Sectional Football Preview

Monday night is rematch night.  Seven of the ten games feature teams playing each other for the second time this year.  Six of those being replays of district games.  Two of the remaining three are repeats of games from last year.  Some things are quite different, some are exactly the same.  Here’s what to look for.

CLASS 1

• Miller (9-2) at Thayer (9-1)
  • The big question here is did Lockwood find a chink in Thayer’s armor with the passing game?  Or was it just one of those nights?  In week 8 Thayer brought the heat on Miller QB Justin Jack in his first game back & battered him on their way to a 54-14 trouncing of the Cardinals.  As usual, the Bobcats found major yards on the ground rushing for almost 500 yards.  Miller has changed up their defense since then with good results, but can they shut down that Thayer rushing attack?  Before you answer, consider this.  Last year’s district game between these two at Miller, Thayer wins 43-7.  When they met in the second round at Thayer, the Bobcats won but only by a score of 28-21.

• Adrian (9-2) at Greenfield (10-1)
  • A repeat of last years sectional matchup that Greenfield won 26-0.  And the same thing said then applies now.  Both teams have eerily similar statistics & results as they did last year.  The Blackhawks come in with 5 shutouts in their last 7 games and can score by the ton.  Greenfield has 4 shutouts in their last 7 games.  And with the likes of Jaime Gray, Jordan Bryant, and Montana Hembree carrying the ball, are even stonger offensively than a year ago.  The difference maker should be the same as last year.  Speed.  Greenfield can match Adrian physically, and they have more speed to burn.

CLASS 2

• Fair Grove (11-0) at Mt. View-Liberty (9-2)\
  • Last year this sectional game took place in the wind & rain nullifying Liberty’s passing attack and Fair Grove won 26-13.  This year with some new faces, Liberty brings more of a smash mouth approach but can still kill you with the pass.  Daniel Porter is one of the hardest runners in the area and is tough to bring down.  We all know what Caleb Schaffitzel does on the offensive side, but he may be a better defender.  He’ll have a chance to show it matching up against the likes of 6′4″ Derek Daniels.  Liberty has their defense back intact now and may just have the speed and skill to contain the Fair Grove running attack.  If Liberty can avoid the turnover bug, this will be a dandy.
• Pierce City (7-4) at Lamar (5-6)
  • After a huge win over Warsaw, can Pierce City knock off a team that thrashed them 35-0 in week 9?  The Eagles have shown they can score through the air with Wayne Sooter tossing it around, or on the ground from a number of backs.  But it was their defense that turned the trick Wednesday night.  They’ll need another effort like that with Lamar having outscored opponents 157-8 in the last four game.  Markell White & Trenton Doyle will look to chew up yards & the clock for the Tigers.

CLASS 3

• Mountain Grove (9-2) at Rogersville (10-1)
  • Go back just a few weeks to Rogersville’s 23-6 victory.  What we see is Colton Dill passed effectively throwing for 137 yards and 2 TDs with no INTs, the Panthers couldn’t get anything done on the ground (take away Chris Mathews 75 yard TD run and they only averaged 2.4 yard per carry), and the Rogersville line & defensive speed carried the day.  Defensively they were solid though.  So, what can Mountain Grove do different to change their fortunes?  Bring the hammer at the Rogersville defensive line.  This would be the perfect time to adopt Salem’s wishbone and pound them over & over until they crack.  Defensively, they must control Dill at least as well as they did last time while keeping Dylan Cole from busting out.  If they can keep a reign on the big plays and find a way to chew some clock offensively, they have a shot.  Otherwise, Rogersville will be happy to play the same game again.
• Seneca (8-3) at Cassville (10-1)
  • We know exactly what we’re getting here.  Two teams who are state title contenders who can run the ball, drop an occasional big play, have excellent defenses, going at it toe to toe.  Seneca’s Dillon Webb and Cassville’s Joseph Gouvion.  Nathan Fortner, Nick Chasten, Dalton Cummings, & Jake Rhodes for the Indians.  Travis Northern, Trevor Tanner, Zach Vititoe, and Josh Lewright for the Wildcats.  As in any matchup, big plays and turnovers can turn the tide.  If either team can grab momentum from a big play, it could carry them through.  The Wildcats want to contain the big play just as the did in the previous meeting, only giving up one long TD run to Webb.  Seneca has to keep Cassville from any sustained drives.  Keeping their defense fresh is the only way they can hope to win.  And don’t forget the Wildcat kicking game.  All things being equal, they derive a great advantage in field from K Matt Angel and P Travis Northern.

CLASS 4

• Hillcrest (7-4) at Bolivar (10-1)
  • When these two team played on Oct. 23rd, Hillcrest jumped out to a 14-6 lead on two long TD receptions from Doriel Green.  He wouldn’t catch another pass the whole night and Bolivar turned it into a 55-14 rout of the Hornets.  The Liberators will look to do the same thing.  Pound away with Josh Moffett and get efficient passing from Kolton Peavey.  The longer the Bolivar offense is on the field, the less chance of the Hornets catching fire offensively.  For Hillcrest, Mitch Jenkins did a good job of finding people other than Green, completing multiple passes to 4 different receivers, but he seemed to lose track of Green in the second half.  He’s has to find the big man when he’s open.  The Hornets also must get more yards on the ground.  Only 93 yards in the previous game, but they had an average of 4.7 yards per carry.  They can open up some passing lanes if they force the Liberators to account for their rushing.
• Carthage (9-2) at Webb City (11-0)
  • If there was ever a time for Webb City to feel they could lose and have a good excuse, it’s this game.  But that’s not the m.o. of the Cardinals.  And despite the adversity they faced Wednesday, they played their game & still won handily.  Maddy Johnson took over the ball carrying duties with authority, Scott Roderique provided the second option, and Patrick Drake played like a senior quarterback is supposed to.  Carthage had their share of excitement also with the fantastic last drive and Derek Peterson TD pass to defeat Neosho.  They’ll need a similar effort from both Peterson and RB Brian Poston to win tonight.  The Tigers best hope is to strike early, get the Cardinals on their heels, and make them play catch up.

CLASS 5

• Rolla (10-1) at Parkway North (8-1)
  • The Bulldogs avoided ending their season with two straight losses with a late comeback capped off by Jonny Canhos punching in the winning TD.  The good news is they’re facing a Parkway North squad that is more susceptible to running teams.  The bad news is they’re facing a defense that has yielded only 53 points all year.  The Vikings mimic Rolla offensively in that they are run oriented, passing for only 650 yards on the year and rushing for 287 yards per game.  And they take care of the football.  Turning the ball over only 8 times this year, while getting 34 takeaways.  This should play right into what Rolla wants to do.  They’ll line up & go at each other.  The stronger teams wins.
• Nixa (8-3) at Camdenton (7-3)
  • Last year, the team that gave me fits with my picks was El Dorado Springs.  This year it’s the Lakers.  Just when they’ve seemed to have it together, they’ve fallen apart.  When I think I know which way they’re going, the head in a different direction.  So my best advice to you would be to totally ignore what I’m saying here.  When these two met earlier this year, it was a 7-6 slugfest that was missing two starting Laker offensive lineman and RB Jacob Dines.  Now they’re all back, and after an off week hopefully healthy.  But Nixa is coming of a 48-12 demolition of Raytown.  The Camdenton defense has really risen up lately, and will look to contain Jordan Keeney as well as they did the first meeting.  The Eagle will have their hands full with a healthy Dines and a deeper Laker line.
• Ozark (5-4) at Raytown South (8-3)
  • The Tigers face a stiff test.  South’s three losses have come by a total of 11 points to Lee’s Summit West (who they beat Wednesday 30-14), Staley, and Ft. Osage.  Those three had a combined regular season record of 27-3.  Yeah.  Not too bad.  And the Cardinals haven’t allowed any more than 21 points in a game this year.  And they have 4 shutouts.  And they have athletes all over the field.  And their QB Dennis Tanner can both run & throw well.  And they feel they have unfinished business after losing in last year’s championship game on a last second hail Mary.  For Ozark to win, they’re going to have to maintain some possession.  Either through the running game or short passing.  Drew Crain has to move the chains and keep the Cardinal offense off the field.  Defensively, they’ll have to defend the spread and contain the big plays.  Good tackling is essential for Ozark also.  You only have to watch a little film on Raytown to see that missed tackles turn into touchdowns for them.