Worth County's Tigers won a wild and wooly cat fight against the Mound City squad 76-52 Friday. The Tigers struggled on defense, as Mound City had one of the best teams in the area as far as carrying out their fakes and keeping teams off-balance and Worth County had an inexperienced secondary. There were a lot of blown coverages during the night. On the other hand, the offense had one of their most dominant performances in recent memory. They struggled with blocking in Week One against Rock Port and never got going until it was too late. But the blocking was as good as it has been all year against Mound City; to put up 76 points against a strong defensive team like Mound City was an impressive accomplishment. The Tigers continued to struggle with 11 penalties, although whether they were legitimate or whether it was a product of the referees listening to the northeast corner of the field is a matter of conjecture.
The Tigers did not break any records in the win; the school record is 94 points against South Holt two years ago in a 94-48 win against the Knights after they refused to pull their starters in an obvious effort to pad stats against the Worth County JV. It was not even the most in Missouri High School or even 8-Man history; Fairfax scored 98 points against Union Star in its last year of existence as a separate football school after Union Star refused to throw in the towel after being down by 45. Worth County scored 84 against North Andrew three years ago in a Homecoming win; they also scored 84 in 1998 against South Nodaway. The most combined points in school history is 142 points in the South Holt game mentioned above; Friday's game was the second-most combined points with 128 points. A 2005 tilt between Worth County and Stanberry produced 120 points as the Tigers prevailed 68-52 in a game that decided who would go to the playoffs; that was the third most combined points in school history. However, the 76 points scored may have been the most in school history given up by the Mound City squad, which has always had a stingy defense over the years.
The game was one of the craziest games in recent memory; Worth County did not want to go 1-2 after dropping their opening-round game against Rock Port and Mound City wanted to prove themselves after losing Lucas Schawang, who led the Panthers to three straight titles before Worth County finally beat them in St. Louis last year. It featured everything possible, with long runs and passes, blown assignments, blown calls by officials, and even some critical defensive plays. The first critical defensive play came right after Worth County threw a pick on their initial series right into double coverage as new quarterback Cole Parman was still learning the ropes after replacing the injured Bryce Ross. Parman would more than make up for his miscue with his legs, getting 100 yards for the night. All three backs for the Tigers would break the 100-yard barrier with Dallas Greenland leading the way with 200 yards after having been used as a blocking back for his first three years. Andrew Mullock had shown Coach Borey enough to earn time at tailback as well and added 115, also a career best. The skill positions, which were a question mark for the Tigers following the loss of Eli Mullock, have turned into one of their greatest assets even without Ross.
Cole Parman's pick gave Mound City a golden opportunity right off the bat against Worth County; three years ago, a blocked punt early against the Panthers opened the floodgates for a 52-0 rout in the playoffs. Mound City started off from the Tiger 18 and moved down to the Tiger 10 where it was fourth and two. But this time, Worth County held on downs as Brett Johnson ran into a wall and they took over on their own 9.
Worth County started off sluggishly on offense, with the same lack of blocking that had hurt against Rock Port and went three and out and Mound City finally got on the board. A 14-yard run by Thomas Shifflett to the 21 and a 9 yard conversion by Luke Sanders down to the 9 to rescue a fourth and two set up Shifflett's initial touchdown run with 3:33 left to make it 6-0.
But all of a sudden, Worth County's line shook the cobwebs off and showed some of the best blocking all year. Dallas Greenland shot up the middle for 28 yards behind a block from Dylan Kinsella to the Panther 16 and another 12-yard burst behind a block from Wyatt Rush set up a one-yard plunge by Greenland with 2:01 to tie it up.
In a high-scoring game like Friday night's game, even a single stop becomes important. And Worth County got one as Andrew Mullock got a pick-six and Dallas Greenland ran in the extra points to make it 14-6 with 45.1 seconds left. Mound City got a first down on their next series, but then Mullock was there again for an interception and the Tigers had a short field to work with at their own 33. A 10-yard run from Greenland got into Panther territory at the 32 and then he got a block from Wyatt Rush and broke through the initial line for 18 more to get to the 10. That set up a 10-yard run from Dallas, behind the blocking of Austin Carlson and Kevin Stoll to make it 22-6 after he ran in the extra points. But then Mound City got it right back as Hayston Wilson caught a 59-yard pass from Luke Sanders to make it 22-14 with 7:47 left in the half. This began a frustrating series for the Tigers where they would score after a nice drive and strong blocking from the line, only to give up a big play on the other end.
Andrew Mullock returned the ball into good field position at the Tiger 35. The kickoff return game showed some improvement this week and is turning into a plus for the Tigers; they were able to shorten the field against Mound City for the most part with their kickoff return game. It was badly needed given the constant big plays that the Panthers were using to score. The Tigers were stood up with fourth and inches on the Panther 35; however, Dallas Greenland showed good patience in waiting for his blocks, then he shot through for 13 yards and a first down to the 22. Cole Parman got a block from Dylan Kinsella to score with 4:50 left in the half to make it 28-14. But Mound City struck right back. They were third and 13 at their own 27, seemingly stuck. However, everybody got blown out on the line and there was nobody to catch Thomas Shifflett, who ran for 53 yards for a score. Wilson caught a 10-yard pass to make it 28-22 with 2:34 left.
Worth County got another nice runback that should have led to another score. Dallas Greenland got a block from Josh Warner and returned it to the 38 and Worth County ran down the clock and moved the ball to leave Mound City with as little time as possible to score when they got the ball back. The strategy almost worked to perfection; with Worth County fourth and four at the Mound City seven, Dallas Greenland shot through for what should have been a score. But the referees ruled that the play had been a fumble even though Dallas had clearly crossed the plane of the end zone and Mound City was able to run out the clock. The rulebook at all levels from 'Lil Tigers to the NFL clearly states that once the ball crosses the plane, the play is over and the offensive team has scored. But the side judge whose responsibility it was to make the call was well out of position to do so. In officiating, it used to be that once a call was made, it was made. However, the recent practice has been to get it right even if it means reversing a call occasionally. But the referees never got together to confer to make sure that the call was correct.
Fortunately, the Tigers got the ball to start the third quarter and they came right down the field to score. Back in 1985, when the Royals were playing the World Series with the Cardinals, a blown umpiring call that should have been the first out of the 9th inning with the Cardinals leading 1-0 turned the course of the World Series that had been in the Cardinals' favor up to that point. But there was still baseball to be played and the Cardinals self-destructed with a passed ball that helped set up the winning hit; they then self-destructed in the 7th game as well, losing 11-0. But Worth County didn't self-destruct after the blown call by the officials; there was still a half of football to be played. Andrew Mullock weaved his way through traffic to the 35 and then he and Dallas, behind the blocking of Wyatt Rush and Kevin Stoll, got the ball down the the Panther 18. A false start moved it to the 23, but then Andrew cut inside on a sweep and followed his block perfectly to score and ran in the extra points to make it 36-22 with 10:04 left. But Mound City kept the pressure on as the kickoff game, which had struggled against Rock Port, had another breakdown as nobody contained on the returner and Thomas Shifflett ran back the kickoff for a score to make it 36-28.
The track meet continued as Andrew Mullock nearly broke one before being tackled at the 30 and then they needed only two plays to get into the end zone. Dallas Greenland got 11 yards behind the blocking of Dylan Kinsella, they got an offsides penalty against Mound City, and then Andrew Mullock was off to the races again for 24 yards. Wyatt Rush ran in the extra points to make it 44-28. But back came the Panthers as nobody covered Dayne Messer on the ensuing series and he got loose for a 75-yard pass play. Dalton Dreher's pass made it 44-36 with 8:57 left.
There was a heartstopping moment on the ensuing kickoff as Worth County muffed it, but thankfully it rolled out of bounds and Worth County set up shop on their own 18. Mound City would never get a chance to tie or take the lead even though they kept up the pressure. The referees interfered again, calling a false start even though the Mound City player had moved first, but Dallas Greenland's 18-yard scamper bailed the Tigers out of that situation. The officials had no rhyme or reason to their procedure/offsides calls; the same sort of thing that resulted in offsetting penalties one play could be called on Worth County next time. And Mound City had just as much right to be upset with the officiating; for instance, there was one instance, where Worth County's lineman had clearly moved, but the Panthers were called for offsides.
It was Mound City's turn to be upset with the officials later in the drive as Cole Parman atoned for a fumbled handoff with a 45-yard scamper with 7:21 left. The Mound City coach was beside himself over a non-call and went clear down to the 5 yard line to lobby unsuccessfully for a block in the back penalty, but the play stood and Andrew Mullock ran in the extra points to make it 52-36. Mound City had fourth and two at their own 36 and went back to pass. Worth County got too deep on the pass rush and quarterback Luke Sanders, channeling Schawang from last year, scrambled 35 yards all the way down to the 19 to set up Mound City's next score. The Panthers were seemingly stopped again at the 14 with fourth and six, but once again, someone forgot to call out who they had on defense and nobody covered Dayne Messer, who caught a pass down to the four. Thomas Shifflett scored with 3:45 left in the third to make it 52-44.
The kickoff return game was once again strong for Worth County, giving them the short field again as Andrew Mullock returned it all the way to the Panther 23 this time. The Tigers got in trouble as the referees finally listened to the northeast corner of the field which had been constantly clamoring for a block in the back and called consecutive holding penalties back to the 33. But Andrew Mullock bailed them out with a 17-yarder to the 16 behind the blocking of Wyatt Rush. A false start moved it to the 18 for third and five, but Dallas cut through traffic and bowled over the last man between him and the end zone to score. Wyatt Rush ran in the extra points to make it 60-44.
Worth County finally got a three and out after making an adjustment and putting in Aaron Patton and Brevyn Ross at corners. But they could not make it a three-possession game as Brevyn Ross had a long punt return wiped out by a holding penalty and Dallas Greenland made a rare miscue, fumbling the ball away at the Panther 31. Once again, Luke Sanders channeled Lucas Schawang and scrambled free but this time, Brevyn Ross made a touchdown-saving tackle at the Tiger 22. That turned out to be a critical defensive play, much like Bryson Scott's touchdown-saving tackle of Schawang at the Tiger 8 and Worth County's subsequent goal line stand helped seal the game in St. Louis last year. In a track meet like Friday night's game was, even one defensive stop is important -- Northwest Missouri State's 58-52 five-overtime national title win in 1998 was decided by a fumble recovery. This time, Worth County was lucky -- Sanders made a rare miscue as he misfired on a receiver that was wide open and then had a dropped ball as Mound City was unable to move the ball and Worth County took over on downs at the 20.
Dallas took a sweep 28 yards into Panther territory at the 32. The Tigers had a touchdown run called back by a block in the back penalty all the way back to their own 33, but put it right out of their minds as Wyatt Rush muscled his way down to the Panther 25 for a 22-yard gain behind the blocking of Austin Carlson. Wyatt was hungry for more as he muscled his way for yards and broke tackle after tackle on the next three plays as he got into the end zone with 8:35 left from 10 yards out, breaking two tackles along the way. Wyatt scored the extra points behind a Lane Craven block to give Worth County some badly-needed breathing room at 68-44 with 8:35 left.
Sanders struck back once more as he led Dayne Messer perfectly on a 50-yard strike, but Worth County struck right back. They were backed up by a pair of fumbled snaps at their own 36, but this time Cole Parman broke free again on a sweep. He weaved his way through traffic and then Brevyn Ross threw the final block to put him in the end zone from 44 yards out with 5:04 left to make it 76-52. Dallas Greenland added the extra points and Mound City's coach had seen enough and threw in the towel as the JV squads played the rest of the night.
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