Worth County overcame adversity to beat Stanberry 26-10 to vault themselves into a three-way tie for first in the Highway 275 with Stanberry and Rock Port. They overcame a strong Stanberry squad and dealt with an officiating crew that lost control of the game early and struggled to get it back.
The Tigers scored right off the bat when Aaron Patton picked off a pass on Stanberry's first play from scrimmage and returned it to the Stanberry 29. Wyatt Rush got a 16-yard gain and Dallas Greenland drove a defender several yards as he got all the way down to the two. An offsides penalty moved it to the one and then Dallas Greenland scored with 11:08 left to make it 6-0. Turnovers were a big factor in the game as Stanberry turned the ball over three times to none for Worth County.
Stanberry went three and out on their next possession, but Worth County also went three and out and then snapped the ball over Aaron Patton's head for a Stanberry safety with 7:04 left. Worth County then had to kick the ball right back to Stanberry. That's when the referees started interfering in the game as the official claimed that Dylan Kinsella kicked a Stanberry player and tossed him out of the game with no warning. But witnesses told the Sheridan Express that he actually slipped and fell on the slick playing surface as it had been raining on and off since one hour before gametime. Kinsella must sit out the Tarkio game next week; this is a MSHSAA rule, not a school or coach's rule. He will return for districts.
With Kinsella, who is a force on both the offensive and defensive lines, out, the Tigers had to improvise and they did. Josh Warner saw extended playing time in his place on the offensive line and Truman Moore saw extensive varsity playing time for the first time all year on the defensive line. Truman needed some time to adjust to the faster varsity speed, but he made some critical tackles late in the game as he got better as the game progressed.
The gift from the official gave Stanberry new life at the Tiger 25 and they rescued a third and 12 with a 21-yard pass down to the 7 to Nate Luke. A false start moved them back to the 12, but another carry from Luke moved the ball down to the one for fourth and goal. But the Tigers denied the quarterback sneak and took over on downs at the one. It was the first of several goal line stands for Worth County.
Stanberry nearly got a safety on the next play but then Worth County got enough first downs to get out of trouble. A kick catch interference call on Worth County once again put Stanberry in Tiger territory, but Worth County once again denied Stanberry. They drove down to the Stanberry 26 but then Tyler Schmitz dropped Jesse Oldham after a one yard gain, Issac Heddinger was met and dropped for a one-yard loss by Dallas Greenland and Wyatt Rush, and Stanberry aired it out unsuccessfully to Jake Heddinger. Stanberry tried a screen pass to Jake Heddinger, but he came up four yards short and Worth County took over on downs at their own 20.
Worth County once again struggled with the long snap on fourth and long and Stanberry had a golden opportunity to score with first and goal at the Tiger six. But Stanberry's red zone woes continued as they tried a screen pass and Wyatt Rush picked it off and returned it to the Tiger 30. A false start penalty moved it back to the 25, but then Bryce Ross took an option 51 yards down to the four. Stanberry was blitzing on defense all night, which resulted in a lot of no-gains and short losses, but also gave up some big plays as well. Dallas Greenland scored from four yards out with 4:03 left in the second to give the Tigers a badly-needed cushion at 12-2 at the break.
At the start of the third quarter, Dallas Greenland made some clutch catches to get the Tigers into the end zone. He caught a 24-yard swing pass down to the Stanberry 34 and then the Tigers overcame a pair of false starts and a missed late hit call on Stanberry that happened right in front of the official as Dallas caught a 22-yard pass on fourth and seven from the Stanberry 35 down to the 13. Wyatt Rush's counter with 7:13 left made it 18-2. But Stanberry got it right back as Nate Luke ripped off a 45-yard touchdown and ran in the extra points to make it 18-10 with 6:54 left and nothing was decided yet.
Worth County got backed up third and 14 at their own 14 on their next series but then Bryce Ross eluded a pass rush and threw a pass to Aaron Patton, whose diving catch for 26 yards gave Worth County a first down. But then a holding penalty and a sack gave Stanberry a chance to tie with a touchdown and an extra points as they started at the Tiger 33. Stanberry got as far as the 23, but then Truman Moore made a pair of clutch tackles and Stanberry turned it over on downs.
Wyatt Rush took a 50-yard counter down to the Stanberry 7, but then a holding penalty buried the Tigers at fourth and goal. A pass interference call gave the Tigers another chance and they still could not capitalize and were faced with fourth and six at the seven. Wyatt Rush slipped and fell after catching a screen pass at the 14, but Stanberry had a late hit. The referees then huddled up and Stanberry coach Dan Collins stopped the game wanting a rulebook conference. MSHSAA procedures are clear; if the officials make a decision that is in conflict with the rulebook, the affected coach has 10 minutes to find a rulebook and produce the rule. But the conference took well over 10 minutes, leading to an extended stoppage of play which led to the Stanberry PA announcer poking fun at the officials' expense at one point. Finally, the officials gave the ball back to the Tigers fourth down and goal at the seven. To add to the confusion, the officials signaled personal foul on the play and then tried to claim that it wasn't a personal foul. It was all moot as the Tigers could not convert as Bryce Ross came under a heavy rush and had to eat the ball at the 5, but it showed the kind of loss of control of the game that happened on the officials' watch.
Last year, it was Worth County who came back from a big deficit, but this time the Tigers were trying to protect a lead in the closing seconds. Stanberry aired it out to Ryan Jensen for 33 yards to the 38 and Jesse Oldham ripped off a 9-yarder to the 27. Another Oldham run to the 20 set up fourth and three but then Truman Moore made another clutch tackle as dropped Issac Heddinger for no gain with 3:40 left in the game and Worth County got the ball back.
Worth County was backed up third and nine at the 21, but then an offsides penalty and a Bryce Ross run gave the Tigers a badly-needed first down at the 31. Two plays later, Worth County clinched the game as Dallas caught a swing pass from Bryce Ross as Bryce overthrew the ball a little bit but Dallas sprinted to get under it and took it for a 49-yard touchdown with 1:40 left. Bryce Ross ran in the extra points to make it 26-10. Stanberry drove to the Tiger 12 in the closing seconds with the faint hope of getting a score, an extra point, and an onsides kick to keep their chances alive. But a botched handoff led to Stanberry's third turnover of the game and Kevin Stoll pounced on the fumble to end the game.
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