Tigers to Face Mound City Friday in Districts

Worth County will face Mound City Friday after the Panthers beat Albany 38-28 in a rematch that the Warriors had won the first time, 40-32. 

The game started off well for Albany as they used a 13 play drive to move from their own 21 to the Panther 20, where they were threatening. But a costly fumble on a handoff exchange went back to Mound City, and the Panthers had the momentum for the rest of the game before a Warrior rally in the fourth quarter came up short.

A burst down the right side by Brendan Tubbs that should have went for a 57 yard touchdown was called back to the 20 by a block in the back. It didn’t matter as quarterback William Rother took it to the house with 5:13 left in the first quarter and Wil Young added the extra point pass to make it 8-0.

Albany got it right back as Jody King right back the ensuing kickoff straight up the middle to the house to tie it at 8-8. The momentum seemed to be swinging back in Albany’s favor after the ensuing kickoff bounced off an official and stayed in play and Mound City had to scramble to return it to their own 13. But the long field didn’t matter as Rother’s keeper took it 18 yards to the 32, and then Wil Young got five yards behind the Warrior defense for a strike from Rother. Trevor Tubbs ran in the extra points to make it 16-8 and Mound City was ahead for good.

The sequence would repeat itself for the rest of the game; Albany would sell out to stop the run, only for Wil Young to get behind the defense and Rother to throw him a strike to get the big play.

A first down run by Zavien Dierenfeldt picked up 13 yards to the Warrior 35, but the Warriors were stopped there and faced with fourth and nine at their own 34. The Tubbs boys, Brendan and Trevor, were all over the field that night for the Panthers making tackles. 

For some reason, instead of punting, the Warriors went for it on fourth and long and Young broke up a pass to give the Panthers a short field at the Warrior 34. Three quick hitters by Brendan Tubbs picked up a first down and then Young was all alone for 14 yards down to the 9. Two plays later, Rother took a counter eight yards to the house and ran in the extra point.

Albany had plenty of chances to score, but were frequently stopped just before paydirt. One such drive game in the ensuing drive. Runs by Quincy Stamper and Kemper Cline got the Warriors as far as the Mound City 22, but a false start derailed the drive and the Warriors gave up the ball on downs. Mound City also went three and out, and a 33 yard run from Zavien Dierenfeldt put the Warriors in Mound City territory at the 21. The Warriors nearly stalled again, but on fourth and goal at the 4, a big line surge got Kemper Cline into the end zone to cut it to 24-14 right before half. 

Young got behind the Warrior defense again for a 38 yard completion to the Warrior 21 with 19 seconds left, but a holding penalty and a sack killed the drive.

But a late hit by Albany on the second half kickoff put the ball in Warrior territory at the 35, and once again, Mound City used the short field to convert. On third and eight at the 16, Trevor Tubbs got nine yards to the 7, and William Rother was in the end zone two plays later to make it 32-14 with 9:34 left in the third quarter.

Albany threatened to score again as Jody King converted a fourth and one with a one yard run to the Panther 39 to keep the drive going. But a bad snap pinned the Warriors fourth and 11 at the 40, and needing to go for it, the pass went astray.

Mound City once again used the short field to their advantage as Young got behind the Warrior defense for a 12 yard pass, Brendan Tubbs picked up 5, and then Young connected from 23 yards out with 4:43 left in the third quarter to make it 38-14.

But Albany refused to quit and the hard running of Dierenfeldt got them into Mound City territory again, including a 22 yard swing pass. They were faced with fourth and seven at the 20, but then Ian Campbell, who had started earning more and more playing time as the season progressed, started stepping up, catching a seven yard pass from Cline to keep the drive going. He is the nephew of Lenny Campbell.

Ian Campbell caught another pass from Cline two plays later with 53 seconds left to make it 38-20. But Dierenfeldt was dropped short of the goal line as Mound City was able to keep it three possessions.

On third and 16 at the 35, Mound City aired it out to Young, who had once again gotten by the Warrior defense. But this time, the pass was too far for him, and Mound City punted, pinning the Warriors at the 10. Runs from Dierenfeldt, a short pass to Porter Davis, and a 21 yard burst by Cline put the ball on the 15. But the Warriors stalled inside Panther territory once too often and Cline came under a heavy rush and threw it away on fourth down at the 11.

The Warriors managed to stop Mound City on fourth and one at the Warrior 14, and they were able to engineer a drive in the closing seconds as Cline scrambled for 23, Jody King had a catch and run for 18 yards, and Cline scrambled for 15 more. With 10 seconds left, Campbell caught a pass and Stamper ran in the extra points to make it 38-28, but Mound City covered the ensuing onsides kick to secure the win.