+ State's Economic Development Director resigns [Entered: 09/18/2009]The state official in charge of creating jobs in Missouri resigned on Sept. 14.The letter of resignation from the director of the Department of Economic Development, Linda Martinez, was submitted and accepted by Gov. Jay Nixon, but neither Nixon nor Martinez were available to explain why she resigned only eight months after receiving her post.However, Martinez wrote to Nixon, "I am sorry we have been unable to meet and therefore we have been unable to discuss and reconcile our different views on how to move the state that we both love forward." Get the extended story here. [ http://www.mdn.org/2009/STORIES/MRESIGN.HTM ]
+ Supreme Court files motion to suspend law license of embattled former lawmaker [Entered: 09/18/2009] Despite reports from several news agencies that embattled former state Rep. Steve Brown, D-St. Louis County, had refused to turn in his law license, the Supreme Court confirmed Sept. 14 that it had received Brown's petition for voluntary suspension.Art Magulis, Brown's attorney, said he sent the petition, along with Brown's license, to the court's disciplinary council office on Sept 9. The Supreme Court made a motion to suspend his license on Sept. 11. Although the court has received Brown's petition, the suspension is not automatic, and the chief disciplinary council will still have to review the petition and make a recommendation before any final action is taken. Brown resigned from the Missouri House of Representatives last month after pleading guilty to federal obstruction of justice charges relating to the unsuccessful congressional race of former state Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis City.Brown's sentencing date is set for Nov. 20.
+ Missouri legislators didn't overturn any vetoes made by the governor [Entered: 09/18/2009]In the annual veto session held in Jefferson City on Sept. 16, Missouri lawmakers upheld all vetoes made by Gov. Jay Nixon following the 2009 legislative session. By a straight party-line vote, Missouri's House upheld the Democrat governor's veto of a measure to require the administration give legislators keys to the top of the Capitol.The dome-key measure was the only veto for which even a motion was made at the veto session.The override motion failed 86-71 -- well short of the 109 votes need for a two-thirds majority to override a governor's veto.The bill's original sponsor, state Rep. Jason Smith, R-Salem, said it also contained more important financial oversight provisions that outweighed worries about issuing extra keys to the Capitol's dome area.Four of Nixon's vetoes were brought to the House floor, with three withdrawn after brief debate.In the Senate, not a single motion for an override was made as the lieutenant governor read off the list of bills vetoed by the governor. Get the extended story here. [ http://www.mdn.org/2009/STORIES/NOVETO.HTM ]
+ State sees increase in student loan defaults [Entered: 09/18/2009]The Missouri Department of Higher Education showed a 40 percent increase of student loan defaults.The department released figures that showed 4,617 borrowers from across the state are in default on their student loans -- up 40 percent since 2008.State officials attributed this increase to the current economic climate and high unemployment rates."When people lose their jobs or are working less, they typically have to prioritize things like housing and food. Sometimes they're not able to make a payment like a student loan payment -- that might lead to create a default," said Paul Wagner, deputy commissioner of the state's higher education department.Get the extended story here. [ http://www.mdn.org/2009/STORIES/LOAN.HTM ]
+ Missouri taxpayers will contribute $171 million to state pension fund next year [Entered: 09/18/2009]The pension board for state workers decided Sept. 17 that the state will need to kick $276 million into the pension fund for state employees next year -- a $20 million increase over the current budget year, according to the state budget office.The payment is the result of the national economic downturn that cut the investment returns on the retirement fund.While large, the amount approved by the pension board is a bit lower than the original $303 million estimate, thanks to a change in accounting practices.Money for the pension fund is derived from two sources: state contributions and investment earnings. Get an extended story here. [ http://www.mdn.org/2009/STORIES/MOPEN.HTM ]
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Reeling Bluejays Drop 3rd Straight
The reeling Northeast Nodaway Bluejays dropped their third straight game last Tuesday, a 15-1 rout against an 8-9 DeKalb squad. But Coach Rex Wallace said that their 8-9 record didn't mean anything. "Look who they played," he said. "Lafyette, Cameron. Whitney Wardlow was one of the fastest pitchers we have seen and she's only a freshman. They hit well and field well and they're well-coached."
Northeast had one chance to survive -- don't let the Tigers jump on them early. But they failed to make two routine plays in the top of the first that would have gotten them out of the inning with only one run scored. Doubles by Paige Hartman and Kaley Pyles got DeKalb's first run home; that should have been their only run, but back to back dropped pop flies let two more runs in and left Northeast down 3-0.
The Bluejays then continued their struggles at the plate from the Union Star Tournament as the umpire was generous in calling the same kind of low strike zone that the players had trouble with in that tournament. Emily Bryant walked and stole second with one out, but she was left stranded there as Rachel Runde and Blair Schmitz struck out.
Shawna Bomberger led off the second for DeKalb by hitting a pop fly single to lead off. Northeast tried to get her on a force play at second, but she beat the throw there to set up the big inning for the Tigers. Northeast pitcher Taylor Dougan then began to fight the strike zone as she walked Hartman and McKenzie Reagan to force in one run. Kaley Piles' pop fly single scored two and Casey Martin's grounder to first scored another one to make it 7-0. The damage could have been worse but Rachel Runde snared a high chopper for one out and Emily Bryant speared a hard-hit line drive for the third out of the second.
Northeast failed to solve Wardlow in the second as they struck out the side in the inning. But the Bluejays turned around and held DeKalb to no runs in the third as Hallie Oelze snared another hard-hit line drive and Taylor Dougan struck out Pyles with two on and two out to keep it at 7-0.
Mallorie Peters led off the Bluejay third with a scratch hit, a pop fly that dropped in no man's land between the plate and the mound; that hit seemed to break the ice for Northeast as they began to catch up to Wardlow's pitching and at least put the ball in play. She went to second on a wild pitch, but Allison Carter grounded out to first, Taylor Dougan was called out on strikes by one of the umpire's patented ankle-high calls, and Emily Bryant popped out.
The Bluejays almost got out of the fourth with no damage done, but once again, the Tigers struck with two outs. This game was a game of almosts -- DeKalb scored many of their runs with two outs. Casey Martin popped out to Oelze at second. Tymber Johnson walked, but Taylor Dougan threw a nice change to Wardlow to strike her out. But Whitney Hickman singled just under Bryant's glove at short, Bomberger walked to load the bases, and Zoe Link hit a line drive just over Emily Bryant's glove for a single to score two to make it 9-0. Again -- almost. That seems to be the difference between Northeast and the upper-level teams.
Northeast finally got one over the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Rachel Runde walked and Blair Schmitz reached on an error when Bomberger bobbled a grounder at third. Hallie Oelze hit a pop fly single behind the bag at first and down the line to score Runde to make it 9-1. Sarah Fox loaded the bases with nobody out with a walk and it looked like a possible repeat of the Pattonsburg game was in the air. But then the plate umpire came to the rescue of Wardlow and the Tigers with one of his patented ankle high strike calls on Kristan Judd for strike three and Mallorie Peters struck out as well. Allison Carter hit a pop fly that looked like it might drop in between the mound and short, but Pyles made a diving catch to keep Northeast from scoring any more runs. Again -- almost.
Once again, Northeast got DeKalb to two outs and once again, they could not close the deal. With one out, Pyles tripled down the line in left. Casey Martin hit a grounder to Bryant at short; Bryant looked Pyles back perfectly and threw to first without Pyles scoring. But Tymber Johnson singled Pyles home with two outs to make it 10-1. It looked like DeKalb would end the game on the ten-run rule as Wardlow was hit by a pitch and Hickman walked to load the bases. Bomberger hit a grounder to Dougan at the mound, who threw a high throw to first. But Blair Schmitz stretched high to bring it down and Northeast lived to fight another inning.
Rachel Runde walked with two outs and went to second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth, but they could not score her as Blair Schmitz popped out to end the frame. Dougan then fought the strike zone in the top of the sixth and DeKalb took full advantage; Dougan walked three batters and hit one to force one run in; Casey Martin singled to right to plate two, Valerie Ford reached on a dropped fly ball to score one, and Wardlow singled between third and short for the final run. Dougan then walked Alyssa Jones to load the bases with nobody out, but then struck out Kim Helton looking and then catcher Kristan Judd picked off Ford from third. Dougan then struck out Link to get out of the sixth.
With two outs in the sixth, Kristan Judd was hit by a pitch and Mallorie Peters walked; they went to second and third on a wild pitch. But Katrina Freemeyer was caught looking to end the game.
Northeast had one chance to survive -- don't let the Tigers jump on them early. But they failed to make two routine plays in the top of the first that would have gotten them out of the inning with only one run scored. Doubles by Paige Hartman and Kaley Pyles got DeKalb's first run home; that should have been their only run, but back to back dropped pop flies let two more runs in and left Northeast down 3-0.
The Bluejays then continued their struggles at the plate from the Union Star Tournament as the umpire was generous in calling the same kind of low strike zone that the players had trouble with in that tournament. Emily Bryant walked and stole second with one out, but she was left stranded there as Rachel Runde and Blair Schmitz struck out.
Shawna Bomberger led off the second for DeKalb by hitting a pop fly single to lead off. Northeast tried to get her on a force play at second, but she beat the throw there to set up the big inning for the Tigers. Northeast pitcher Taylor Dougan then began to fight the strike zone as she walked Hartman and McKenzie Reagan to force in one run. Kaley Piles' pop fly single scored two and Casey Martin's grounder to first scored another one to make it 7-0. The damage could have been worse but Rachel Runde snared a high chopper for one out and Emily Bryant speared a hard-hit line drive for the third out of the second.
Northeast failed to solve Wardlow in the second as they struck out the side in the inning. But the Bluejays turned around and held DeKalb to no runs in the third as Hallie Oelze snared another hard-hit line drive and Taylor Dougan struck out Pyles with two on and two out to keep it at 7-0.
Mallorie Peters led off the Bluejay third with a scratch hit, a pop fly that dropped in no man's land between the plate and the mound; that hit seemed to break the ice for Northeast as they began to catch up to Wardlow's pitching and at least put the ball in play. She went to second on a wild pitch, but Allison Carter grounded out to first, Taylor Dougan was called out on strikes by one of the umpire's patented ankle-high calls, and Emily Bryant popped out.
The Bluejays almost got out of the fourth with no damage done, but once again, the Tigers struck with two outs. This game was a game of almosts -- DeKalb scored many of their runs with two outs. Casey Martin popped out to Oelze at second. Tymber Johnson walked, but Taylor Dougan threw a nice change to Wardlow to strike her out. But Whitney Hickman singled just under Bryant's glove at short, Bomberger walked to load the bases, and Zoe Link hit a line drive just over Emily Bryant's glove for a single to score two to make it 9-0. Again -- almost. That seems to be the difference between Northeast and the upper-level teams.
Northeast finally got one over the plate in the bottom of the fourth. Rachel Runde walked and Blair Schmitz reached on an error when Bomberger bobbled a grounder at third. Hallie Oelze hit a pop fly single behind the bag at first and down the line to score Runde to make it 9-1. Sarah Fox loaded the bases with nobody out with a walk and it looked like a possible repeat of the Pattonsburg game was in the air. But then the plate umpire came to the rescue of Wardlow and the Tigers with one of his patented ankle high strike calls on Kristan Judd for strike three and Mallorie Peters struck out as well. Allison Carter hit a pop fly that looked like it might drop in between the mound and short, but Pyles made a diving catch to keep Northeast from scoring any more runs. Again -- almost.
Once again, Northeast got DeKalb to two outs and once again, they could not close the deal. With one out, Pyles tripled down the line in left. Casey Martin hit a grounder to Bryant at short; Bryant looked Pyles back perfectly and threw to first without Pyles scoring. But Tymber Johnson singled Pyles home with two outs to make it 10-1. It looked like DeKalb would end the game on the ten-run rule as Wardlow was hit by a pitch and Hickman walked to load the bases. Bomberger hit a grounder to Dougan at the mound, who threw a high throw to first. But Blair Schmitz stretched high to bring it down and Northeast lived to fight another inning.
Rachel Runde walked with two outs and went to second on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth, but they could not score her as Blair Schmitz popped out to end the frame. Dougan then fought the strike zone in the top of the sixth and DeKalb took full advantage; Dougan walked three batters and hit one to force one run in; Casey Martin singled to right to plate two, Valerie Ford reached on a dropped fly ball to score one, and Wardlow singled between third and short for the final run. Dougan then walked Alyssa Jones to load the bases with nobody out, but then struck out Kim Helton looking and then catcher Kristan Judd picked off Ford from third. Dougan then struck out Link to get out of the sixth.
With two outs in the sixth, Kristan Judd was hit by a pitch and Mallorie Peters walked; they went to second and third on a wild pitch. But Katrina Freemeyer was caught looking to end the game.
Tigers Down Kickapoo Nation 68-14 in Final Tuneup Before Mound City
Worth County beat Kickapoo Nation out of Kansas 68-14 in its final tuneup before its game against Mound City next Friday in Mound City in a game called at halftime. The Tigers ended the game early as the JV saw much of the playing time Friday.
Barrett Baker returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown as he ran straight up the middle and there was a hole big enough for a truck to drive through and he bounced to the right side for the score with 11:45 left in the first quarter. J.J. Mullock missed the extra point, but he would go on to nail six in what may have been a record-setting performance.
Kickapoo got the ball back on their own 13 and handed the ball off to Lumper Cadue. Listed at 6'1" and 206, that weight seemed low as he was a load to bring down as he was one of the bigger backs that the Tigers will see this year. It took three or four Tigers to bring him down at times. But on their first series, the Tigers stopped the Warriors cold as Barrett Baker and Dallas Greenland led a surge that stopped Cadue cold on third and four after he had bounced off one tackler. On the ensuing punt play, Josh Wagner shot up the middle and tackled the punter for a loss of three and the Tigers got the ball on the Kickapoo 16. The Warriors would shoot themselves in the foot with poor special teams play all night.
Worth County only needed two plays to get its second score as an encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 11 and then Barrett Baker took a sweep to the house with 9:50 left. Josh Wagner got the carry for the extra points and bulldozed his defender for the last yard to make it 14-0.
After Kickapoo got the ball on its own 15, Josh Wagner jumped the snap count and disrupted their first play from scrimmage and Alex Harmening was there to clean up Andrew Darnell for a one yard loss. A fumbled snap made it third and long and Cadue dropped a pass as Cody Green applied the pressure and Dallas Greenland made the hit on Cadue.
This time, Kickapoo got off a good punt and put the Tigers on their own 30. But Worth County only needed one play to score as Zach Harmening aired it out to Alex Harmening for a 50-yard strike to make it 20-0 with 7:59 left.
Cadue caught a short pass and turned it into a first down for Kickapoo, but an obvious block in the back penalty wiped it out. Adam Summers then intercepted a pass on third down to give the Tigers the ball on the Kickapoo 36. Once again, they needed only one play to score; this time, Eli Mullock took a sweep to the right side and outran everyone for the score to make it 26-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
Brian Hall and Adam Summers buried the Warrior's kick returned on the 13 and a false start penalty moved it back to the 8. The Warriors handed off to Cadue, but he was met by four Tiger defenders after two yards. He caught a screen pass for five yards but then Summers had perfect coverage on third and eight from the 15 and Kickapoo was forced to punt. Jordan Harding fielded the ensuing kick as Coach Chuck Borey began subbing his JV in at that point and he returned it for a touchdown with 4:32 left. J.J. Mullock nailed the first of six extra point kicks to make it 33-0.
Cadue finally found daylight against the Tigers as he got loose for a 31-yard sweep to the Tiger 35 on the next possession for Kickapoo. But the Warriors stalled there as a botched handoff made it second and 14. A flat pass to Cadue went nowhere as he was met by Mitch Andrews and Bryson Scott for a loss of 1. Two incomplete passes gave the Tigers the ball on downs; Adam Summers batted away the second pass intended for Cadue.
Once again, the Tigers would only need two plays to score. Josh Wagner took a counter sweep to the left, jumped to the outside, hurdled a defender, and ran for 39 yards before being brought down at the 11. Wagner would not be denied the end zone as he would take another sweep, barrell over a defender at the 3, and get into the end zone with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Mullock's second kick of the night made it 40-0.
The ensuing kickoff rolled under Andrew Darnell's legs and he had to fall on it at his own 3. But that only made things more interesting for Kickapoo's first score; Cadue jumped to the outside on a simple dive play up the middle and outran everybody on the Warriors' first play from scrimmage. Darnell ran in the extra points to make it 40-8. With nothing to lose, Kickapoo tried an onsides kick, but Dallas Greenland picked it up and returned it to the Warriors' 21. On their only play from scrimmage, the Tigers carried out a perfect fake to Eli Mullock and Barrett Baker was untouched on a sweep that gave the Tigers another score with 1:48 left. J.J. Mullock kicked his third extra point of the night to make it 47-8.
Kickapoo's special teams woes continued as they tried to let a punt go out of bounds, but it rolled dead in play at the 9; they barely fell on it in time to avoid the Tigers recovering it. Cadue's first carry went nowhere as Mitch Andrews and three other defenders met him for a two yard gain. Cody Straight and Adam Summers met Andrew Darnell for no gain to set up third and eight. On the ensuing pass play, Cody Straight, known by his nickname of "Tater," recorded the sack to force the Warriors to punt. Adam Summers took the punt and Jordan Harding took out a defender much bigger than himself to spring him free for the final 10 yards and a score.
Once again, Kickapoo had trouble with its special teams as Robbie Savago let a kickoff get by him and had to fall on it at the 8. Cadue got a pair of six-yarders for the Warriors, but after his second carry, he was stripped of the ball and Mitch Andrews fell on it at the Kickapoo 20. A fumble set the Tigers back third and 9 at the 19, but Dallas Greenland took a sweep, juked a defender at the five, and drove two other defenders into the end zone. J.J. Mullock's fifth extra point kick made it 61-8 with 9:41 left in the second half.
Worth County made a special teams miscue for once when their ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Warriors the ball at their own 35. Kickapoo responded with a 10 play 55 yard drive that took up most of the right of the first half. Cadue was a workhorse on the drive, getting six carries. Finally, Cadue got into the end zone with 2:58 left in the half to make it 61-14.
Another onsides kick was unsuccessful and the Tigers got the ball on their own 35. Coach Borey wanted to set up a field goal for J.J. Mullock, which would have been Worth County's first in decades, but you can't ask the players not to run the ball -- Adam Summers, playing reserve quarterback, carried out a fake that fooled everyone and nobody realized he had the ball on an end around until it was too late. His 37-yard run was the final score of the night for the Tigers and J.J. Mullock's sixth extra point kick made it 68-14 with 1:57 left. John Younce tried his hand at kicking off the ball and sent a towering kick that pinned the Warriors back at their own 19 and helped deny them a chance to score again before half.
The Tigers learned that backup center Logan Ridge would be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL and MCL. However, Wyatt McClain saw action Friday on defense, where he forced a fumble from the nose tackle position. Alex Harmening was fine after a concussion suffered against CFX; he was given the go-ahead to play Friday.
Barrett Baker returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown as he ran straight up the middle and there was a hole big enough for a truck to drive through and he bounced to the right side for the score with 11:45 left in the first quarter. J.J. Mullock missed the extra point, but he would go on to nail six in what may have been a record-setting performance.
Kickapoo got the ball back on their own 13 and handed the ball off to Lumper Cadue. Listed at 6'1" and 206, that weight seemed low as he was a load to bring down as he was one of the bigger backs that the Tigers will see this year. It took three or four Tigers to bring him down at times. But on their first series, the Tigers stopped the Warriors cold as Barrett Baker and Dallas Greenland led a surge that stopped Cadue cold on third and four after he had bounced off one tackler. On the ensuing punt play, Josh Wagner shot up the middle and tackled the punter for a loss of three and the Tigers got the ball on the Kickapoo 16. The Warriors would shoot themselves in the foot with poor special teams play all night.
Worth County only needed two plays to get its second score as an encroachment penalty moved the ball to the 11 and then Barrett Baker took a sweep to the house with 9:50 left. Josh Wagner got the carry for the extra points and bulldozed his defender for the last yard to make it 14-0.
After Kickapoo got the ball on its own 15, Josh Wagner jumped the snap count and disrupted their first play from scrimmage and Alex Harmening was there to clean up Andrew Darnell for a one yard loss. A fumbled snap made it third and long and Cadue dropped a pass as Cody Green applied the pressure and Dallas Greenland made the hit on Cadue.
This time, Kickapoo got off a good punt and put the Tigers on their own 30. But Worth County only needed one play to score as Zach Harmening aired it out to Alex Harmening for a 50-yard strike to make it 20-0 with 7:59 left.
Cadue caught a short pass and turned it into a first down for Kickapoo, but an obvious block in the back penalty wiped it out. Adam Summers then intercepted a pass on third down to give the Tigers the ball on the Kickapoo 36. Once again, they needed only one play to score; this time, Eli Mullock took a sweep to the right side and outran everyone for the score to make it 26-0 with 6:19 left in the first quarter.
Brian Hall and Adam Summers buried the Warrior's kick returned on the 13 and a false start penalty moved it back to the 8. The Warriors handed off to Cadue, but he was met by four Tiger defenders after two yards. He caught a screen pass for five yards but then Summers had perfect coverage on third and eight from the 15 and Kickapoo was forced to punt. Jordan Harding fielded the ensuing kick as Coach Chuck Borey began subbing his JV in at that point and he returned it for a touchdown with 4:32 left. J.J. Mullock nailed the first of six extra point kicks to make it 33-0.
Cadue finally found daylight against the Tigers as he got loose for a 31-yard sweep to the Tiger 35 on the next possession for Kickapoo. But the Warriors stalled there as a botched handoff made it second and 14. A flat pass to Cadue went nowhere as he was met by Mitch Andrews and Bryson Scott for a loss of 1. Two incomplete passes gave the Tigers the ball on downs; Adam Summers batted away the second pass intended for Cadue.
Once again, the Tigers would only need two plays to score. Josh Wagner took a counter sweep to the left, jumped to the outside, hurdled a defender, and ran for 39 yards before being brought down at the 11. Wagner would not be denied the end zone as he would take another sweep, barrell over a defender at the 3, and get into the end zone with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Mullock's second kick of the night made it 40-0.
The ensuing kickoff rolled under Andrew Darnell's legs and he had to fall on it at his own 3. But that only made things more interesting for Kickapoo's first score; Cadue jumped to the outside on a simple dive play up the middle and outran everybody on the Warriors' first play from scrimmage. Darnell ran in the extra points to make it 40-8. With nothing to lose, Kickapoo tried an onsides kick, but Dallas Greenland picked it up and returned it to the Warriors' 21. On their only play from scrimmage, the Tigers carried out a perfect fake to Eli Mullock and Barrett Baker was untouched on a sweep that gave the Tigers another score with 1:48 left. J.J. Mullock kicked his third extra point of the night to make it 47-8.
Kickapoo's special teams woes continued as they tried to let a punt go out of bounds, but it rolled dead in play at the 9; they barely fell on it in time to avoid the Tigers recovering it. Cadue's first carry went nowhere as Mitch Andrews and three other defenders met him for a two yard gain. Cody Straight and Adam Summers met Andrew Darnell for no gain to set up third and eight. On the ensuing pass play, Cody Straight, known by his nickname of "Tater," recorded the sack to force the Warriors to punt. Adam Summers took the punt and Jordan Harding took out a defender much bigger than himself to spring him free for the final 10 yards and a score.
Once again, Kickapoo had trouble with its special teams as Robbie Savago let a kickoff get by him and had to fall on it at the 8. Cadue got a pair of six-yarders for the Warriors, but after his second carry, he was stripped of the ball and Mitch Andrews fell on it at the Kickapoo 20. A fumble set the Tigers back third and 9 at the 19, but Dallas Greenland took a sweep, juked a defender at the five, and drove two other defenders into the end zone. J.J. Mullock's fifth extra point kick made it 61-8 with 9:41 left in the second half.
Worth County made a special teams miscue for once when their ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Warriors the ball at their own 35. Kickapoo responded with a 10 play 55 yard drive that took up most of the right of the first half. Cadue was a workhorse on the drive, getting six carries. Finally, Cadue got into the end zone with 2:58 left in the half to make it 61-14.
Another onsides kick was unsuccessful and the Tigers got the ball on their own 35. Coach Borey wanted to set up a field goal for J.J. Mullock, which would have been Worth County's first in decades, but you can't ask the players not to run the ball -- Adam Summers, playing reserve quarterback, carried out a fake that fooled everyone and nobody realized he had the ball on an end around until it was too late. His 37-yard run was the final score of the night for the Tigers and J.J. Mullock's sixth extra point kick made it 68-14 with 1:57 left. John Younce tried his hand at kicking off the ball and sent a towering kick that pinned the Warriors back at their own 19 and helped deny them a chance to score again before half.
The Tigers learned that backup center Logan Ridge would be out for the rest of the year with a torn ACL and MCL. However, Wyatt McClain saw action Friday on defense, where he forced a fumble from the nose tackle position. Alex Harmening was fine after a concussion suffered against CFX; he was given the go-ahead to play Friday.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
School Offers High School Coop Football to Northeast Nodaway
The Worth County School Board, at the request of Superintendent Matt Robinson, voted 5-0 to offer high school coop football to Northeast Nodaway for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years. The school currently coops with Northeast in Junior High Football and 9th graders from last year's program are allowed to play JV; the 'Lil Tigers football program, which is not affiliated with the school, has five Northeast Nodaway students on the team this year. Football Coach Chuck Borey said that it helped Northeast offer opportunities to kids that they would not normally have and that it allowed Worth County to keep its JV and Junior High programs viable. The two schools have a December 1st deadline to notify the Missouri State High School Activities Association of their plan.
One of the possible obstacles had been enrollment; the two schools must combine their 9-12 enrollment figures for coop purposes. Had the combined enrollment of the two schools been over 200, Worth County would have had to return to 11-man football to offer coop football with Northeast; however, the combined 9-12 enrollment was between 175 and 180 for this year. State rules require schools offering eight-man football to have less than 200 students. The Junior High program brought gate and concession revenues up; Northeast Nodaway busses coop students over, meaning that there is no additional expense for Worth County.
The vote was for the High School program; votes on Junior High programs are taken annually. High Schools must decide on coop football every two years so that they can coincide with MSHSAA's district assignments.
Teacher Julia Moore reported on her work teaching high school and junior high students English. She said that she had taught and subbed in many other schools and that Worth County's students were some of the best that she had taught.
Robinson reported that he had spent a lot of time with the MAP data, which is used to assess the school's Adequate Yearly Progress. Tracking classes across the board, Robinson said that only two classes went down and those went down only slightly. He said that the school was "still a little weak" in math but that they had "tremendous improvements" in both math and communication arts. The school has changed its math series in an effort to raise scores in math. In English II, 75% of students were proficient and advanced while the Math figure was 46%. Schools can now apply up to 25% of a student's grade towards the End of Course exams that schools are now allowed to do; Worth County counts 10% of a student's grade towards that.
The board voted to go into closed session to hire two new substitute teachers.
Enrollment for the Elementary School is 187. 86% of families attended the Open House on August 17th. Parent groups have been meeting to plan for the school year. The room parents are: Kindergarten -- Amber Griffin and Kayna Cameron; 1st grade -- Julie Cassavaugh; 2nd grade -- Bobbi Jo Gladstone; 3rd grade -- Kera Galanakis; 4th grade -- Jamie Allee; 5th grade -- Shelly Straight; 6th grade -- Treva Smyser and Stephanie Hardy. Individual pictures were taken on August 25th; close to 50 people attended the SOAR Family Night on August 21st. Six bikes were given away that night. The FFA sponsored a blood drive that was held in the multipurpose room on September 3rd.
Tracy Stone talked with 5th and 6th graders in the activity center about making wise decisions about behaviors. There was no school on September 16th due to professional development for teachers. Progress reports will go out on Friday notes on the 25th; 3rd grade will begin the STAR program on the 28th. On October 14th, there will be a 10:00 start due to in-service for teachers.
The school released its influenza guidelines. The school will screen for influenza-like illnesses and symptoms; students, faculty, and staff who appear to have an influenza-like illness at arrival or who become ill during the school day will be isolated in a room separate from other students, a mask put on, and sent home. Students, faculty, and staff with influenza-like illness such as fever, cough, or sore throat should stay home and not attend school or go into the community except to seek medical care until at least 24 hours after symptoms and fever have gone away; persons must be fever free without aid of medications.
One of the possible obstacles had been enrollment; the two schools must combine their 9-12 enrollment figures for coop purposes. Had the combined enrollment of the two schools been over 200, Worth County would have had to return to 11-man football to offer coop football with Northeast; however, the combined 9-12 enrollment was between 175 and 180 for this year. State rules require schools offering eight-man football to have less than 200 students. The Junior High program brought gate and concession revenues up; Northeast Nodaway busses coop students over, meaning that there is no additional expense for Worth County.
The vote was for the High School program; votes on Junior High programs are taken annually. High Schools must decide on coop football every two years so that they can coincide with MSHSAA's district assignments.
Teacher Julia Moore reported on her work teaching high school and junior high students English. She said that she had taught and subbed in many other schools and that Worth County's students were some of the best that she had taught.
Robinson reported that he had spent a lot of time with the MAP data, which is used to assess the school's Adequate Yearly Progress. Tracking classes across the board, Robinson said that only two classes went down and those went down only slightly. He said that the school was "still a little weak" in math but that they had "tremendous improvements" in both math and communication arts. The school has changed its math series in an effort to raise scores in math. In English II, 75% of students were proficient and advanced while the Math figure was 46%. Schools can now apply up to 25% of a student's grade towards the End of Course exams that schools are now allowed to do; Worth County counts 10% of a student's grade towards that.
The board voted to go into closed session to hire two new substitute teachers.
Enrollment for the Elementary School is 187. 86% of families attended the Open House on August 17th. Parent groups have been meeting to plan for the school year. The room parents are: Kindergarten -- Amber Griffin and Kayna Cameron; 1st grade -- Julie Cassavaugh; 2nd grade -- Bobbi Jo Gladstone; 3rd grade -- Kera Galanakis; 4th grade -- Jamie Allee; 5th grade -- Shelly Straight; 6th grade -- Treva Smyser and Stephanie Hardy. Individual pictures were taken on August 25th; close to 50 people attended the SOAR Family Night on August 21st. Six bikes were given away that night. The FFA sponsored a blood drive that was held in the multipurpose room on September 3rd.
Tracy Stone talked with 5th and 6th graders in the activity center about making wise decisions about behaviors. There was no school on September 16th due to professional development for teachers. Progress reports will go out on Friday notes on the 25th; 3rd grade will begin the STAR program on the 28th. On October 14th, there will be a 10:00 start due to in-service for teachers.
The school released its influenza guidelines. The school will screen for influenza-like illnesses and symptoms; students, faculty, and staff who appear to have an influenza-like illness at arrival or who become ill during the school day will be isolated in a room separate from other students, a mask put on, and sent home. Students, faculty, and staff with influenza-like illness such as fever, cough, or sore throat should stay home and not attend school or go into the community except to seek medical care until at least 24 hours after symptoms and fever have gone away; persons must be fever free without aid of medications.
WCCC Dress Code to be Left Up to Departments
The Worth County Convalescent Center Board voted to allow the custodial, housekeeping, and dietary departments to determine as a department what their employees would wear, within the guidelines set out in the center's dress code. Nurses would not conduct such a meeting; however, they will not be allowed to wear jeans or shorts or shirts that had logos on them and there would be no more Casual Fridays. Nurses would be allowed to wear scrubs like they currently do. The code had been in the policy manual for a long time but had not been enforced. However, Board President Scott Houk said that when a person walks into the facility, they should be able to recognize who is a nurse and who is a custodian, for instance, by the uniforms that they were wearing. Administrator Charlie Green made that point in an earlier interview with the Sheridan Express. Secretary Jozy Moyer said that updating the dress code would help elaborate on what was appropriate attire for employees and what was not. Houk said that it would also help residents identify staff members so that, for instance, if they needed a nurse they could get one.
Board member Kaye Havner said that he wanted the staff to get away from wearing shirts with logos on them and that he wanted them to look more professional, but that he didn't want to see the administration require them to wear a certain color. At that point, resident Jerry Dignan asked to speak. He said that the employees wanted Casual Fridays back and then began to challenge what he saw as Green's failure to follow the WCCC dress code. At that point, Board President Scott Houk declared that since Dignan was not on the agenda that he was out of order. "You had an opportunity to get on the agenda," said Houk. "If you want to speak out, you need to get yourself on the agenda for the next meeting."
The WCCC would pay for the first three uniforms for the employees so that they could meet the dress code standards for the facility; after that, the employees would be responsible. Shirts would have to be clean and in good condition; employees could choose whether they wanted to wear short or long-sleeved shirts. "Most places of employment have dress codes," said Houk. "They make it very clear what you can and can't wear to work." He added that when people say that "everybody" wants a particular dress code, "I don't know who 'everybody' is." Havner said that there had been a lack of communication in the past between administration and employees and other board members agreed that more departmental meetings would help with that problem. "I'm not saying this is wrong, but there needs to be more communication around here," said Havner, saying that he had gotten calls from employees concerned about the dress code.
While the dress code sets out guidelines about what is and isn't appropriate, there are other instances which would not be specifically covered by the code. In that case, Houk said that it would be a matter of the administration deciding what is and isn't appropriate. He said that the policy gave broad discretion to the administration to determine appropriateness; for instance, if someone were to get full arm and face tattoos, the administration could decide that it was not appropriate. "If it becomes an issue, then we would address it," he said.
After further discussion, Moyer said that she didn't have a problem with floral shirts and that for the Director of Nursing, "casual business" was standard. "If you're a professional, then you should look like a professional," added Houk. However, in the past, Moyer said that there had been "way too much wiggle room" in dress code enforcement. However, board members agreed to change the language in the code from "solid" to "same" colors, meaning, for instance, that a department could agree to wear floral shirts as a department.
Department heads would be responsible for setting an example for appropriate dress under the code while shorts or capris would not be allowed. After the departmental meetings and the implementation of the dress code, Houk said that the facility could give families a color code to identify staff.
The board voted to revise the budget, citing decreased revenue from the state. They also voted to approve the 2009-2010 budget.
Cable TV came up for discussion; board member Martha Rush noted that while the WCCC offers free cable to residents, most other facilities don't. Two residents have bought sattelite service as well. Administrator Charlie Green said he would look into getting sattelite for the facility, citing the fact that more and more nursing homes were making that switch.
The board voted to fix the back entrance of the facility for an estimated cost of $600 as well as the area around the hole in the back parking lot for an estimated cost of $22,000. A patch for the hole would have cost $1,860 and might not have held until next spring. Fixing the entire back parking lot would have cost an estimated $60,000 and both Houk and Green said that there were other priorities. Green said that the boilers were original and that the facility was looking at going to air conditioning and cooling for individual rooms. He said that it would partially pay for itself in reduced energy costs for the facility. Green said that he would draw up a list of needs and prioritize them for the board.
The board voted to renew membership in the Missouri Healthcare Association; Green said that they were able to go to meetings and discuss common issues, meet with state officials, keep up to date with regulations, do background checks on employees, get training and licenses for employees at reduced cost, and send residents to beauty contests.
Board member Kaye Havner said that he wanted the staff to get away from wearing shirts with logos on them and that he wanted them to look more professional, but that he didn't want to see the administration require them to wear a certain color. At that point, resident Jerry Dignan asked to speak. He said that the employees wanted Casual Fridays back and then began to challenge what he saw as Green's failure to follow the WCCC dress code. At that point, Board President Scott Houk declared that since Dignan was not on the agenda that he was out of order. "You had an opportunity to get on the agenda," said Houk. "If you want to speak out, you need to get yourself on the agenda for the next meeting."
The WCCC would pay for the first three uniforms for the employees so that they could meet the dress code standards for the facility; after that, the employees would be responsible. Shirts would have to be clean and in good condition; employees could choose whether they wanted to wear short or long-sleeved shirts. "Most places of employment have dress codes," said Houk. "They make it very clear what you can and can't wear to work." He added that when people say that "everybody" wants a particular dress code, "I don't know who 'everybody' is." Havner said that there had been a lack of communication in the past between administration and employees and other board members agreed that more departmental meetings would help with that problem. "I'm not saying this is wrong, but there needs to be more communication around here," said Havner, saying that he had gotten calls from employees concerned about the dress code.
While the dress code sets out guidelines about what is and isn't appropriate, there are other instances which would not be specifically covered by the code. In that case, Houk said that it would be a matter of the administration deciding what is and isn't appropriate. He said that the policy gave broad discretion to the administration to determine appropriateness; for instance, if someone were to get full arm and face tattoos, the administration could decide that it was not appropriate. "If it becomes an issue, then we would address it," he said.
After further discussion, Moyer said that she didn't have a problem with floral shirts and that for the Director of Nursing, "casual business" was standard. "If you're a professional, then you should look like a professional," added Houk. However, in the past, Moyer said that there had been "way too much wiggle room" in dress code enforcement. However, board members agreed to change the language in the code from "solid" to "same" colors, meaning, for instance, that a department could agree to wear floral shirts as a department.
Department heads would be responsible for setting an example for appropriate dress under the code while shorts or capris would not be allowed. After the departmental meetings and the implementation of the dress code, Houk said that the facility could give families a color code to identify staff.
The board voted to revise the budget, citing decreased revenue from the state. They also voted to approve the 2009-2010 budget.
Cable TV came up for discussion; board member Martha Rush noted that while the WCCC offers free cable to residents, most other facilities don't. Two residents have bought sattelite service as well. Administrator Charlie Green said he would look into getting sattelite for the facility, citing the fact that more and more nursing homes were making that switch.
The board voted to fix the back entrance of the facility for an estimated cost of $600 as well as the area around the hole in the back parking lot for an estimated cost of $22,000. A patch for the hole would have cost $1,860 and might not have held until next spring. Fixing the entire back parking lot would have cost an estimated $60,000 and both Houk and Green said that there were other priorities. Green said that the boilers were original and that the facility was looking at going to air conditioning and cooling for individual rooms. He said that it would partially pay for itself in reduced energy costs for the facility. Green said that he would draw up a list of needs and prioritize them for the board.
The board voted to renew membership in the Missouri Healthcare Association; Green said that they were able to go to meetings and discuss common issues, meet with state officials, keep up to date with regulations, do background checks on employees, get training and licenses for employees at reduced cost, and send residents to beauty contests.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Austin Says Teen Drinking Problem Continuing
Presiding Commissioner Kevin Austin addressed the Grant City Council Wednesday and said that there continued to be a teen drinking problem, especially in the Hy-Vee Parking Lot at night hours. He said that current sheriff Terry Sheddrick was doing what he could but that the city could use a night watchman for the weekends and that there was a continuing problem with teen drinking in the city. In addition, he said that Country Corners, the business that he owns, was broken into again with $10,000 worth of cigarettes stolen. He said that college kids were supplying high school freshmen and sophomores with drinks and that one night when he drove by at 3 in the morning, "the Hy-Vee parking lot was completely full of kids who were totally drunk." He said that he feared that one morning, one kid would be killed in a wreck. In fact, he said that one night he observed a truck pull over and drop off a "whole truckload" of beer cans along the road; sure enough, another car full of teens came by later and picked them up.
Austin said that Sheddrick's position was that he could do nothing without a sign against loitering posted by Hy-Vee because they cannot go onto private property unless they actually observe a crime being committed. The US Constitution protects US citizens against arrests without probable cause and against searches without a warrant. In the past, Austin said that law enforcement's response was to come by and pour beer cans out without arresting anyone. "It doesn't look for for the city, Hy-Vee, or the county to have this problem continuing," he said. Subsequently, Austin told the Sheridan Express Tuesday that he had met with Donnie Waldeier, the manager of the Grant City Hy-Vee, who had agreed to cooperate.
Austin said that part of the problem was a lack of supervision from parents. "I've talked to some parents about this," he said. "Some are willing to help, but others feel that the Hy-Vee parking lot is like a babysitter for them. I actually had one parent tell me, 'At least I know where my child is.'" Austin said that it was better for parents to have their children hauled in than for them to get a visit from the sheriff to tell them their child was just killed in a car wreck. Austin said that he didn't have that problem at Country Corners because he said that the kids knew that if he found them there, they would be escorted off. Casey's has a "no loitering" sign prominently posted on their property and will prosecute persons for loitering on their premises.
The council voted to proclaim October 3rd as National Lion's Club Appreciation Day; Mayor Roach signed the proclamation afterwards.
Economic Developer Charity Austin reported that the city has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the Downtown Renovation Project that is being paid for with the $367,500 appropriation from the federal government. An engineer will come in two weeks to begin work on the project. It will involve decorative lighting on the outside of the square as well as curb and sidewalk work. There will also be handicapped access on the corners. The city will handle the bidding for the project while the MODOT will administer the money. The city will seek to use as many local contractors as possible in the project. State prevailing wage requirements will apply.
The city will close off all of the square on Saturday, September 26th for the Fall Festival and part of the square for the remainder of the event.
Jim Larson reported on the progress of the project for the new firehouse. They met with the architect Thursday and are in the process of drawing up the plans as well as surveying for the land needed. The city will sign over the property south of the basketball court to the Fire Department as part of the project. The city said that they could demolish the building with the equipment that they have; if the fire department were to demolish it, Larson said that it would add to the cost of the project. The plan is to get bids early next year and to start construction shortly afterwards. None of this will be contingent on purchasing any of the old railroad property. Presiding Commissioner Kevin Austin ruled out moving the sheriff's office there, saying that there was no money or feasibility to move him there.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that the mower tractor was fixed and that city employees were working on the lagoon. The Pool Park has been tiled; a leak at the booster station was fixed and a pump was switched out at the lift station. The city put a yield sign on the intersection of High Street and Lover's Lane and a stop sign on the south end of East Avenue. Staton met with the engineers over the proposed water main project and city crews took down a tree that was in the way of the Nature Trail. There was a leak on the main leading to the Middlefork plant south of Worth; there was a sewer issue on 3rd street that turned out to be on the customer's side of the line. Staton got his water license and is currently undergoing training for sewers; the council voted to pay for two nights of lodging for Staton and Water Superintendent Greg Miller down at the Lake of the Ozarks late in October for training.
Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that the Missouri Rural Water Association was willing to help with the replacement of the 11-mile water main as well as with getting al the city's sewer lines, water lines, and hydrants on GPS. Morin will find out more information about the project and report back to the council.
The council voted to join the Northwest Missouri Wholesale Water Commission. Councilman Bruce Downing said that there was "not a whole lot of choice" in the matter. The city will not be obligated to buy water from the commission and it was expected that they would not begin supplying water to the region until 8-9 years down the road. The council appointed Water Superintendent Greg Miller as the city's representative to the board and councilman Bruce Downing as the alternative representative. The contract specifies that the city's representative shall be the Water Superintendent and that the alternate representative be a councilman appointed by the mayor.
The city got a letter from Middlefork Water Company stating that their water passes all DNR tests and is perfectly safe to drink. Mayor Roach suggested that someone from the city could attend Rural Water District meetings, saying that it would help with communication between the city and the Rural Water District. The council agreed to send a cover letter offering to attend the meetings if needed. The Rural Water District buys water off of the city; the contracts between the city and both the Rural Water District and Middlefork Water Company are up for renewal in 2011.
90 of the 175 surveys that are needed for the $1 million 11-mile water main project have been returned; there were concerns expressed that the penciled numbers on the forms meant that forms could be traced to individuals. The city explained that the surveys were beyond their control and that they were done by the Missouri Department of Economic Development and not the city. The numbers cannot be used by either the city or the DED to identify individuals.
The next step in the Nature Trail Project will be to move a light pole that is in the way of the trail and to mark out the second stage of the trail. The county may donate some time to the project; it was estimated that the light pole could be moved a day. The city learned that Dudley Davidson and Dennis Downing had skid steers that might be used for the project.
The city got the paperwork turned in for the bathhouse project for the pool; the Missouri Department of Revenue has recommended approval for the project. The city will learn by October whether or not they have gotten approved for the project.
The council voted to retain the water in the pool over the winter citing decreased pressure on the walls. The consultant involved with the plan refused to make a recommendation, citing the fact that putting a pool within a pool as the city did was unique and that there were no precedents on whether to keep water in or drain the pool as the city had the old one. The leak in the pipe was determined to be small enough that it did not need fixing. The city will do work on the pipes that lead from the drains so that they will not freeze during the winter. In the spring, the city will flush the pipes.
Emergency Management Director Pat Kobbe and Mayor Roach will attend a Department of Homeland Security Oversight Committee meeting.
The council awarded the contract for updating the city's codes to Sullivan Publications for a cost of $520. There have been 33 new pages of ordinances passed by the city since the last time the codes were updated two years ago. The vote was 3-1 with Bruce Downing opposed. Supporters of the motion said that the work was needed to keep the books from getting into the state they were in 10 years ago, when it cost the city thousands of dollars to update them. Downing said that the cost for the work was too high.
The city is in the process of putting in a bid to the state to host the Department of Revenue office. The city will have to put up a video camera in the office for security purposes; the 33 pages of paperwork for the bid are due by September 29th.
Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that the city had gotten a letter from the DNR informing them about grant opportunities to pay for the engineering phase of the 11-mile water line from Middlefork to the city. The paperwork is due by October 30th; the council directed the city to pursue the grant.
Austin said that Sheddrick's position was that he could do nothing without a sign against loitering posted by Hy-Vee because they cannot go onto private property unless they actually observe a crime being committed. The US Constitution protects US citizens against arrests without probable cause and against searches without a warrant. In the past, Austin said that law enforcement's response was to come by and pour beer cans out without arresting anyone. "It doesn't look for for the city, Hy-Vee, or the county to have this problem continuing," he said. Subsequently, Austin told the Sheridan Express Tuesday that he had met with Donnie Waldeier, the manager of the Grant City Hy-Vee, who had agreed to cooperate.
Austin said that part of the problem was a lack of supervision from parents. "I've talked to some parents about this," he said. "Some are willing to help, but others feel that the Hy-Vee parking lot is like a babysitter for them. I actually had one parent tell me, 'At least I know where my child is.'" Austin said that it was better for parents to have their children hauled in than for them to get a visit from the sheriff to tell them their child was just killed in a car wreck. Austin said that he didn't have that problem at Country Corners because he said that the kids knew that if he found them there, they would be escorted off. Casey's has a "no loitering" sign prominently posted on their property and will prosecute persons for loitering on their premises.
The council voted to proclaim October 3rd as National Lion's Club Appreciation Day; Mayor Roach signed the proclamation afterwards.
Economic Developer Charity Austin reported that the city has been given the go-ahead to proceed with the Downtown Renovation Project that is being paid for with the $367,500 appropriation from the federal government. An engineer will come in two weeks to begin work on the project. It will involve decorative lighting on the outside of the square as well as curb and sidewalk work. There will also be handicapped access on the corners. The city will handle the bidding for the project while the MODOT will administer the money. The city will seek to use as many local contractors as possible in the project. State prevailing wage requirements will apply.
The city will close off all of the square on Saturday, September 26th for the Fall Festival and part of the square for the remainder of the event.
Jim Larson reported on the progress of the project for the new firehouse. They met with the architect Thursday and are in the process of drawing up the plans as well as surveying for the land needed. The city will sign over the property south of the basketball court to the Fire Department as part of the project. The city said that they could demolish the building with the equipment that they have; if the fire department were to demolish it, Larson said that it would add to the cost of the project. The plan is to get bids early next year and to start construction shortly afterwards. None of this will be contingent on purchasing any of the old railroad property. Presiding Commissioner Kevin Austin ruled out moving the sheriff's office there, saying that there was no money or feasibility to move him there.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that the mower tractor was fixed and that city employees were working on the lagoon. The Pool Park has been tiled; a leak at the booster station was fixed and a pump was switched out at the lift station. The city put a yield sign on the intersection of High Street and Lover's Lane and a stop sign on the south end of East Avenue. Staton met with the engineers over the proposed water main project and city crews took down a tree that was in the way of the Nature Trail. There was a leak on the main leading to the Middlefork plant south of Worth; there was a sewer issue on 3rd street that turned out to be on the customer's side of the line. Staton got his water license and is currently undergoing training for sewers; the council voted to pay for two nights of lodging for Staton and Water Superintendent Greg Miller down at the Lake of the Ozarks late in October for training.
Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that the Missouri Rural Water Association was willing to help with the replacement of the 11-mile water main as well as with getting al the city's sewer lines, water lines, and hydrants on GPS. Morin will find out more information about the project and report back to the council.
The council voted to join the Northwest Missouri Wholesale Water Commission. Councilman Bruce Downing said that there was "not a whole lot of choice" in the matter. The city will not be obligated to buy water from the commission and it was expected that they would not begin supplying water to the region until 8-9 years down the road. The council appointed Water Superintendent Greg Miller as the city's representative to the board and councilman Bruce Downing as the alternative representative. The contract specifies that the city's representative shall be the Water Superintendent and that the alternate representative be a councilman appointed by the mayor.
The city got a letter from Middlefork Water Company stating that their water passes all DNR tests and is perfectly safe to drink. Mayor Roach suggested that someone from the city could attend Rural Water District meetings, saying that it would help with communication between the city and the Rural Water District. The council agreed to send a cover letter offering to attend the meetings if needed. The Rural Water District buys water off of the city; the contracts between the city and both the Rural Water District and Middlefork Water Company are up for renewal in 2011.
90 of the 175 surveys that are needed for the $1 million 11-mile water main project have been returned; there were concerns expressed that the penciled numbers on the forms meant that forms could be traced to individuals. The city explained that the surveys were beyond their control and that they were done by the Missouri Department of Economic Development and not the city. The numbers cannot be used by either the city or the DED to identify individuals.
The next step in the Nature Trail Project will be to move a light pole that is in the way of the trail and to mark out the second stage of the trail. The county may donate some time to the project; it was estimated that the light pole could be moved a day. The city learned that Dudley Davidson and Dennis Downing had skid steers that might be used for the project.
The city got the paperwork turned in for the bathhouse project for the pool; the Missouri Department of Revenue has recommended approval for the project. The city will learn by October whether or not they have gotten approved for the project.
The council voted to retain the water in the pool over the winter citing decreased pressure on the walls. The consultant involved with the plan refused to make a recommendation, citing the fact that putting a pool within a pool as the city did was unique and that there were no precedents on whether to keep water in or drain the pool as the city had the old one. The leak in the pipe was determined to be small enough that it did not need fixing. The city will do work on the pipes that lead from the drains so that they will not freeze during the winter. In the spring, the city will flush the pipes.
Emergency Management Director Pat Kobbe and Mayor Roach will attend a Department of Homeland Security Oversight Committee meeting.
The council awarded the contract for updating the city's codes to Sullivan Publications for a cost of $520. There have been 33 new pages of ordinances passed by the city since the last time the codes were updated two years ago. The vote was 3-1 with Bruce Downing opposed. Supporters of the motion said that the work was needed to keep the books from getting into the state they were in 10 years ago, when it cost the city thousands of dollars to update them. Downing said that the cost for the work was too high.
The city is in the process of putting in a bid to the state to host the Department of Revenue office. The city will have to put up a video camera in the office for security purposes; the 33 pages of paperwork for the bid are due by September 29th.
Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that the city had gotten a letter from the DNR informing them about grant opportunities to pay for the engineering phase of the 11-mile water line from Middlefork to the city. The paperwork is due by October 30th; the council directed the city to pursue the grant.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tigers Go Through Four Centers, Still Beat CFX 56-34
Before the season started, there were concerns about Worth County's depth -- how would they respond when they had to deal with injuries. Friday night, they went through four centers and still moved the ball at will on the CFX Hornets to win 56-34. The Tigers were victimized by CFX players who would chop block their centers below the knees; that is illegal under high school football rules, which are designed to protect centers from such injuries. However, the refereeing crew followed a double standard for the two teams all night -- they did not penalize CFX players for chopping at the knees, but simply talked to them. The CFX players obviously got the message that the refs didn't really mean what they were saying about not cutting people at the knees. On the other hand, they would penalize the Tigers and call back long touchdown runs without warning them against whatever they were doing. As another example of the one-sided officiating present Friday night, the refs would allow CFX players to come off the field and repair equipment without missing a play. However, they would make Tiger players miss a play whenever they needed to repair equipment. Consequently, Worth County's two main centers, Wyatt McClain and Logan Ridge, went down with injuries and were unable to finish the game. Josh Wagner then hyperextended his arm and couldn't perform center duties, leaving Coach Chuck Borey to turn to J.J. Mullock. The Tigers also lost Alex Harmening to a concussion as he could not go after the first half.
Worth County learned something valuable about themselves during the game -- they have at least four people who could snap the ball. Some teams, even at the professional level, have all the trouble in the world with the center-quarterback exchange. CFX killed drives all night because they could not get the ball to the quarterback and make use of their strength at the skill positions. After the 1995 season, the one in which Worth County won its first state title, then-Coach Mark Fletcher said at the Athletic Banquet that many teams had tried to imitate Worth County's fast-paced style of football, only to fail because they did not have anyone who could snap the ball. Consequently, despite having all sorts of weapons at the skill positions in P.J. Sanders, Daniel Gladstone, Nate Combs, and Dustin Lambert, he gave the MVP trophy that year to center Michael Adwell, who did not make a single bad snap that year.
The Tigers got off to one of their typical slow starts as CFX got the ball in good field position at their own 36. A sack by Dylan Kinsella made it second and 12, but Thauan Andrade took a reverse 11 yards to the Tiger 35 and then Kevin Dodson scored off a burst up the middle for the first CFX score of the night. Worth County was in a stupor as they were not huddling for defensive plays like they were supposed to and they seemingly hit the snooze button. The Hornets had nothing to lose and got a successful onsides kick to get the ball at the Tiger 37 as the kick caromed off Dylan Kinsella. The Hornets gave the ball three straight times to Jordan Showalter and they overcame a false start penalty to get a first down at the Tiger 27. But then the Tigers woke up as Barrett Baker nearly intercepted a long pass intended for Jacob Beck. Kevin Dodson tried a spread draw, but was met by Josh Wagner and Dylan Kinsella for no gain. The Hornets tried the same reverse play that worked for them in their initial series to Andrade, but he was met by Brian Hall, Dylan Kinsella, and Josh Wagner for no gain. On fourth and 10, Andrade caught a screen pass and was all alone for a moment until Brian Hall met him and drilled him for a one-yard gain, giving the Tigers the ball at their own 26.
Worth County got off to a promising start as Barrett Baker followed a Josh Wagner block down the right side for a 23-yard gain to the CFX 31. He was stopped for no gain on the next play and then Baker's touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty on Eli Mullock -- the refs felt no warning was necessary, contrary to the repeated warnings they gave to CFX players. That made it second and 22 on their own 38. CFX nearly added to their lead as they jumped a flat pass, but Alex Harmening made a diving 37-yard grab of a long Zach Harmening pass on third and 22 to make it first and goal at the five. Two plays later, Zach Harmening scored off a sneak into the end zone. Eli Mullock took a sweep right on the extra point try, juked a defender, and ran into lineman Brian Hall but got the extra points to make it 8-6 Worth County with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
CFX got buried on their own five as Jordan Showalter bobbled the kickoff and it rolled out of bounds. They moved the ball to the Tiger 30 thanks to an assortment of dives and sweeps. But on second and eight from the 30, the Hornets aired it out and this time, Eli Mullock intercepted it at the 15 as nobody was there but him. Mullock weaved his way past blocks by Josh Wagner and Alex Harmening to the 40. But the Tigers could not take advantage. Barrett Baker got a seven-yard gain down to the 33, but the blocking was nonexistent on the next play as Barrett was stood up for no gain, Zach Harmening fumbled a snap, CFX players were chopping at the knees on defense, and Harmening threw an interception that was returned to the 25. Wyatt McClain was hurt on that series.
But CFX could not regain the lead as Barrett Baker shot up the middle and threw Andrade for a four-yard loss. The first of many fumbled snaps for CFX moved them back to the 21 and Josh Wagner got a sack for a loss of three back to the 18. Eli Mullock fielded the ensuing punt and had a long runback to the CFX 31 that set up Worth County's second score. They only needed two plays to do it as Wagner took a counter, ran over one would-be tackler near the line of scrimmage, and ran all the way down to the 17. From there, Barrett Baker took a dive, got blocks from Logan Ridge and Josh Wagner, and made it into the end zone for the score with 10:14 left in the second that made it 14-6. Zach Harmening was stopped just short of the end zone on the extra point try.
CFX could still get nothing going as Alex Harmening got a shoestring tackle on the kickoff to prevent a long gain and give them first and 10 at their own 25. Harmening then met Dodson after a two-yard gain and then Josh Wagner and Cody Green had a big hit on Jordan Showalter and forced a fumble for a loss of two. On the next play, CFX tried a flat pass, but Cody Green jumped the route and returned it for a pick-6 with 8:50 left. The extra point was a busted play, but Eli Mullock started left, reversed his field, got a block from Josh Wagner, and ran down the right side into the end zone for the two points to make it 22-6.
The ensuing kickoff was a knuckleball that Showalter fell on at the 10. But Showalter redeemed himself for CFX by winning a jump ball pass and corraling it at the Tiger 35 for a 35-yard gain. Eli Mullock shot through and threw Dodson for a three yard loss and CFX tried a direct snap to Showalter, but Cody Green stopped him for a loss of one on the play. But Jacob Beck juggled and caught a 13-yard pass to make it fourth and one and then Dodson took a sneak for nine yards down to the Tiger 17. But the Tigers stiffened there as their linebackers were finally coming up and making hits rather than waiting for the CFX backs to come to them. Dallas Greenland made the initial hit on a dive play to Showalter after a gain of two. Kevin Dodson tried another crack up the middle, but Dylan Kinsella grabbed him and pulled him down for no gain. A false start made it third and 13 at the Tiger 20 and then Dallas Greenland and Eli Mullock covered a long pass perfectly to set up fourth and long. A bad snap ended it there.
Worth County started off on their own 29 and went with a no-huddle look; however, it stalled after some initial promise. Barrett Baker took a 14-yard sweep to the CFX 39 and an encroachment penalty moved it to the 34. But on the next play, the refs called a holding penalty on the Tigers and ignored the one in which center Logan Ridge was hurt and had to sit out the rest of the game. On the next play, a bad snap allowed CFX to recover a fumble on the Tiger 37. A pair of flat passes to Showalter moved it down to the 25 and a spread draw by Dodson made it first and goal at the Tiger 8. A false start moved it back to the 13, but then poor tackling allowed Thauan Andrade to burst into the clear and score. Dodson ran in the extra points to make it 22-14 with 3:07 left.
The Hornets tried another onside kick, this one over the Tigers' heads, but Worth County fell on it at their own 25. But they stalled there thanks to yet another holding penalty and were forced to punt. Alex Harmening got a big hit on Showalter on the punt to pin them at their own 23. With time running out in the first half, Thauan Andrade took a reverse for five yards and then the Hornets aired it out, hitting Jacob Beck for a 45 yard pass play for first and goal at the seven. This was a potentially momentum-changing series, but the Tigers made a goal line stand to deny the Hornets a score. Brian Hall had a big hit that led to a fumble that CFX recovered for a loss of 2. Dodson then made two cracks at the line that set up fourth and goal at the Tiger four. But then the Hornets tried a pass over the middle and Barrett Baker knocked it down to preserve the eight-point lead for Worth County at the break.
CFX squibbed the opening kickoff to the Tigers, who recovered the ball on their own 23. Zach Harmening took a busted play and got seven yards out of it and the ref tacked on a late hit out of bounds for 15 more down to the CFX 33. Barrett Baker took a dive play and jumped to the outside for 21 yards down to the CFX 12 and then followed a block from J.J. Mullock for 11 more down to the CFX 1 as Mullock was learning the ropes of his new position in a hurry. Zach Harmening then bulldozed his way into the end zone and the Barrett Baker bounced off a tackle for the extra points to make it 30-14.
But the Hornets came right back after getting into a hole. Dodson's counter was met by Josh Wagner and Cody Green and then Dodson was hit as he threw a pass that Dallas Greenland nearly intercepted. But then threw a middle screen to Andrade, who fumbled it forward and the Hornets got the first down on the recovery at the 38. On the very next play, Dodson took a spread draw and was all alone as nobody was anywhere near him. Jacob Beck caught the two point conversion pass to make it 30-22 with 9:50 left.
Barrett Baker began cramping up and was stuffed for a gain of one on the first play of the next series and had to sit out that series. But in his absence, Eli Mullock took a burst up the middle for 16, Zach Harmening took a spread draw for 21 yards after following a J.J. Mullock block, and Eli Mullock bounced to the outside for the remaining 10 yards for the score with 8:35 left in the third. Cody Green caught the two-point pass to make it 38-22.
The Hornets were stopped at their own 21 on the next series thanks to an Adam Summers hit. From their own 21, CFX tried to air it out and had Beck open, but Dodson's pass was long. They tried a quick screen to Andrade, but Dallas Greenland snuffed it out for no gain. Dodson then took a spread draw for nine yards and then converted a fourth and inches sneak on a measured first down. The Hornets tried a direct snap to Andrade, but that fooled nobody as Dylan Kinsella stopped him for no gain. They then tried a reverse to Andrade, but Brian Hall shot through and stuffed him for a loss of 6. Eli Mullock broke up a pass to set up fourth and 17 from their own 24, and the Hornets were seemingly forced to punt. But once again, the refs showed a lack of familiarity with the rulebook as they allowed a Hornet player to run onto the field at the last possible minute and grab a pass out of a fake punt for a first down to the Tiger 35. The Tigers held anyway as Brian Hall broke up a long pass, the Hornets drew a false start penalty, Cody Green batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and Showalter fell on his route on third down, drawing a protest from the CFX coach, who thought he was interfered with. This time, the Hornets punted and the Tigers got the ball on their own 26. Worth County only needed one play to score as Eli Mullock caught a 54-yard play action pass to make it 44-22 with 4:56 left in the third.
CFX started on their own 20 and started off with an incomplete pass. A direct snap to Showalter went nowhere, and another incomplete pass forced the Hornets to punt to the Tigers, who got the ball on their own 31. But Worth County could not make it a four-possession game as they buried themselves with a false start penalty. On fourth and ten, J.J. Mullock lined up to punt and the Hornets went all out for the block. They would have gotten it, but Mullock alertly took the snap and ran eight yards and nearly got the first down to the Tiger 39. Mullock was seemingly auditioning to be the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders as he was doing a little bit of everything Friday night.
On the ensuing series, Thauan Andrade heard footsteps and dropped a pass and Wagner met Dodson on the same spread draw play that netted them a long touchdown earler to set up third and seven. But the Tigers were not familiar with the guard eligible play and nobody guarded Colton Kephart, who took a 36 yard pass for a touchdown to make it 44-28 with 1:30 left.
A stop and a score would have given the Hornets a one-possession game and they nearly held. A holding penalty wiped out yet another long touchdown run in what has become a common scene for the Tigers and the blocking was nonexistent as the Tigers were stuck with third and 21 at their own 21. But Eli Mullock took a short pass and turned it into a gain of 17 to the 38 for fourth and three and then the Hornets jumped offsides to give the Tigers a first down at the CFX 37. From there, Eli Mullock took a dive and nearly broke it as he ripped off 18 yards to the 19 and the Hornets were starting to get winded while the Tigers were still fresh. Barrett Baker came back into the game and outran two defenders and drove four more into the end zone to make it 50-28 with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter.
The Hornet players were sucking air at that point and the Tiger pass rush was finally starting to get to the quarterback as they were pinning their ears back and playing the pass. Dylan Kinsella and Cody Green each hurried Dodson into throwing errant passes and then Dodson's scramble was only good for six yards to bring up fourth and four from their own 31. The Hornets went for it from there and threw a jump ball pass to Beck, but Eli Mullock had it covered and the Tigers took over in CFX territory at the 31.
Barrett Baker outran a bunch of defenders down the middle for a 20-yard gain to the 11, but penalties stopped the Tigers once again. A holding penalty and an equipment penalty moved it all the way back to the 30, and Worth County could only get back to the 13 before a delay of game penalty stopped them again. After the Tigers gave the ball back on downs at the 12, CFX moved the ball through the air as they were throwing to try to get back in the game. But they were constantly stopped by bad snaps and penalties and came up short. Thauan Andrade caught a middle screen for 14 yards to the 26 but Dallas Greenland had a big hit on the next play to force an incompletion. A false start and a bad snap moved it all the way back to the 13, and Dodson aired it out to Showalter in desperation on third and long. Dallas Greenland seemingly had it zeroed in for an interception, but Showalter snatched it from him at the last minute for a 33 yard pass play that kept the drive alive at the Tiger 35. A dive and a flat pass made it third and inches at the Tiger 25, but yet another bad Hornet snap and a long pass for Beck that was too far for him gave the Tigers back the ball on downs at the 40.
Barrett Baker hit the hole for a gain of two and then Eli Mullock took a play that was designed to go left, got a block from Dylan Kinsella, cut back to his right, and was off to the races for a 38 yard touchdown run for the dagger that made it 56-28 with 5:15 left.
CFX had one last gasp in them as a pass interference moved the ball to their own 30. Jacob Beck hauled in a long pass for 21 yards down to the Tiger 29; Showalter's fourth down catch and run for 10 yards put the ball on the Tiger 17. Two plays later, Showalter beat Eli Mullock deep for a score to make it 56-34 with 2:52 left. The Hornets recovered the onside kick at the 30. Dylan Kinsella jumped a screen pass and broke it up; Wagner's pressure forced a hurried throw and made it third and 10. But Showalter caught a flat pass for four yards and a spread draw netted Dodson a 9 yard gain and a first down to the Tiger 27. But a fumble stopped them at the 31 and an incomplete pass made it third and 14 at the 31. Daniel Umbarger caught a 13-yard pass for fourth and inches at the 18, but yet another bad snap caused Dodson to hurry his throw and Dallas Greenland broke up the pass to end the game.
Worth County learned something valuable about themselves during the game -- they have at least four people who could snap the ball. Some teams, even at the professional level, have all the trouble in the world with the center-quarterback exchange. CFX killed drives all night because they could not get the ball to the quarterback and make use of their strength at the skill positions. After the 1995 season, the one in which Worth County won its first state title, then-Coach Mark Fletcher said at the Athletic Banquet that many teams had tried to imitate Worth County's fast-paced style of football, only to fail because they did not have anyone who could snap the ball. Consequently, despite having all sorts of weapons at the skill positions in P.J. Sanders, Daniel Gladstone, Nate Combs, and Dustin Lambert, he gave the MVP trophy that year to center Michael Adwell, who did not make a single bad snap that year.
The Tigers got off to one of their typical slow starts as CFX got the ball in good field position at their own 36. A sack by Dylan Kinsella made it second and 12, but Thauan Andrade took a reverse 11 yards to the Tiger 35 and then Kevin Dodson scored off a burst up the middle for the first CFX score of the night. Worth County was in a stupor as they were not huddling for defensive plays like they were supposed to and they seemingly hit the snooze button. The Hornets had nothing to lose and got a successful onsides kick to get the ball at the Tiger 37 as the kick caromed off Dylan Kinsella. The Hornets gave the ball three straight times to Jordan Showalter and they overcame a false start penalty to get a first down at the Tiger 27. But then the Tigers woke up as Barrett Baker nearly intercepted a long pass intended for Jacob Beck. Kevin Dodson tried a spread draw, but was met by Josh Wagner and Dylan Kinsella for no gain. The Hornets tried the same reverse play that worked for them in their initial series to Andrade, but he was met by Brian Hall, Dylan Kinsella, and Josh Wagner for no gain. On fourth and 10, Andrade caught a screen pass and was all alone for a moment until Brian Hall met him and drilled him for a one-yard gain, giving the Tigers the ball at their own 26.
Worth County got off to a promising start as Barrett Baker followed a Josh Wagner block down the right side for a 23-yard gain to the CFX 31. He was stopped for no gain on the next play and then Baker's touchdown was wiped out by a holding penalty on Eli Mullock -- the refs felt no warning was necessary, contrary to the repeated warnings they gave to CFX players. That made it second and 22 on their own 38. CFX nearly added to their lead as they jumped a flat pass, but Alex Harmening made a diving 37-yard grab of a long Zach Harmening pass on third and 22 to make it first and goal at the five. Two plays later, Zach Harmening scored off a sneak into the end zone. Eli Mullock took a sweep right on the extra point try, juked a defender, and ran into lineman Brian Hall but got the extra points to make it 8-6 Worth County with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
CFX got buried on their own five as Jordan Showalter bobbled the kickoff and it rolled out of bounds. They moved the ball to the Tiger 30 thanks to an assortment of dives and sweeps. But on second and eight from the 30, the Hornets aired it out and this time, Eli Mullock intercepted it at the 15 as nobody was there but him. Mullock weaved his way past blocks by Josh Wagner and Alex Harmening to the 40. But the Tigers could not take advantage. Barrett Baker got a seven-yard gain down to the 33, but the blocking was nonexistent on the next play as Barrett was stood up for no gain, Zach Harmening fumbled a snap, CFX players were chopping at the knees on defense, and Harmening threw an interception that was returned to the 25. Wyatt McClain was hurt on that series.
But CFX could not regain the lead as Barrett Baker shot up the middle and threw Andrade for a four-yard loss. The first of many fumbled snaps for CFX moved them back to the 21 and Josh Wagner got a sack for a loss of three back to the 18. Eli Mullock fielded the ensuing punt and had a long runback to the CFX 31 that set up Worth County's second score. They only needed two plays to do it as Wagner took a counter, ran over one would-be tackler near the line of scrimmage, and ran all the way down to the 17. From there, Barrett Baker took a dive, got blocks from Logan Ridge and Josh Wagner, and made it into the end zone for the score with 10:14 left in the second that made it 14-6. Zach Harmening was stopped just short of the end zone on the extra point try.
CFX could still get nothing going as Alex Harmening got a shoestring tackle on the kickoff to prevent a long gain and give them first and 10 at their own 25. Harmening then met Dodson after a two-yard gain and then Josh Wagner and Cody Green had a big hit on Jordan Showalter and forced a fumble for a loss of two. On the next play, CFX tried a flat pass, but Cody Green jumped the route and returned it for a pick-6 with 8:50 left. The extra point was a busted play, but Eli Mullock started left, reversed his field, got a block from Josh Wagner, and ran down the right side into the end zone for the two points to make it 22-6.
The ensuing kickoff was a knuckleball that Showalter fell on at the 10. But Showalter redeemed himself for CFX by winning a jump ball pass and corraling it at the Tiger 35 for a 35-yard gain. Eli Mullock shot through and threw Dodson for a three yard loss and CFX tried a direct snap to Showalter, but Cody Green stopped him for a loss of one on the play. But Jacob Beck juggled and caught a 13-yard pass to make it fourth and one and then Dodson took a sneak for nine yards down to the Tiger 17. But the Tigers stiffened there as their linebackers were finally coming up and making hits rather than waiting for the CFX backs to come to them. Dallas Greenland made the initial hit on a dive play to Showalter after a gain of two. Kevin Dodson tried another crack up the middle, but Dylan Kinsella grabbed him and pulled him down for no gain. A false start made it third and 13 at the Tiger 20 and then Dallas Greenland and Eli Mullock covered a long pass perfectly to set up fourth and long. A bad snap ended it there.
Worth County started off on their own 29 and went with a no-huddle look; however, it stalled after some initial promise. Barrett Baker took a 14-yard sweep to the CFX 39 and an encroachment penalty moved it to the 34. But on the next play, the refs called a holding penalty on the Tigers and ignored the one in which center Logan Ridge was hurt and had to sit out the rest of the game. On the next play, a bad snap allowed CFX to recover a fumble on the Tiger 37. A pair of flat passes to Showalter moved it down to the 25 and a spread draw by Dodson made it first and goal at the Tiger 8. A false start moved it back to the 13, but then poor tackling allowed Thauan Andrade to burst into the clear and score. Dodson ran in the extra points to make it 22-14 with 3:07 left.
The Hornets tried another onside kick, this one over the Tigers' heads, but Worth County fell on it at their own 25. But they stalled there thanks to yet another holding penalty and were forced to punt. Alex Harmening got a big hit on Showalter on the punt to pin them at their own 23. With time running out in the first half, Thauan Andrade took a reverse for five yards and then the Hornets aired it out, hitting Jacob Beck for a 45 yard pass play for first and goal at the seven. This was a potentially momentum-changing series, but the Tigers made a goal line stand to deny the Hornets a score. Brian Hall had a big hit that led to a fumble that CFX recovered for a loss of 2. Dodson then made two cracks at the line that set up fourth and goal at the Tiger four. But then the Hornets tried a pass over the middle and Barrett Baker knocked it down to preserve the eight-point lead for Worth County at the break.
CFX squibbed the opening kickoff to the Tigers, who recovered the ball on their own 23. Zach Harmening took a busted play and got seven yards out of it and the ref tacked on a late hit out of bounds for 15 more down to the CFX 33. Barrett Baker took a dive play and jumped to the outside for 21 yards down to the CFX 12 and then followed a block from J.J. Mullock for 11 more down to the CFX 1 as Mullock was learning the ropes of his new position in a hurry. Zach Harmening then bulldozed his way into the end zone and the Barrett Baker bounced off a tackle for the extra points to make it 30-14.
But the Hornets came right back after getting into a hole. Dodson's counter was met by Josh Wagner and Cody Green and then Dodson was hit as he threw a pass that Dallas Greenland nearly intercepted. But then threw a middle screen to Andrade, who fumbled it forward and the Hornets got the first down on the recovery at the 38. On the very next play, Dodson took a spread draw and was all alone as nobody was anywhere near him. Jacob Beck caught the two point conversion pass to make it 30-22 with 9:50 left.
Barrett Baker began cramping up and was stuffed for a gain of one on the first play of the next series and had to sit out that series. But in his absence, Eli Mullock took a burst up the middle for 16, Zach Harmening took a spread draw for 21 yards after following a J.J. Mullock block, and Eli Mullock bounced to the outside for the remaining 10 yards for the score with 8:35 left in the third. Cody Green caught the two-point pass to make it 38-22.
The Hornets were stopped at their own 21 on the next series thanks to an Adam Summers hit. From their own 21, CFX tried to air it out and had Beck open, but Dodson's pass was long. They tried a quick screen to Andrade, but Dallas Greenland snuffed it out for no gain. Dodson then took a spread draw for nine yards and then converted a fourth and inches sneak on a measured first down. The Hornets tried a direct snap to Andrade, but that fooled nobody as Dylan Kinsella stopped him for no gain. They then tried a reverse to Andrade, but Brian Hall shot through and stuffed him for a loss of 6. Eli Mullock broke up a pass to set up fourth and 17 from their own 24, and the Hornets were seemingly forced to punt. But once again, the refs showed a lack of familiarity with the rulebook as they allowed a Hornet player to run onto the field at the last possible minute and grab a pass out of a fake punt for a first down to the Tiger 35. The Tigers held anyway as Brian Hall broke up a long pass, the Hornets drew a false start penalty, Cody Green batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and Showalter fell on his route on third down, drawing a protest from the CFX coach, who thought he was interfered with. This time, the Hornets punted and the Tigers got the ball on their own 26. Worth County only needed one play to score as Eli Mullock caught a 54-yard play action pass to make it 44-22 with 4:56 left in the third.
CFX started on their own 20 and started off with an incomplete pass. A direct snap to Showalter went nowhere, and another incomplete pass forced the Hornets to punt to the Tigers, who got the ball on their own 31. But Worth County could not make it a four-possession game as they buried themselves with a false start penalty. On fourth and ten, J.J. Mullock lined up to punt and the Hornets went all out for the block. They would have gotten it, but Mullock alertly took the snap and ran eight yards and nearly got the first down to the Tiger 39. Mullock was seemingly auditioning to be the next Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders as he was doing a little bit of everything Friday night.
On the ensuing series, Thauan Andrade heard footsteps and dropped a pass and Wagner met Dodson on the same spread draw play that netted them a long touchdown earler to set up third and seven. But the Tigers were not familiar with the guard eligible play and nobody guarded Colton Kephart, who took a 36 yard pass for a touchdown to make it 44-28 with 1:30 left.
A stop and a score would have given the Hornets a one-possession game and they nearly held. A holding penalty wiped out yet another long touchdown run in what has become a common scene for the Tigers and the blocking was nonexistent as the Tigers were stuck with third and 21 at their own 21. But Eli Mullock took a short pass and turned it into a gain of 17 to the 38 for fourth and three and then the Hornets jumped offsides to give the Tigers a first down at the CFX 37. From there, Eli Mullock took a dive and nearly broke it as he ripped off 18 yards to the 19 and the Hornets were starting to get winded while the Tigers were still fresh. Barrett Baker came back into the game and outran two defenders and drove four more into the end zone to make it 50-28 with 11:51 left in the fourth quarter.
The Hornet players were sucking air at that point and the Tiger pass rush was finally starting to get to the quarterback as they were pinning their ears back and playing the pass. Dylan Kinsella and Cody Green each hurried Dodson into throwing errant passes and then Dodson's scramble was only good for six yards to bring up fourth and four from their own 31. The Hornets went for it from there and threw a jump ball pass to Beck, but Eli Mullock had it covered and the Tigers took over in CFX territory at the 31.
Barrett Baker outran a bunch of defenders down the middle for a 20-yard gain to the 11, but penalties stopped the Tigers once again. A holding penalty and an equipment penalty moved it all the way back to the 30, and Worth County could only get back to the 13 before a delay of game penalty stopped them again. After the Tigers gave the ball back on downs at the 12, CFX moved the ball through the air as they were throwing to try to get back in the game. But they were constantly stopped by bad snaps and penalties and came up short. Thauan Andrade caught a middle screen for 14 yards to the 26 but Dallas Greenland had a big hit on the next play to force an incompletion. A false start and a bad snap moved it all the way back to the 13, and Dodson aired it out to Showalter in desperation on third and long. Dallas Greenland seemingly had it zeroed in for an interception, but Showalter snatched it from him at the last minute for a 33 yard pass play that kept the drive alive at the Tiger 35. A dive and a flat pass made it third and inches at the Tiger 25, but yet another bad Hornet snap and a long pass for Beck that was too far for him gave the Tigers back the ball on downs at the 40.
Barrett Baker hit the hole for a gain of two and then Eli Mullock took a play that was designed to go left, got a block from Dylan Kinsella, cut back to his right, and was off to the races for a 38 yard touchdown run for the dagger that made it 56-28 with 5:15 left.
CFX had one last gasp in them as a pass interference moved the ball to their own 30. Jacob Beck hauled in a long pass for 21 yards down to the Tiger 29; Showalter's fourth down catch and run for 10 yards put the ball on the Tiger 17. Two plays later, Showalter beat Eli Mullock deep for a score to make it 56-34 with 2:52 left. The Hornets recovered the onside kick at the 30. Dylan Kinsella jumped a screen pass and broke it up; Wagner's pressure forced a hurried throw and made it third and 10. But Showalter caught a flat pass for four yards and a spread draw netted Dodson a 9 yard gain and a first down to the Tiger 27. But a fumble stopped them at the 31 and an incomplete pass made it third and 14 at the 31. Daniel Umbarger caught a 13-yard pass for fourth and inches at the 18, but yet another bad snap caused Dodson to hurry his throw and Dallas Greenland broke up the pass to end the game.
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