Worth County bounced back in a big way Friday, handling Mound City 44-14 to get back on the winning track.
In the first game, they struggled to get any kind of big plays against the Platte Valley front line. Against Mound City, which made it to the district finals last year and nearly beat South Holt, they got one right off the bat as Brayden Stevens got a block from Karson Briner and that was all he needed as he took it to the house from 55 yards out with 11:43 left in the first quarter.
Bo Collins dropped Chauncey Brown on the next series for a loss and Mound City missed a wide open Brown on a play that would have been six. Finally, Mound City went for it from deep in their own territory at fourth and three from their own 27 and their quarterback, Creyton Roup, was tackled one yard short of the first down.
A holding penalty wiped out a touchdown for the Tigers, but then Cole Ruby ripped off nine after getting a block from Briner, Hayden Sanders got 22 yards to the 1, and Cole Ruby took a sweep to the house as the Panthers overran him to make it 14-0 with 8:17 left in the first quarter. The whole game was like that; Mound City would line up in a six man front and stop Worth County for long periods at a time, but when they got past the front line, there was nothing but daylight.
Sawyer Thurman kicked one into the end zone to give Mound City a long ways to go, and the penalty bug hit them for a change. They lost a yard on three plays, and they were forced to punt. The short kick was picked up by the Tigers at the 40. The six man front that Mound City uses gave Worth County problems for the first two plays as they couldn’t get everybody blocked, but then Landon Wilmes got loose 30 yards down the right sideline to the six. Cole Ruby was stopped for one to the five, but then Hayden Sanders got a push from Carter Chapman and Karson Briner to the one. Landon Wilmes got a block from Cole Ruby and took it to the house and Karson Briner got the extra point pass to make it 22-0.
But Mound City, historically a team that has relied almost exclusively on the run, suddenly unveiled a new look, turning to a spread formation with two twin receivers. They moved Cade Gillenwater, last year’s quarterback, onto the line and made Creyton Roup the new quarterback this year. Worth County stopped it this time after they got some initial success as Bo Collins dropped Kane Derr for a loss and Brayden Combs had a pass breakup as Mound City was forced to punt.
Worth County got the ball on its own 20 and had initial success as Landon Wilmes broke two tackles and got loose for 15 yards to the 35. But then a mixup on the next handoff led to a fumble and Mound City got the ball right back again. Once again, Chauncey Brown got all alone on a pass play, but once again, nobody saw him as Mound City passed up a sure six points. Worth County stiffened up as they dropped Derr after a gain of one, Bo Collins flushed Roup and Brayden Stevens broke up the pass, and Bo recovered a fumble to give the Tigers the ball back on their own 34.
Brayden Stevens picked up two yards, and then Hayden Sanders got a block from Landon Wilmes and got five more to the Panther 39. On the next play, Hayden Sanders took a dive, got past the Mound City six man front, and took it to the house with 52 seconds left in the first quarter to make it 30-0.
But after that, Worth County started going back to the sloppy play that led to 16 penalties and cost them the game against Platte Valley. They had Mound City backed up third and 17 at their own 12, but then a pass interference penalty gave Mound City hope again and they took full advantage, showing the kind of form that got them two state titles under Taylor Standerford’s tenure. They rode the back of Chauncey Brown to the Tiger 23 before Ethan Lininger dropped him at the 25. A false start made it fourth and nine at the 30, but then Mound City unveiled the power sweep out of their spread twin formation, and Worth County had no idea how to stop it as Roup took it for 12 yards and a first down to the 18. A short pass to Ernie Peters carried 12 yards to the six and Roup took it in with 8:06 left. Peters caught the extra points to make it 30-8.
But Worth County did not wake up from the hangover and picked up a costly holding penalty on the kickoff, burying them at their own five, since these penalties are marked off from the spot of the foul. Mound City nearly picked up a safety on the series and Worth County was forced to punt. The kick was shanked and Mound City had a golden opportunity to make a game of it at the Tiger 15.
They got as far as the Tiger six, but on fourth and one, Brown was stopped for no gain and the Tigers got the ball back. Worth County had third and 11 on their own five, but Hayden Sanders picked up 10 yards to the 15 and then a quick pitch to Brayden Stevens picked up the first down to the 20. Landon Wilmes got a block from Karson Briner and picked up 14 more to the 34. They were stuck with third and ten there, but an option to Wilmes picked up the necessary yardage to the Panther 36 as Mound City couldn’t get off the field this series. Finally, Hayden Sanders got a cutback run as Mound City overcommitted to the option man and Hayden had nothing but daylight to make it 36-8 at the half.
Mound City got the ball back to start the second half, and the power sweep victimized the Tigers again as Roup carried the Panthers as far as the Tiger 30 before Brayden Stevens delivered a big hit that knocked him out of the game for one play. A bad snap derailed the drive, and the Panthers were forced to punt, pinning the Tigers at their own 3.
Landon Wilmes took a quick pitch and accelerated to the 16, and then Cole Ruby weaved his way to the 25. Brayden Stevens picked up eight more to the 33 and a horsecollar put it on the Panther 31. But Worth County was derailed by a mixup on a pitch play and the ball went out of bounds to put them behind the sticks, and two incomplete passes gave the Panthers the ball back on downs. But Mound City went three and out as Ethan Lininger blew up a shovel pass on third and four and the Panthers were forced to punt, pinning Worth County at the 9.
The six man front for Mound City created problems for Worth County, but finally, Brayden Stevens got a block from Landon Wilmes and took it 68 yards to the house and Landon Wilmes caught the extra point pass to make it 44-8 with 4:20 left in the third.
But then the sloppy play that hurt the Tigers against Platte Valley hurt them again on the next drive. They picked up three defensive penalties, a late hit, a five yard facemask, and a pass interference that helped the Panthers down the field and set up Roup’s one yard run with 9:31 left to make it 44-14.
But after Worth County went three and out on its next series, they picked it up defensively on Mound City’s last two possessions, getting two tackles for loss from Bo Collins and one from Landon Wilmes and a sack from Sawyer Thurman.
No comments:
Post a Comment