Worth County continued to make its case to be the top team in the area, beating South/Nodaway-Holt 56-6 in a halftime game. After Worth County throttled three teams, including Stanberry, at its jamboree, it raised some eyebrows. It certainly made a believer out of longtime assistant Jonn Casey, who called in the game to the radio.
The Spartans were depleted by injuries and gradation, forcing them to play people out of position; the coaches were yelling at the players before the game even started, trying to get them acclimated to their new roles. They have some horses in Westyn Williams and Reagan Morris, but the challenge for them will be to build a team around them for this year and find someone to replace Williams after this year since he is a senior.
Last year, Worth County dug themselves into an early hole in traditionally difficult weather conditions and couldn’t get out of it in a game that was played over two days due to weather. Friday night, the weather was much nicer. It was an inauspicious beginning for the Spartans as they tried an ill-advised fake punt after going three and out on their first possession. It fooled nobody, as Ryan McClellan jumped the pass for a pick-six with 10:57 left. Ryan ran in the extra points behind the blocking of Isaac Alarcon to make it 8-0.
Things started to snowball from there. A bad snap and a false start set up a screen pass to Westyn Williams; however, he fumbled it and McClellan scooped it and returned it to the Spartan 12. From there, Tevin followed a power sweep around the left end to score with 10:17 left. He cut inside on the two point conversion to make it 16-0 as Worth County scored a pair of touchdowns 40 seconds apart.
The snowball effect continued, as the Spartans got a first down to the 34, only for Tevin Cameron to pounce on an option pitch at the 32 to give Worth County another short field. Isaac Alarcon rumbled down the field twice for 13 yards to the 19; that set up a long pass from Ryan McClellan for a score with 8:39 left. Ryan McClellan’s cutback run made it 24-0, and the avalanche wasn’t done yet.
Once again, South/Nodaway-Holt tried to go for it deep in their own territory, at fourth and one at their own 24. But Ryan McClellan tipped a pass, giving Worth County a short field at the 24. This time, the Spartans stiffened on defense and stopped Worth County at the 5. But it didn’t matter as Mason Hawk got a safety on the Spartans’ first play from scrimmage, sacking Quinlin in the end zone to make it 26-0 with 5:12 left in the first quarter.
Worth County only needed one play to score after the Spartans kicked it back to them at their own 34. Tevin Cameron broke a tackle, got a block from Colton Wilmes, and took off down the left sideline with 4:54 left. He followed the blocking of Isaac Alarcon and Colton Wilmes to add the extra points to make it 34-0.
Devin Jackson pulled down Williams on the Spartans’ next series by the jersey, stopping him from ever getting going on the next series. Once again, the Spartans could not convert fourth and short as Jackson pressured Quinlin and Isaac Alarcon broke up the pass to give the Tigers a short field at the Spartan 28. Ryan McClellan’s reverse handoff from Alarcon in the Wildkat formation for 19 yards set up McClellan’s sneak with 2:22 left in the first. Tevin Cameron’s counter made it 42-0.
The scoring in the first quarter did not stop as Tevin Cameron recovered a fumble, his second fumble recovery of the night, to set up his cutback run with 18.8 seconds left. Bryant McCord caught a pass as Ryan McClellan led him perfectly to make it 50-0.
Reed McIntyre recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Worth County drove in for its final score of the night. Ryan McClellan sprinted for 18 yards to the 12, and two plays later, his counter fooled everyone as it took it to the house to make it 56-0. The Spartans finally drove down the field and scored on a 15 yard pass from Quinlin to Morris with 8:20 left to make it 56-6, but after Worth County recovered the ensuing onsides kick, that was the last they would get. Mason Hawk and Drake Kinsella had pass breakups for the Tigers, while Brayden Welch had a sack and a tackle for a loss.
Worth County had a short field to work with for most of the night, meaning their stats were not very gaudy. Tevin Cameron had 8 carries for 89 yards. Ryan McClellan had 6 carries for 52 yards, while Jeremy Wimer had 7 carries for 36 yards. Isaac Alarcon had 7 carries for 22 yards, while Nate Adwell had 2 carries for 2 yards. Caleb Parman caught the lone Tiger completion for 19 yards.
South/Nodaway-Holt was held to negative rushing yardage, losing eight yards for the night. Quinlan had 9 completions for 15 attempts for 72 yards, most on their scoring drive in the second when the game was already decided.
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