Seneca’s Split Veer Too Much For Mustangs
McDONALD COUNTY’S HIGH-POWERED PASSING FALLS SHORT; TEAM LOSES 33-26
The Seneca Indians used the three-headed monster of Clouse, Hatfield and Brattin to hand the McDonald County Mustangs a 33-26 loss on Friday night at McDonald County High School in the Big 8 Conference opener for both team.
Running out of the split-back veer, the three keyed Seneca’s ground game that totaled 308 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Gavin Clouse led the attack, gaining 116 yards on 14 carries, while Cole Hatfield added 96 yards on 17 carries and Spencer Brattin had 86 yards on 15 carries.
McDonald County countered Seneca’ high-powered ground game with a big-play passing attack led by the throwing of Peyton Barton and the receiving of Micah Burkholder and Cole DelosSantos.
Barton finished with 280 passing yards on 16 of 37 accuracy, with Burkholder catching seven passes for 147 yards and DelosSantos catching six for 92 yards.
“I thought it was an outstanding effort by our kids,” said McDonald County coach John Diehl. “They played hard and never quit. We came together as a team this week in practice and it showed tonight on the field.”
Seneca got on the scoreboard first, capping its opening drive on a 9-yard touchdown run by Hatfield. The Indians marched 84 yards in seven plays, highlighted by a 39-yard run by Clouse.
McDonald County answered early in the second quarter. Starting on their own 45-yard line, the Mustangs marched 55 yards in seven plays with Isrrael De Santiago scoring from 2 yards out.
Seneca stopped the Mustangs’ conversion run to lead 7-6 with 9:50 left in the first half.
Seneca came back on its ensuing possession, going 66 yards in 10 plays. Clouse hit Dawson Stephens for a 29-yard gain to setup Brattin’s 6-yard touchdown run. Schrader’s kick was wide right, leaving Seneca with a 13-6 lead.
The Mustangs took over on their own 31-yard line and marched 69 yards in eight plays to cut the lead to 13-12 with 2:49 left in the half. Barton hit Burkholder on three consecutive plays for a total of 62 yards to give the Mustangs a first and goal on the Seneca 7-yard line. After an incompletion and two runs netted no yards, Barton dropped back to pass — but when he could not find anyone open, he broke containment around the right side for a 7-yard touchdown run. Again the Mustangs’ two-point conversion run failed, allowing Seneca to maintain a 13-12 lead with 2:49 left in the first half.
That was just enough time for Seneca to score a last-second touchdown to end the first half. The Indians went 62 yards in 10 plays with Clouse hitting Zack Dunnam with a 9-yard touchdown pass with 2.3 seconds left in the half. Schrader booted the PAT to give Seneca a 20-12 lead at intermission.
The Mustangs defense stopped the Indians on a fourth and four in their opening possession of the second half, setting up the offense at the McDonald County 49-yard line. After hitting Burkholder for 12 yards on third and three, Barton hit Jake Will with a screen pass that the senior fullback converted into a 32-yard touchdown. Burkholder made a diving catch from Barton for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 20-20 with 8:02 left in the third quarter.
The teams traded possessions before Seneca took a 27-20 lead on a 9-yard run by Brattin with 2:05 left in the third quarter.
The teams again traded possessions before McDonald County marched 64 yards in eight plays to cut the lead to 27-26 with 6:32 left in the game. Barton hit De Santiago for 11 yards and Burkholder for 26 to key the drive that was capped off by Barton’s 11-yard scramble for a TD.
Going for the lead, Barton threw to Burkholder on the goal line, but the ball was knocked away by a Seneca defender.
Seneca scored an insurance touchdown on its next possession, with Hatfield getting loose for a 42-yard touchdown with 3:48 left to take a 33-26 lead. The Mustangs blocked Schrader’s PAT, leaving McDonald County an opening.
But after hitting DelosSantons for 19 yards on fourth and 10, Barton was intercepted by Seneca’s Jacob Webb with 2:41 left.
McDonald County got the ball back with 33.6 seconds on its own 49-yard line, but after Barton ran for 12 yards, Seneca was able to hold the rest of the way for the win.
McDonald County finished with 352 yards while Seneca totaled 379. In addition to his 280 passing yards, Barton ran for 32 on 11 carries. De Santiago added 31 yards on 11 carries and Will had 9 yards on three carries.
“It was an outstanding effort by the offense,” Diehl said. “Micah Burkholder was unbelievable and Cole (DelosSantos) did a fantastic job. Izzy (Isrrael De Santiago) had a good game running and catching the ball. Jake Will made a great run on the screen, and the offensive line really played well. It was just a great team effort.”
Will and De Santaigo led the Mustangs in tackles with 11 each while DelosSantos, Elliott Wolfe, Burkholder and Will Dean had five and Marshall Foreman, Carlos Sanchez, Trey Black and Jack Bowers had four with Wyatt Griffith adding three. Barton had a pass deflection and blocked an extra point.
McDonald County, 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the Big 8 Conference, hosts Cassville on Friday night. Game time is 7 p.m. with homecoming ceremonies prior to the game.