-0.
An interception at the 14 after a penalty on Cassville gave Lamar field position for s fourth score, and the Tigers’ last drive of the first half ate up most of the clock and culminated in a 1-yard touchdown run with only 20 seconds on the clock.
Lamar added the final touchdown, a 13-yard run, with 5:44 to go in the third quarter.
Cassville’s score came with just under 8 minutes left in the fourth, a 99-yard drive after a Tigers’ punt to the 1, culminating in a Bodee Rose 50-yard jaunt to paydirt.
Morse, who had 3 solo tackles and 4 assists on the night, including 3 tackles for loss, said the Wildcats started well but couldn’t hold it.
“I feel the first half we had some fight, but in the second half we did not come out as well and got discouraged,” he said.
As for the multiple tackles for loss, Morse said he was in the right place at the right time.
“I saw the holes and just flew through them,” he said.
When it comes to quality of opponent, Lamar looked similar to Seneca, who the Wildcats fell to on the road in Week 4, 44-0.
Weldy and Morse said comparing the Week 3 and Week 8 games showed growth among the Wildcats, and the stats agree. Against Seneca, Cassville gave up 451 total yards, and against Lamar, the Wildcats allowed 259, nearly cutting the figure in half.
“Seneca and Lamar are very similar, and this is what we will go through with a young team,” Weldy said. “We have a lot of first-time starters, and being in this environment against good, well-coached teams, mistakes compound.
“But, it makes us better, and we are playing together better heading toward districts. We won’t see anyone in our conference, and I hope we learned from it and will be more prepared next time.”
“I believe we got better [from Seneca to Lamar], just not great,” Morse said.
The Wildcats have fallen to two state-ranked opponents in the last three weeks, Nevada and Lamar, games sandwiching a winless Springfield Catholic Homecoming victory.
Cassville’s final regular-season challenge will return to Wildcat Stadium, with the Wildcats hoping to return a certain piece of hardware back to its trophy case.
Cassville (4-4) will play host to Class 4 Monett (0-7) in the 11th iteration of the Barry County Brawl.
Cassville and Monett have had five common opponents this season, with the only difference in result against East Newton, where the Wildcats earned a 22-6 home win and Monett suffered a 26-21 home loss. Both teams have fallen to Lamar, McDonald County, Nevada and Seneca this season.
The Wildcats enter the contest averaging 20.5 points per game to Monett’s 11.3 and allowing 23.5 points per game to Monett’s 38.9.
In the Brawl specifically, the Wildcats are 6-4 against Monett, falling last season for the first time since 2016 — when Monett won the Class 3 state title — on the road by a score of 27-10.
“We are looking to get that trophy back,” Morse said. “We’ve been talking about it all year. We want it back for the seniors who missed it last year.”
Weldy said the Wildcats have put the Lamar loss in the past, using film and experience to learn from it as they head into Week 9.
“This is a big rivalry game where records do not matter,” he said. “Monett will be a tough game, and we have to get ready and prepare, and I know we will be excited to play.”
Excitement and the gravity of the contest have historically made it a competitive one, no matter what the outcome. Weldy said because of that, his staff is emphasizing players leave any and all preconceived notions out of their minds.
“We as coaches have already addressed this and will continue to address this,” Weldy said. “It’s a rival game and records do not matter. We will approach this game like we are both 0-0. Both teams will be ready to go on Friday, and both will be hungry for a win.”
The result, however, will likely carry major district seeding implications for Cassville, which fell to No. 5 of 7 in Class 3, District 6 after Friday’s loss. With 31.43 points, the Wildcats are behind Aurora with 32.14 and Reeds Spring with 41.16. The Houn’ Dawgs (4-4) face Logan-Rogersville (4-4) at home, and the Wolves (6-2) host state-ranked Mt. Vernon (7-1).
A Cassville win, paired with Aurora and/or Reeds losses, could push the Wildcats back into the top four, which would lock down a home playoff game.
Weldy, however, said where the Wildcats play in the postseason is not a primary concern.
“We are only worried about Monett this week,” he said. “The district standings will take care of themselves, and we will deal with all of that next week. Right now, we are focused on Monett.”
Friday will be the second Brawl for Weldy as a head coach, though he has been on the coaching staff for 16 years and knows the magnitude of the Week 9 matchup.
“I’ve been through a lot of these games against Monett,” he said. “There have been years we had to play them twice and had wars in both of those games in those years. There have been times where the game decided a conference or district title and times where it was just about pride.
“Either way, it’s always a big game. It’s always a week I look forward to each year. Our team and community will be excited for this one and ready to get to Friday, and hopefully we play to the best of our ability.”
Morse said expectations for himself and his Wildcat bretheren are simple.
“We need to show up, play all out and show up in the second half,” he said.
Kickoff on Friday is at 7 p.m.
