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You can’t win ‘em all.
That’s about all I could think to say on Tuesday morning after a wild weekend in Wildcat athletics.
On Friday, the Cassville football team turned in one of its best overall performances of the season, logging a second consecutive Barry County Brawl win over Monett, 41-24.
When I moved to Cassville (and was editor of the Monett Times), the Cubs had the jump on the ‘Cats. From 2014-2016, Monett bested Cassville five times, including twice in the district playoffs and en route to a Class 3 title that last year.
Since then, the Wildcats have taken the ball and — much like their offensive style — ran with it. From 2017-2021, Cassville beat Monett six times in a row, including in the district playoffs of Cassville’s 2019 Class 3 runner-up season.
The Cubs won at home in 2022, the year senior quarterback Bodee Rose assumed the starting role for Cassville, but the Wildcats now have the last two games to brag about, putting up more than 40 points in both contests.
It’s fun to win rivalry games, and this year’s large group of underclassmen hopefully don’t take the feeling for granted.
On the other end of the spectrum, I hope Cassville’s softball players have a short memory.
In the Class 3, District 6 championship game on Monday, the Lady Wildcats battled with Nevada through 13 innings, ultimately falling 7-6 after seeing three chances to put the game away quite literally slip through their fingers.
Big moments need big plays, and for whatever reason, the Lady Wildcats just couldn’t get the one big play they needed.
As a former athlete in high school and college, I felt their pain. Seeing those missed opportunities took me back to my senior year, when we played for the 5A state soccer title. We were down 1-0 and got a free kick in my favorite spot to the left of the goal about 20 yards away.
I bent the ball with my left foot around the left side of the wall exactly how I wanted, low and just inside the near post. It was so perfect I thought I’d scored — until I saw the other team’s goalkeeper make a diving save from across the goal, pinning the ball to the post on the line.
I made a big play in that moment, but he made a bigger one. The despair I felt after losing that game 1-0 lasted a few days.
To any Lady Wildcats still running the scenarios through your head, don’t torture yourself. You played an incredible game, and some days, fate is in another’s favor.
Fate was in mine a year-and-a-half later when I transferred schools to play in college, funny enough as a teammate of the goalkeeper who saved that shot at state.
My team won regionals to qualify for nationals, and in our final game, I again was gifted a free kick. That time, I didn’t miss, and because of the goal, we earned 7th in the nation that year.
There is no joy in sports without despair, and vice versa. Those experiences both ways will always be something you can draw from and reflect on to make yourself better in skill or in soul.
Congratulations to the football and softball teams on playing two great games with big implications. Win or lose, you have a community that wholeheartedly supports you — that’s a constant you can count on.
Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He was named William E. James/ Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he is a two-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
