By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SPRINGFIELD — Cole Feuerbacher threw five touchdowns, the Glendale defense added four more and the Falcons rode one of the most dominant first-half showings in state history to a 74-0 victory over a shorthanded Hillcrest team on Thursday night at Lowe Stadium.
Glendale scored 30 points in each of the first two quarters for a 60-0 halftime advantage that ranks as a top-15 total for points in a single half, according to the Missouri State High School Activities Association record book. The 74 points were the school’s highest single-game total since an 85-44 win over Ozark in the 2016 playoffs, when it scored 71 in the first half.
“We had some breaks,” Glendale coach Mike Mauk said. “We scored early in the game and got a little momentum going and our guys were able to make plays. I know Hillcrest was at a little bit of a deficit tonight. Their kids played hard. We just felt fortunate to come up with the win.”
The Hornets entered the game with only 28 players after having nearly 70 on the roster at the start of the season, as coach Lee Coleman said his team has lost multiple players to injuries in recent weeks. Those left on the field have been outscored 199-13 in an 0-3 start that included back-to-back losses to Ozark Conference title contenders Lebanon and West Plains.
“We’re seeing it all,” Coleman said. “It’s not just the concussion bug or the COVID bug. Things that you never expect (to happen) are happening. I don’t know. I guess it’s just one of those things, you know? It’ll get better. It’s only going to go one way. It only can go up.”
The rare Thursday night game temporarily allowed Glendale to pull even with the Yellow Jackets and Camdenton atop the Ozark Conference standings. The Falcons were unable to play their Week 1 game due to COVID-19 protocols, so all three schools are currently 2-0.
With Lebanon and Camdenton both set to play tonight, the three-way tie will be short-lived.
“We want to try to play better defense and our kids are working hard,” Mauk said. “We know it’s going to get tougher each week as we continue play in our conference, which is very tough.”
It’d be hard to find a better defensive showing than the one the Falcons delivered Thursday.
They forced a turnover-on-downs on Hillcrest’s first possession, which ended when the Hornets tried to pass on a 4th-and-16 situation from their own 30-yard line. Three plays and an offensive penalty later, Feuerbacher connected with Ethan Nelson for a 31-yard touchdown pass and they converted the first of seven two-point conversions for an early 8-0 advantage.
But the real turning point came less than two minutes later on Hillcrest’s next drive, when Jaxon Lockhart blocked a punt and Cooper Roy ran it 25 yards into the end zone for a 16-0 lead.
“We took away their ability to punt the ball,” Mauk said. “We’d worked on that hard all week. We put a little bit of pressure on them to try to make some plays and fortunately it went our way.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Down by two touchdowns barely four minutes into the game, elements of desperation already began creeping into Hillcrest’s game. Their next two drives both ended after they attempted fourth-down conversions from their own 17-yard line. Glendale missed a field goal on the first drive, but Feurbacher connected with Chris Floyd Jr. for a 4-yard touchdown on the second.
“We win with who we have and we lose with who we have,” Coleman said. “Keep giving effort. That’s all we can do. We’re here every day working. It’s just one of those things, man. Some unfortunate things have happened. … That’s just how the football gods want it sometimes.”
After the Glendale defense forced another turnover on downs, Feuerbacher connected with Derek Horton for a 19-yard touchdown pass — his third of the quarter — and the Falcons led 30-0.
Feuerbacher added an 11-yard strike to Carter Harrell in the second quarter and Horton turned the junior quarterback’s screen pass into a 45-yard dash to the end zone, putting them up 44-0 with just over five minutes to go. Then Kellen Lindstrom recovered a fumble in the end zone — on a play that started on Hillcrest’s 28-yard line — and Carson McTeague scored on a pick-six.
The Falcons were in position for an even-bigger halftime lead, but took a knee after advancing down to the 2-yard line. With most of their starters on the bench for the second half, Kaden Jordan scored on an 18-yard interception return and Ryder Dampf caught a 17-yard touchdown from fellow sophomore Fisher Wade as the Falcons took a 74-0 lead.
The defense held on to close the book on Glendale’s first shutout since 2019, when the Falcons blanked Parkview in the playoffs and Central in the regular season.
“Our goal was a shutout,” Roy said. “I mean, every game our goal is a shutout. We came out strong and it just happened.”
Any lingering effects of the COVID-19 shutdown appear to be well behind the Falcons, who improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and have eight days before facing Bolivar.
“That was a difficult thing, but those things happen in life,” Mauk said. “It’s how you adjust and how you respond. Our guys have come back. We had a tough game last week against a very good team and were able to win. We came back this week and made some improvements. There are things we still have to get better on, but we’re happy with where we are at.”
