By Matt Turer — @MattTurer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Mount Vernon, MO. — Mt. Vernon made the most of its chances.
And now, for the sixth straight season, a Big 8 program is in the Class 3 semifinals.
The Mountaineers executed three touchdown drives of two plays or less and held an Eldon team averaging over 50 points per game to a single touchdown in a 24-6 win in Saturday’s Class 3 quarterfinals.
It was a win that sent Mt. Vernon (9-4) to the state semifinals for the first time since 1991 and an effort that seemed to surprise Tom Cox in its decisiveness.
“I’m kind of stunned,” Cox said. “With what Eldon’s been doing, and the way we played today, I thought it was just a fantastic job by our guys. What do you say? They’ve been averaging 51 a game. We gave up one long pass, but other than that, just a flawless game defensively.”
Eldon (11-2) had scored 55 points or more six times and put up 70 points or more twice in the postseason.
Mt. Vernon limited the Mustangs to 247 yards on 58 plays, stalling two long Mustangs drives of over 10 plays each as part of a first-half shutout.
“Assignment. Alignment. And aggressiveness. That’s what we’ve been taught,” Tristan Dennis, who sacked Eldon quarterback Dawson Brandt twice, said. “We’ve been with our defensive coordinator since third grade, so it’s easy to listen to him and do what we’re told. As long as we do our job, we can do anything as a team.”
That program continuity and trust was key in the week leading up to Saturday’s win. Mt. Vernon’s defense stifled Eldon’s option attack, stuffing the middle and using superior team speed to close off most edge runs.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“We knew we had them in that fourth quarter,” Dennis said. “[Isaiah Merida] was worn out. They were all just kind of done.”
The Mustangs were forced into multiple third-and-long situations and only converted two of 11 third downs.
“They hung their hat on four different plays,” Cox said. “We felt like if we could really concentrate on those plays and get them into something they didn’t want to do, we’d have a better chance. One of the keys in the first half was we got them into long-yardage situations that they aren’t used to. They only had six third-down plays in the last three games.”
“After the first series we knew they weren’t better than us and that we could stop them,” Andrew Montemayor said. “We were always moving. We had our safeties running up, corners running back, safeties walking back, there was just a lot going on.”
Ty Boswell had little trouble against Eldon’s man defense, finishing 10-of-13 for 177 yards with two touchdowns and a late interception.
Both touchdowns went to Montemayor, who caught four balls 141 yards.
“All week we’ve been practicing one-on-one,” Montemayor said. “I love going man-on-man. There’s so much I can do in open space and I can just get past them.”
He did, twice.
Boswell opened the scoring when he hit Montemayor on a 64-yard strike late in the first quarter after the senior got behind the Eldon defense.
“We watched a bunch of film, and we were like, I just can’t believe they’re going to try to play us the same way they’re going to play everyone else. We don’t think anyone can cover Andrew one-on-one,” Cox said.
The rest of the first half belonged to Sammy Robinson, who carried it 10 times for 104 yards and an 80-yard touchdown in the first two quarters and finished with 22 carries for 134 yards.
A Jayden Buttram 34-yard field goal put Mt. Vernon up 17-0 at halftime.
Mt. Vernon finished with 335 total yards on 49 plays.
The Mountaineers pushed the lead to 24-0 when Boswell hit Montemayor on a short screen that went 50 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.
Eldon got on the board with a 54-yard touchdown pass from Dawson Brandt to Trenton Dillon.
Isaiah Merida led Eldon with 104 rush yards on 23 carries.
PRESENT AND FUTURE
Next week’s state semifinal isn’t being viewed as a one-year accomplishment for Mt. Vernon as the excitement surrounding Mountaineer football continues to grow, and as the present senior class carries on what it views as a legacy it was always intended to cement.
“This run means everything,” Dennis said. “Our grade has always been looked to as one that’s going to do something great. And I feel like that’s where we’re at right now. We’re about to do it.”
“This week I talked to our team about five F’s. Focus, fun, fundamentals, fortunate and future,” Cox said. “This run right now is important for the future of our program. People in the community and our young kids are getting excited about football, and they want to be a Mountaineer right now.”
NOT DONE YET
Mt. Vernon hosts Lutheran South (9-3) next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Class 3 semifinals.
SCORING
Eldon 0-0-6-0 — 6
Mt. Vernon 7-10-7-0 — 24
FIRST QUARTER
MT. VERNON TD — 1:27 — Andrew Montemayor 64 Yd pass from Ty Boswell (Kick Good) — Mt. Vernon 7, Eldon 0 (1 play, 64 yards, 0:11)
SECOND QUARTER
MT. VERNON TD — 5:36 — Sammy Robinson 80 Yd Run (Kick Good) — Mt. Vernon 14, Eldon 0 (1 play, 80 yards, 0:14)
MT. VERNON FG — 0:22 — Jayden Buttram 34 Yd Field Goal — Mt. Vernon 17, Eldon 0 (7 plays, 55 yards, 2:52)
THIRD QUARTER
MT. VERNON TD — 4:51 — Andrew Montemayor 50 Yd pass from Ty Boswell (Kick Good) — Mt. Vernon 24, Eldon 0 (2 plays, 48 yards, 0:19)
ELDON TD — 4:39 — Trenton Dillon 54 Yd pass from Dawson Brandt (2 Pt Fail) — Mt. Vernon 24, Eldon 6 (1 play, 54 yards, 0:08)
