Worth County made a lot of the same mistakes that hurt them in the Platte Valley and Albany losses and the second half of the Mound City game, but this time, they found a way to play through them and win against St. Joseph Christian 22-18. They used a late score by Landon Wilmes and a defensive stand in the closing seconds to get the win.
The Tigers needed the win to keep pace with Albany, which beat North Andrew Friday 38-20. A loss would have meant a serious blow to the Tigers’ GRC West title hopes, as it would have meant their second conference loss. A loss would have meant the possibility of King City passing them in the district standings and dropping to fourth; the Wildkats won their third straight, a 50-8 win over Pattonsburg, to go to 3-2 on the year. A loss would have dropped the Tigers to 2-3 and put them in danger of their first losing season in 10 years and their second in 31 years.
The focus of the game was getting strong right out of the gate, unlike the Albany game, in which they dug themselves into a 24-12 hole that they could not overcome. But that was not forthcoming as they gained one yard in three plays and were forced to punt. On the ensuing punt, Logan Hubble broke tackle after tackle for the Lions to the Tiger 25. The tackling was nonexistent on the Lions first play from scrimmage as Peyton Hausman broke tackle after tackle to the 17.
The Lions came into the game seeking to establish a hard-nosed physical culture similar to Cameron and Maryville. Under new coach James Schoonover, who was a big part of Mound City’s championship runs last decade, they unveiled a triple option game, the likes of which the Tigers haven’t seen in recent years, along with an aggressive defense with linebackers that fly to the holes and blow up any running plays that develop.
Without Brayden Stevens (knee), Worth County was limited in what they could do defensively as the Lion juggernaut rolled into the end zone as Hausman scored on an option play with 7:54 left. Bo Collins finally stepped up and stuffed a run to keep the Lion lead at 6-0. The extra point game was one of the key factors in Friday’s game. Whereas Worth County had trouble converting their extra points the Friday before, meaning the game came down to one more extra point conversion for Albany, the Lions were the ones having trouble converting them Friday. Worth County converted two of their three tries, while the Lions converted none.
The Tigers got good field position at the 40 following a squib kick, and then Landon Wilmes’ cutback run picked up 39 yards to the one after he got a block from Jude Archer, stepping in from Brayden Stevens. Three rushing plays netted nothing, but right before Worth County called a timeout to try to set up a fourth and two, they got the snap off and Hayden Sanders threw a short pass to Jude Archer, whose catch and run into the end zone put Worth County on the board with 5:19 left. Karson Briner caught the extra point pass to put Worth County up 8-6.
A squib kick pinned Christian at their own 20, and their option game carried them up to the Tiger 35. But they tried a pass, only for Landon Wilmes to break it up. A bad snap and another incomplete pass gave Worth County the ball back on downs at the 37. But the blocking broke down, and a sack forced a punt, pinning the Lions at their own 11.
Peyton Hausman converted a 13-yard run to the 24, and then Cy Carlson converted a third and one to the 36. A defensive holding penalty moved the ball into Tiger territory at the 34, but a false start derailed the drive and for once, Worth County was able to set the edge against the option and Hausman was tackled seven yards short of the first down at the 31.
Hayden Sanders ripped off a first down run to the 39, then Landon Wilmes picked up 11 more to the 28. But in a return to the inexplicable mistakes of the Platte Valley game, Landon Wilmes was in the clear and scored an apparent touchdown, only for one of the other Tiger players to block someone in the back who had no chance to catch him, bringing it back to the 18. Given new life, Christian tackled Wilmes short of the first down on fourth and one and got the ball back at the 9. But then the Tigers caught a break. A mixup on the option pitch proved costly as Bo Collins pounced on the errant carom at the two and Landon Wilmes took it to the house the next play to make it 14-6 with 4:09 left in the second.
The game was held up as Bo Collins had laid out Leo Przybylski on the play while throwing a block, and the Lions’ player had to be carried out on a stretcher.
A totally different Lions squad came out onto the field, determined to win it for their fallen teammate. After they got the ball on their own 24, they ran a perfectly executed option play that fooled everyone, including the officials, who blew the play dead as nobody was anywhere near the new ball carrier. With time running out in the first half, the Lions gambled on fourth and four at their own 30 and made it as an option to Cy Carlson picked up 15 yards to the 35. A late hit put it on the 20. The Lions got as far as the Tiger 10 and then tried to test Jude Archer, who replaced Brayden Stevens as corner. But he broke up the first pass into the end zone and picked off the second to preserve Worth County’s 14-6 lead.
But the Lions got the ball to start the second half, and the tackling broke down on Cy Carlson as the Tigers missed four tackles on him as he jetted 13 yards into Tiger territory at the 31. An offsides penalty set up another first down at the 20, and the Lions converted fourth and one to the 9 as the Tigers had trouble getting off the field on third and fourth down all night. Finally, nobody picked up Mason Stewart, who kept an option and took it the remaining nine yards to cut Christian’s deficit down to 14-12 with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
Worth County marched right back down the field after starting at their own 30. Two carries by Landon Wilmes netted 10 yards to the 40, and the Tigers rescued a third and ten at the 40 as a screen pass to Lucas Frisch covered 13 yards to the 27. Landon Wilmes got the ball again and it took several Lions to drag him down at the 10. But then a late hit moved it back to the 20. A screen to Wilmes covered 17 yards to the three, but a botched screen pass derailed the drive, and the Tigers once again passed up a red zone opportunity.
Starting deep in one’s territory can be difficult, but for a good running team, it can be an opportunity for a team to run big chunks of time off the clock and flip the scoreboard. Sure enough, the Lions slowly marched 77 yards down the field, taking the rest of the third quarter and all but 3:49 of the fourth to score. They converted a fourth and fourth and two with a Hausman option to the 29. Worth County nearly had a stop after the Lions tested Archer, only for him to break up another pass. But on fourth and eight at the 31, Preston Davis lined up in a kick/run option, where he had the option to kick it or run with it. Sure enough, Worth County fell asleep at the switch and Davis found a hole and got the first down to the Tiger 37 as the Tigers once again struggled to get off the field on third and fourth down. On third and three at the 18, Hausman carried it seven to the 11, and on fourth and two at the three, Hausman took it to the house.
But with their backs to the wall, down 18-14 with 3:49 left, this time, Worth County woke up instead of falling apart like they did in the Platte Valley game after Platte Valley had scored late to take a lead on the Tigers. They started at their own 25 and alternated Jude Archer and Landon Wilmes in the Wildcat look, and finally, they started finding daylight. Archer picked up 5 and Wilmes 15 to the Lion 36. Archer picked up one more to the 35, and then a quick pitch to Landon Wilmes with 2:02 left struck gold as he ran through the Lion players like they weren’t even there and took it to the house. Karson Briner caught the extra point pass to make it 22-18 and rule out the chance of the Lions kicking a late field goal to win it.
Christian got the ball back at their own 29 and refused to deviate from their game plan until they absolutely had to. Peyton Hausman carried the team on his shoulders with an 11-yard option run to the 40. A fumbled snap with 1:26 left forced Christian’s first timeout. They tried an option again, but this time, Jude Archer forced a fumble and nearly recovered it, which would have ended the game. But Hausman fell on it and the drive continued. Hausman ripped off carries for 13 and 17 yards straight up the middle for a first down to the 20 and a first down with 34 seconds left and Christian down to one timeout.
Worth County finally dropped Hausman after a gain of three, which forced Christian to use their third and last timeout with 24 seconds left. A sweep to Cy Carlson lost a yard to the 18, but the officials ruled he had gotten out of bounds, stopping the clock at 17 seconds.
Out of timeouts and apparently not realizing the clock had stopped, Christian spiked the ball with 15 seconds to set up fourth and eight at the Tiger 18. Worth County called a timeout to set up their defense, and the Lions dropped back to pass. All of the Lion receivers were covered and one of the Tigers came straight up the middle untouched, forcing Mason Stewart to throw before he was ready. But nobody was home, and the Tigers were able to kneel out the clock.
The Tigers travel to Stanberry next week. Besides the Pattonsburg game, Stanberry has been in all of their other games, including giving unbeaten Rock Port a run for their money. Stanberry gave Worth County fits in the jamboree, playing them to a 12-12 tie. Most recently, they gave Princeton everything they wanted before falling 44-42 to the high-powered Blue Tiger squad.
For Stanberry, the game is a must win game; they must put on a big winning streak if they are to dig themselves out of a sixth-place hole in districts and get a better seeding. Worth County has to win to keep up with Albany in the GRC West standings and hope the Warriors falter to get a share of the crown. A win would get them to 4-2 and one step closer to a winning season.
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