By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
MONETT – Monett outscored McDonald County 24-14 in the second half on Friday to win the opening round of the Class 4, District 6 playoffs.
“We’ve been close the past three weeks,” said Monett Coach Ben Mauk. “We’re a team that was close to being 7-2 instead of 4-5. We came in tonight just trying to get over the hump and win one of these close games.”
Monett (5-5) took the game’s opening drive 59 yards to the Mustang 6-yard line, but a pair of incomplete passes on third and fourth down gave McDonald County the ball in the shadow of their goal line.
The Mustangs chewed up nearly seven minutes of clock, rattling off a 13-play, 94-yard drive that culminated in a 15-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Ryder Martin, giving McDonald County a 7-0 lead with 2:49 to go in the first quarter.
Monett answered with a long drive of its own, 12 plays and 75 yards, in 2:45 seconds. Cub quarterback, junior Dylan Washick, completed 9 of 10 passes on the drive, including a 16-yard strike to junior Brayden Seitz for a touchdown. But a missed two-point conversion left Monett trailing 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
When the Cubs got the ball back with 8:55 left in the first half, Monett again drove the field, running 11-plays before Washick’s pass to junior Carson Nestleroad fell just out of his reach from the 2-yard line.
Mauk said he saw the drives as proof the Cub offense was on the right track, even if they didn’t result in points.
“We ran the wrong route once, and I’ve got to make better play calls in those situations, so it ultimately falls on my shoulders,” he said. “But going into halftime, we’d had the ball three times and all three we’d been inside the 5-yard line.”
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McDonald County (6-4) answered with its longest drive of the game, 98 yards in 16 plays. Martin scored his second touchdown of the night in a 3-yard run up the middle, giving the Mustangs a 14-6 lead they would take to the locker room.
The Mustangs looked to take a two-score lead on the opening drive of the second half, but on fourth and 3 from the Monett 23-yard line, Martin was stopped for no gain and Monett took over.
Washick worked quickly, hitting a pass on second and 3 from the Mustang 49-yard line for 41 yards to Nestleroad, giving Monett first and goal from the 8. A play later, Nestleroad caught a 4-yard pass that cut the Mustang lead to 14-12 after another failed two-point conversion.
McDonald County would immediately answer, however, with Martin’s third rushing touchdown, an 8-yard scamper, giving the Mustangs a 21-12 lead with 3:45 left in the third quarter.
Junior running back Sam Carr cut the lead to 21-18 with a 2-yard run with 1:01 to play in the quarter, and after an inadvertent whistle stopped Monett’s first two-point conversion attempt, the Cubs got a second chance, converting and cutting the Mustang lead to 21-20.
Monett took the lead with 9:20 to play on a 2-yard run from Collin Umfleet, who had filled in the drive before at quarterback after Washick was hurt the previous series.
Another successful conversion gave Monett a 28-21 lead.
McDonald County used a little trickery to tie the game at 28. After taking the snap, Martin handed off the ball, and slipped out into the flat, where after another handoff, senior Wyatt Gordon found Martin in the end zone for a touchdown.
But Monett again had an answer. After a 27-yard pass got the Cubs to the Mustang 1-yard line, Umfleet ran around the right side for a touchdown with 1:52 to play, giving Monett a 36-28 lead.
Friday’s game was played at Burl Fowler Stadium in Monett thanks to the Cubs’ 50-40 victory over McDonald County on Sept. 26. The win flipped Monett into the higher No. 4 seed, giving them the home game.
Washick finished the night completing 34 of 54 passes for 457 yards and a touchdown. Alex Meeks caught nine passes for 170 yards, while Nestleroad caught eight balls for 108 yards. Brayden Seitz added nine catches for 102 yards, and Umfleet caught six passes for 65 yards. He also ran the ball five times for five yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Martin completed 26 of 40 passes for 253 yards for the Mustangs, ran for 127 yards on 12 carries and three touchdowns while catching a touchdown on his only reception of the game.
Brodie Roessler, a senior, caught 15 passes for 157 yards, while senior Breck Rubeck caught six passes for 53 yards.
After the game, McDonald County Coach Kellen Hoover thanks his seniors for the their dedication to the program.
“When we win next year, and the year after, or three or four years from now, you are a part of that,” he told them.
Monett will travel to West Plains next week to face the Zizzers at 7 p.m. on Friday.
