By John Miller (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Mount Vernon, Mo. – After watching his team wrap up their fourth win of the season—one more than the program had all of last year—Seneca coach Ryan McFarland had one message for his team:
“Four-and-0 is sweet, but five-and-0 is even sweeter.”
This came after his team, the No. 9-ranked team in Class 3, handed No. 5-ranked Mount Vernon its first loss of the season in a 19-7 decision at Mountaineer Stadium on Friday night. Seneca, which won only three games all of last season, plays host to East Newton next week with a chance to open the season 5-0.
“Our seniors, we only have seven of them, but they’re our leaders. They do everything for us. They set the tempo for everything we do,” said McFarland, now in his second year leading the program. “We started our offseason program on October 31st last year. The kids were disappointed with 3-7 so they really worked hard. We’re 4-0 because of our players and the effort they put in.”
They’re also 4-0 because of their three-headed rushing attack and dominant line play on both sides of the ball, which were both evident on Friday night against Mount Vernon.
Junior quarterback Gavin Clouse gashed the Mountaineers for 124 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Trey Wilson added 86 rushing yards on 11 carries, including a 52-yard touchdown scamper. Senior Cole Hatfield rushed for 35 yards in his 14 carries.
“Our game plan was to go right at them,” Clouse said. “We knew they’d stack the line, but we felt like our five were better than their five, so we went right at them.”
From the outset, the Indians dominated the line of scrimmage. Paving holes on offense and swallowing them on defense, the play by Seneca’s offensive and defensive lines set the tone for the game.
“That was a key coming into the game,” McFarland said. “Our defense has played phenomenal for four weeks now. They’ve caused a lot of people a lot of problems. We try not to play a lot of our d-linemen both ways, try to give them a little bit of a break.”
The Indians forced four turnovers on Friday night, blocked a punt, and harassed Mount Vernon (3-1) senior quarterback Ty Boswell, who finished 22-for-40 passing the football for 237 yards. He threw a touchdown and three interceptions. The dual-threat quarterback didn’t do much running for yardage, finishing with 10 carries for -36 yards. He was sacked frequently and under duress most of the night.
“(Our defense is) unbelievable,” Clouse said. “They impress me every week. Every week they get better and better.”
Chance Fenton caught nine passes for Mount Vernon for 113 yards and a touchdown.
After playing to a scoreless first quarter, Seneca scored all 19 points in the second quarter. They didn’t need to score again.
“This is way different than last year,” Clouse said. “It’s a different feeling. Everyone’s working hard. Our guys are coming to practice ready to work. We’re not taking anything easy.”
Seneca 19, Mount Vernon 7
SHS 0 19 0 0
MVHS 0 0 7 0
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
11:27 – Seneca – Clouse 1-yd run (2-pt fail)
8:44 – Seneca – Wilson 52-yd run (2-pt fail)
5:44 – Seneca – Clouse 2-yd run (Schrader kick)
Third Quarter
2:58 – Mount Vernon – Boswell to Fenton, 8-yd completion (Buttram kick)
