By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
LAMAR, Mo. – Seven more days.
That was Lamar coach Scott Bailey’s mantra on Saturday afternoon after his Tigers survived an upset bid by Ava in the Class 2 quarterfinals and won 35-30 at Thomas M. O’Sullivan Stadium.
“Find a way to win and advance,” Bailey said. “Seven more days.”
Lamar’s quest for an eighth-straight championship was on thin ice at times as Ava looked to avenge a 28-22 loss to the Tigers in last year’s quarterfinals.
The Tigers led 21-8 in the third quarter before the Bears seized the momentum in a wild fourth quarter that saw four lead changes in a span of less than five minutes.
After recovering a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter, Ava had the ball at the Lamar 49-yard line trailing by a touchdown. The Bears converted a fourth-and-7 when senior quarterback Caleb Johnson passed to senior Stephen Copeland across the middle for 19 yards. Two plays later Copeland ran right for a 13-yard touchdown. He added the two-point conversion to give Ava a 22-21 lead.
Lamar answered with a 68-yard drive featuring runs by senior quarterback Duncan Gepner on five of six plays, the final one a 1-yard touchdown with 7:15 left to play. Gepner was stopped short on the conversion attempt, but Lamar led 27-22.
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Three plays later, Ava was back in the lead.
Johnson connected with junior Nate Swofford for a big gain into Lamar territory on the Bears’ ensuing possession, and a personal foul moved the ball to the Lamar 22. Johnson threw to junior Josh Bray in the end zone and Swofford scored the two-point conversion to put the Bears ahead 30-27 with 6:23 left to play.
“We had some great drives,” Ava coach Dan Swofford said. “We made some great plays, some great catches. Some kids stepped up and just made plays.”
“Guts,” Bailey said he saw from Ava on the scoring drives. “Same thing we saw a year ago.”
But the Tigers answered again, marching 75 yards and scoring on a 39-yard run by senior Landon Hardman at the 4:27 mark. Senior Trevor Medlin added the two-point conversion to put the Tigers up 35-30.
The Lamar defense then got a stop on fourth-and-4 at the 45, and the Tigers’ offense moved the chains on a fourth-and-3 at the 37 after Ava ran out of timeouts.
“We had them down and we had them with their tail between their legs for a little bit and they came out and just ran over us there and we had no answer for it,” Swofford said. “We tried to do anything and everything and they kept running that ball. Their size and speed got to us. We were just wore out. Our numbers versus their numbers, it’s hard.”
Lamar struck first in the game, scoring on a 39-yard run by Medlin with 7:44 left in the first quarter. Ava answered with an 80-yard scoring drive and led 8-7 after Swofford scored from the 8 and Copeland added the two-point conversion.
Lamar’s Hardman scored on a two-yard run and added the conversion with 6:51 left in the half to make it 15-8. Later, the Tigers got the ball at their own 8 with less than a minute to go in the quarter; Hardman got the carry and sprinted 92 yards for the touchdown to make it 21-8.
The Tigers lost senior defensive back Dylan Hill to a leg injury in the first half. He was replaced by freshman Trace Willhite.
“Second year in a row we had a starting defensive back go out early in the game,” Bailey said. “If there’s one thing we’re good at around here it’s the next guy stepping up and making plays and everybody rallying around that guy to help him make plays and then supporting the guy that’s injured.”
Lamar rushed for 490 yards on 45 carries. Hardman tallied 179 yards on seven carries. Medlin rushed for 169 yards on nine carries.
Ava rushed for 285 yards on 51 carries.
“You’re talking about two teams that just fought their guts out on a Saturday afternoon,” Swofford said. “It’s the ultimate high school Saturday afternoon. It’s what we all think about. It’s what these boys have been thinking about since they were little boys.”
Lamar travel to face Lathrop on Saturday, Nov. 24 in the Class 2 semifinals.
“Seven more days of football,” Bailey said he told his team. “It’s a great time of year and enjoy every day of it.”
