Riley runs wild in Catholic’s Big 8 opener with Seneca

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by Kai Raymer (for Ozarks Sports Zone)
Game-swinging plays. Stars fighting through injuries. The outcome hanging in the balance in the final minute.  
Catholic and Seneca gave the new-look Big 8 an instant classic. And it’s just Week 1.

Catholic blew a 16-point halftime lead but responded by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the final five minutes to prevail 50-42 at home Friday night.
 
“We knew Seneca is a really good football team. We knew we’d have to get off to a good start (to the season) because we open up with (Seneca) and then play Cassville (Aug. 31), so it doesn’t get any easier,” said Irish coach Steve Hancock. “That was one heck of a ball game tonight.”
 
Seneca had a chance to tie the game in the final minute after driving inside the Catholic 10. After a short run, the Indians spiked the ball to stop the clock then threw two incompletions to seal the outcome.
 
Stars on both sides delivered. Irish quarterback Tyson Riley had 19 carries for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Seneca quarterback Gavin Clouse rushed 20 times for 267 yards, four touchdowns and threw for additional 110 yards.
 
Nick Crites’ 1-yard touchdown with 4:16 left gave the Irish the lead for good, 44-42.
 
That Crites was even playing was a story itself. Call it a medical overrule.
 
“I had a cramp early in the third quarter,” Crites said. “Last year, I tore my MCL. Tonight, I got hit and felt a pop. The trainer said I couldn’t play. But my dad’s an orthopedic surgeon, so he came down (to the field) from the stands and was like, ‘You’re playing.’”
“I just tried to do it for the team, I guess. Every other guy on this team fought just as hard as I did, so it’s not just about me.”
 
 
After Crites’ go-ahead touchdown run, Catholic forced Seneca into a 3-and-out with just over three minutes remaining. After a Seneca punt, Riley ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run to make it 50-42.
 
Seneca stayed alive after the Irish missed the extra point. The Indians drove 60 yards in about two minutes, but ultimately turned the ball over on downs with about 15 seconds left.
 
“Even when (Catholic) took the lead back, for us to go and drive all the way down field and get in position to score at the end says a lot,” said Seneca coach Ryan McFarland. “They were gassed, we were gassed.”
 
Trailing 38-22 at halftime, the Indians scored 20 unanswered points in the second half. Clouse’s 14-yard touchdown run with 6:49 remaining gave Seneca its first and only lead of the game, 42-38.
 
“We faced some adversity with injuries, but we battled,” Crites said. “We were resilient, came together and started encouraging each other instead of getting down on each other.”
 
Cramping and injuries mounted for both sides in the second half. Riley and other key Irish players missed a good chunk of the second half with leg cramps; multiple Seneca starters went out with injuries.
 
“It was pretty humid tonight and we haven’t had any hot weather,” Hancock said. “That hasn’t helped us. But they fought through it. That’s the main thing.” 
 
The teams combined for 38 points in the second quarter. Clouse’s 80-yard touchdown run cut Catholic’s lead to 24-22. On Catholic’s second play of its ensuing drive, Riley made a dazzling 78-yard touchdown run to push the Irish lead to 31-22.
Later, Adrian Clouter’s 16-yard touchdown would give Catholic a 38-22 lead by halftime.
 
“Last year, we relied so much on our defense early in the year,” McFarland said. “The defense kind of carried us. We knew this year that it might be a little different early, with us having to score more. But I didn’t think it’d be 50-42. If you told me before the game that we’d score 42 points, I would’ve felt good about our chances.”
 
The Indians lost receiver and defensive back Rhynn Raney to a knee injury in the second quarter. Top running back Monty Mailes suffered an injury in the second half that knocked him out of the game as well.
 
“That hurt, but we put the next guy in and I’m proud of the guys for continuing to fight,” McFarland said.
 
Catholic drove 80 yards in 10 plays on the game’s opening drive and scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak from Riley. Seneca then turned the ball over on downs on its first drive after failing to convert on 4th and 2 from its own 28.
 
Two plays later, an Adrian Coulter touchdown run made it 14-0 Irish.
 
Seneca hosts Reeds Spring (1-0) next Friday. Catholic travels to Cassville (1-0).
  
Catholic 50, Seneca 42
Seneca 8 14 14 6 — 42
Catholic 14 24 0 12 — 50
 
First quarter
Catholic – Riley 1 run (Brock kick)
Catholic – Coulter 20 run (Brock kick)
Seneca – Mailes 2 run (Clouse run)
Second quarter
Catholic – Brock 46-yard field goal
Seneca – Clouse 3 run (Armstrong run)
Catholic – Crites 2 run (Brock kick)
Seneca – Clouse 80 run (run failed)
Catholic – Riley 78 run (Brock kick)
Catholic – Coulter 16 run (Brock kick)
Third quarter
Seneca – Cook 1 run (Wilson run)
Seneca – Clouse 1 run (run failed)
Fourth quarter
Seneca – Clouse 14 run (run failed)
Catholic – Crites 1 run (pass failed)
Catholic – Riley 71 run (kick failed)
 
Stat leaders (unofficial)
Catholic
Rushing: Riley 19 carries for 268 yards and three touchdowns; N. Crites 13 carries for 69 yards and two touchdowns; Coulter seven carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns
Receiving: O’Reilly one catch for 43 yards
 
Seneca
Passing: Clouse 5-for-14 for 110 yards
Rushing: Clouse 20 carries for 267 yards and four touchdowns; Mailes 15 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown; Wilson 20 carries for 80 yards;
Receiving: Wolfinbarger 2 catches for 77 yards

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