Cassville’s First Quarter Too Much For Mustangs
Mustangs fall to 0-3 on the season at the hands of Cassville’s Phelps big first quarter.
McDonald County’s inability to stop Cassville’s River Phelps in the first quarter was too much for the Mustangs to overcome in Friday night’s 33-22 loss at McDonald County High School.
Phelps, a 150-pound senior running back, ran for 101 yards, including three touchdowns, and kicked three extra points in the first quarter to lift the Wildcats to as 21-6 lead. Plagued by cramps the rest of the game, Phelps finished with 160 yards on 14 carries.
McDonald County was led by the passing of Peyton Barton and the receiving of Cole DelosSantos. The junior classmates connected 11 times for 105 yards. Barton finished overall with 21 completions on 41 attempts for 202 yards.
“Peyton Barton did a fantastic job,” said coach John Diehl. “He is the type of kid that is going to be not only a passer, but a runner.”
The Mustangs continued its habit of getting off to a quick start, taking a 6-0 lead on the third play of the game. Starting at its own 30, Oakley Roessler went 19 yards on a sweep to start the game. Barton then hit DelosSantos for 12 yards, setting up the Mustangs’ scoring play.
Barton hit DelosSantos on a similar pass as the preceding play, but instead of turning upfield, DelosSantos lateraled to Roessler who went the final 35 yards for a touchdown. A pass for the two-point conversion failed.
Phelps then took over. He capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown run with 7:03 left in the first quarter. His first PAT gave the Wildcats a 7-6 lead.
After forcing McDonald county to a three and out, Phelps ran 42 yards on Cassville’s fourth play of its ensuing drive to put the Wildcats ahead 14-6 with 3:49 left.
Cassville’s Troy Rose intercepted a Barton pass on the Mustangs’ first play after the kickoff, setting up Phelps’ 35-yard touchdown to give Cassville a 21-6 lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The teams then traded punts on their next two possessions, but Phelps shanked his second punt which was only good for 5 yards, giving the Mustangs the ball on the Cassville 24-yard line.
Barton hit DelosSantos for 5 yards on first down, but two incomplete passes left the Mustangs facing a fourth and 5. Barton then hit Jake Will with a screen good for 10 yards and a first down at the 9-yard line. On first down, Barton found DelosSantos open in the end zone for a touchdown with 4:28 left in the first half.
Barton was flushed from the pocket on the two-point conversion and tried to run but was hit at the 2 where he fumbled into the end zone to be recovered by offensive lineman Trey Black for the two points to cut Cassville’s lead to 21-14 at intermission.
Cassville opened the second half with an eight-play, 51-yard scoring drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Garrett Knight. Phelps missed the extra point, leaving the Wildcats with a 27-14 lead.
McDonald County picked up one first down on its ensuing drive, then was forced to punt, giving Cassville the ball on its own 15-yard line.
The Wildcats marched to the Mustang 28-yard line, but on the drive’s 12th play, Phelps was stopped for a yard loss on fourth and 1.
McDonald County then put together its best drive of the year. The Mustangs went 71 yards in 17 plays with Barton scoring from 1 yard out on a fourth and 1. Barton also ran the conversion to cut Cassville’s lead to 27-22 with 8:39 left in the game.
The Mustangs defense held Cassville without a first down, giving the offense the ball on the Mustangs 18-yard line with 6:48 left in the game. But after Barton hit Isrrael De Santiago for 17 yards,
the Mustangs could not convert a fourth and 10, giving Cassville the ball on the McDonald County 25-yard line.
Wildcat quarterback Shannon Haney covered the final yard for an insurance touchdown to give Cassville a 33-22 lead with 3:13 left.
“I thought we did a good job for the most part,” Diehl said. “We played hard, but in some spots we didn’t give a hundred percent effort, and those are things we are going to work on. The pass routes are something we really need to sharpen up, if we can.”
The Mustangs had three other receivers catch three passes, including Will, De Santiago and Roessler while Micah Burkholder had one catch for 5 yards. Roessler also finished with rushing 22 yards.
DelosSantos was also all over the field on defense, leading the Mustangs in tackles with 22. De Santiago had 14 while Black, Elliott Wolfe and Carlos Sanchez had seven each. Marshall Foreman caused a fumble and Jack Bowers had a deflected pass.
Phelps helped Cassville pound out 310 yards on the ground. Kyle Ruark added 78 rushing yards while Anthony Tolbert had 40.
In pregame ceremonies, senior Journey Sanny was crowned homecoming queen.
McDonald County falls to 0-4, 0-2 in the Big 8 Conference, heading into Friday night’s game at Mount Vernon. Game time is 7 p.m.