By Chad Hayworth (For Ozarkssportszone.com)
SENECA—The Indians’ physicality proved too much for Carl Junction on Friday, as the Seneca defense bottled up the Bulldogs en route to a 42-7 non-conference victory.
The margin could have been even more. Seneca fumbled into the end zone twice, erasing a touchdown in each half.
“Our kids played so hard tonight, and our effort was great,” said Seneca Coach Cody Hilburn. “But we continue to do little things that make it hard on ourselves. And fumbling twice on the one-yard line is not ideal.
“I thought earlier in the year, we flinched when some bad stuff happened, but not tonight. You couldn’t tell anything went wrong.”
The Class 3 No.1 Indians limited Carl Junction’s ground attack, keeping the Bulldogs to just 58 yards rushing as a team.
“They are one of the best teams in the state, at any level,” said Carl Junction Coach Todd Hafner. “I think they could be in the COC with all those schools and win a majority of their games.
“We didn’t win the game tonight, but I’m proud of our kids and the way they played. If we play like that moving forward, we’re going to put ourselves in a good spot.”
Seneca got on the board first with a seven-play, 88-yard drive midway through the first quarter. A 58-yard pass from senior quarterback Brodie Probert to senior wideout Hunter Hanes got the Indians inside the Bulldog 30, and a 20-yard run from senior running back Roman Miller pushed the ball inside the CJ 10-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the Bulldog 2-yard line, Miller bowled into the end zone, giving Seneca a 6-0 lead with 5:12 to play in the opening quarter.
Seneca appeared to be on the cusp of increasing their lead when Probert broke loose from the Indian 14-yard line on the next Seneca possession. Carl Junction defenders chased him down, and knocked the ball loose at the one-yard-line, where it trickled into the end zone for a touchback.
After a defensive stop, Seneca took over at their own 41-yard line early in the second quarter. Eight plays later, Miller got his second touchdown of the night on an 11-yard run with 7:58 to play in the half, pushing the Indian lead to 12-0.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
After a Bulldog three-and-out, Seneca mounted an 11-play 79-yard drive, mixing runs from Probert and Miller with a 44-yard pass to senior wideout Blaze Graham. Probert capped the drive with a 4-yard run, giving Seneca an 18-0 lead.
“We knew coming in they had a very good defensive line,” Hilburn said. “And that was good for us. It forced us to do some other stuff offensively that I thought we could do, but that we haven’t had to use yet.”
Miller added his third touchdown of the night on the Indians’ first possession of the second half, a 31-yard run around the left side and then he tacked on a 2-point conversion to push the lead to 26-0.
The Bulldogs answered with a drive that pushed the ball to the Indian nine-yard line. On first and goal, senior quarterback Mason Gilbert lost the football and Seneca’s Jace Renfro recovered it.
Seneca marched downfield until first and goal on the Bulldog four-yard line, when Miller was hit from behind and lost the football into the end zone for another touchback.
Carl Junction (4-2) got on the board in the fourth quarter after back-to-back completions by Gilbert to receiver Tristyn Lopez set up a nine-yard run from senior Marcus Lopez-Durman to cut the lead to 26-7 with 10:19 to play.
On the ensuing Seneca drive, Miller touched the ball twice, once for four yards and then for 52 yards down the home sideline for his fourth touchdown of the night and a 34-7 lead.
Miller again played every play of the game, at least until Seneca pulled its starters late in the fourth. In addition to his offense and defensive duties, he plays on both kickoff and kickoff return, along with being the short snapper on extra-point attempts.
“For him to be as productive as he is, that tells you how tough a kid he is,” Hilburn said.
Probert added a 45-yard touchdown pass to senior Jude King, his only catch of the game, midway through the quarter for the final 42-7 margin.
Probert led all rushers with 191 yards on 20 carries, while Miller finished with 185 on 19. The only other Indian to run the ball was Graham, once for 14 yards.
Probert completed six of nine passes for 194 yards and a touchdown, hitting Hanes twice for 92 yards, and Graham for 58 on a pair of catches.
Gilbert completed 15 of 25 passes for 153 yards. Lopez caught six balls for 69 yards, while JoJo Ballard caught three balls for 40 yards and Bryant Hanks had three catches for 26 yards.
Lopez-Durman led the Bulldogs with 54 yards rushing on 14 attempts, while senior KJ Harms added 30 yards on seven carries late in the game. Three other Bulldogs carried the ball, including Gilbert, who ended up with negative 16 yards rushing, thanks to several sacks by the Indian defense.
Friday’s win keeps the Indians undefeated in 2025, and provides some bonus points for playing a larger school in their only non-conference game of the regular season.
“It’s the best of both worlds for us because we play up and we play a really good football team that used to be in the Big 8,” Hilburn said. “There are so many people in both communities that remember the rivalry games, so we told our kids before the game this would be one of the best atmospheres of the year. For a week six non-conference game, I can’t imagine a better atmosphere than what we had tonight.”
Seneca resumes Big 8 play next week with a trip to McDonald County, while Carl Junction continues a three-game road swing at Branson.
