Health insurance rates for Grant City's health plan went from $3,632/month to $3,985/month, an increase of 9.71%. John Joe, the city's health insurance agent said that to get on Obamacare will mean substantially higher rates, as high as $4,988 depending on what was available.
Madelyn Wemple came to the meeting and requested something be done about water from the streets getting in and cutting into her carport.
There was around $10,000 left over from the waterline project that will be returned to USDA.
The city agreed to close off the south side and part of the east side for the Fall Festival October 4th. There will be no charge for booths this year. The Extension will sell ice cream. The VFW Auxiliary will sell funnel cakes. The Senior Center will have Bingo and sell light sandwiches. Porter Trash donated a dumpster while portable restrooms will be available. The Grant City Lions will hold a Pancake Breakfast at the Senior Center and do a diabetes walk and diabetes tent with free screening.
The city also agreed to a request from Superintendent Matt Martz to close off streets for the Homecoming Parade October 3rd. The band will perform for the WCCC residents at 1:15, followed by the parade, which will proceed to the Square. Coronation will be Thursday night. The game against South Holt will be at 7:00.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that he did dirt work on the trail and cleared a ditch by the ball diamond, which the city will keep mowed. The city replaced a tube on 4th street near Jerry Drake's, Duane James', and the WCCC; a tube had rotted and caved in. The city got a new locator for the gas system.
Water Superintendent Greg Miller reported that the city put in a spare pump for Dollar General and that the city needed another spare.
The city voted to retain Gilmore & Bell to handle the bonds for the city for the 11-mile project. The city voted to purchase a new carpet from Eckard's for a cost of around $750. The old one was pulling up and creating a tripping hazard.
Mayor Debbie Roach read a proclamation marking National Constitution Week for September 17th to 23rd.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Grant City Lions Plan Pancake Breakfast, Free Diabetes Screening
Grant City Lions are planning numerous activities for the Worth County Fall Festival that will be held on October 4th. They will have a pancake breakfast at the Senior Center starting at 7 until all the food runs out. They will then have a diabetes walk following the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Nature Trail that will take place at 10 that morning. At 1, Robert Jobst will help give free diabetes screening.
Jennifer Runde wrote a thank you letter for the scholarship she received from the Grant City Lions last year.
There were 11 kids present at the September 6th Leo Club meeting. Marti Myers said that she was waiting for some membership forms to be returned. A Halloween Movie Night will be held on November 1st, since October 31st falls on Friday night, when football is scheduled. There will be three movies shown so that kids can watch something that is age appropriate. There will be snacks and crafts.
The Grant City Lions will have a highway cleanup Saturday on September 27th at 1 pm along Route 46 east of Grant City, possibly with help from the Leo Club.
Jennifer Runde wrote a thank you letter for the scholarship she received from the Grant City Lions last year.
There were 11 kids present at the September 6th Leo Club meeting. Marti Myers said that she was waiting for some membership forms to be returned. A Halloween Movie Night will be held on November 1st, since October 31st falls on Friday night, when football is scheduled. There will be three movies shown so that kids can watch something that is age appropriate. There will be snacks and crafts.
The Grant City Lions will have a highway cleanup Saturday on September 27th at 1 pm along Route 46 east of Grant City, possibly with help from the Leo Club.
Monday, September 15, 2014
Jenna Smith's Dash Around the Bases Propels Junior High Over Albany
The one Worth County team successful against Albany this week was the Junior High softball team, which beat the Warriors 3-2. The game was tied 2-2 in the sixth when Kaylee McElvain got on base. Jenna Smith, running for Kaylee, then stole second and third and came home when Merrideth Spiers hit a squib in front of the plate with two out. The first baseman dropped the throw, allowing Worth County to score the run and get ahead. "Those are battle games," said assistant coach Bryce Schafer. "We didn't play our best, but we got through it." The girls remained undefeated over the weekend as they subsequently won the King City Tournament.
Tiger Softball Improves, but Still Falls to Albany
Worth County's softball girls showed some improvement from their first game against Albany, but they could not hold a 4-0 lead and fell 13-7 to the Warriors Thursday evening. After swinging under the ball throughout the first game, Worth County hit the ball much better the second time around and were able to put some runs on the board. They made some good plays out in the field, including three double plays. But as Coach Dave Gilland told his charges after the game, the team still needed to get better at doing the little things in order to get better. There were four called third strikes as well as seven errors out in the field. Gilland summed it up, "You just have to trust yourselves."
The Tigers were going through a tough stretch; they also competed in the King City Tournament against three of the top softball teams in the area. They fell 16-1 against Gallatin and then had to play South Nodaway, whom NEN Coach Darlene Conover tabbed as a contender in the PVC. Worth County did better the second game and went the distance, but still fell to the Longhorns 8-3.
Albany made a ton of errors in the top of the first inning, committing five. Worth County has been working on bunting and slapping this year and the effort paid off when Sidney Troutwine laid down a perfect bunt and beat it out and then circled the bases when Albany threw the ball around. Payton Adwell, who reached on a dropped fly ball, also scored on the play. Mollie Blaine showed some of her trademark speed in the inning when she ran out a grounder to the pitcher and caused her to hurry a throw, leading to another error and a Tiger run; another run scored on a wild pitch.
But when you have a big inning on offense, it is imperative to have a shut-down inning on defense. That did not happen as Worth County committed two errors in the inning and Albany scored three runs to get back into the game. "I was disappointed, because we could have won this game," said Gilland. But for that to happen, the team has to cut down on the called third strikes and errors. The inning could have been much worse, but shortstop Sidney Troutwine made a strong throw to first to Alysa Lyle, who made a strong throw to Dominique Findley to retire a runner trying to get from first to third on the play.
Worth County killed a potential rally in the third with two called third strikes after getting runners on first and second to start the third. Alysa Lyle beat out a perfect bunt single in the inning, showing a lot of speed. She also beat out a perfect slap hit as well.
Albany scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take control; catcher Adrian Fletchall re-sprained her ankle in the inning trying to corral a wild pitch. It could have been much worse, but Sidney Troutwine got her second double play of the game, doubling a runner off third after catching a line drive.
Dominique Findley hit the ball much better that night; she led off the fourth with a single, took second and third on wild pitches, and Payton Adwell hit a sacrifice fly to bring her home. The Tigers could have done much more damage, but once again, two called third strikes in the inning killed their chances. Instead of a tie game, Albany was up 7-5 and remained in control of the game.
Albany began pulling away at that point, scoring one in the fourth and one in the fifth to make it 9-5. Worth County responded as Adrian Fletchall recovered enough to go back into the game and hit a solid single to make it 9-6 in the sixth. Alysa Lyle, who hit the ball well all game, absolutely crushed a line drive, but it was right at the pitcher, who had the presence of mind to snare the ball and end the rally and give all the momentum back to Albany. The Warriors then proceeded to time and crush the ball in the bottom of the sixth to score four and make it 13-6. Sydney Thummel, playing second, caught a line drive and doubled a runner off first to keep Albany from winning by the ten run rule.
Nichole Aragon showed that her triple against North Nodaway was no accident as she crushed a double to the wall in right field to jump start a good inning for Worth County as they got a run across in the seventh. Brooklyn White, another newcomer, got another solid hit as she singled in Worth County's run in the inning. If the Tigers are to improve and start winning these sorts of games, it will take younger players stepping up and making plays.
The Tigers have two wins at this point and have to come together as a team if they are to navigate a tough schedule this week, with games against Gallatin and Jefferson coming up along with a long road trip to Braymer. The pitchers have to trust their fielders behind them to make plays and throw strikes and the fielders have to remain focused in the field when the pitchers are fighting the strike zone.
The Tigers were going through a tough stretch; they also competed in the King City Tournament against three of the top softball teams in the area. They fell 16-1 against Gallatin and then had to play South Nodaway, whom NEN Coach Darlene Conover tabbed as a contender in the PVC. Worth County did better the second game and went the distance, but still fell to the Longhorns 8-3.
Albany made a ton of errors in the top of the first inning, committing five. Worth County has been working on bunting and slapping this year and the effort paid off when Sidney Troutwine laid down a perfect bunt and beat it out and then circled the bases when Albany threw the ball around. Payton Adwell, who reached on a dropped fly ball, also scored on the play. Mollie Blaine showed some of her trademark speed in the inning when she ran out a grounder to the pitcher and caused her to hurry a throw, leading to another error and a Tiger run; another run scored on a wild pitch.
But when you have a big inning on offense, it is imperative to have a shut-down inning on defense. That did not happen as Worth County committed two errors in the inning and Albany scored three runs to get back into the game. "I was disappointed, because we could have won this game," said Gilland. But for that to happen, the team has to cut down on the called third strikes and errors. The inning could have been much worse, but shortstop Sidney Troutwine made a strong throw to first to Alysa Lyle, who made a strong throw to Dominique Findley to retire a runner trying to get from first to third on the play.
Worth County killed a potential rally in the third with two called third strikes after getting runners on first and second to start the third. Alysa Lyle beat out a perfect bunt single in the inning, showing a lot of speed. She also beat out a perfect slap hit as well.
Albany scored four runs in the bottom of the third to take control; catcher Adrian Fletchall re-sprained her ankle in the inning trying to corral a wild pitch. It could have been much worse, but Sidney Troutwine got her second double play of the game, doubling a runner off third after catching a line drive.
Dominique Findley hit the ball much better that night; she led off the fourth with a single, took second and third on wild pitches, and Payton Adwell hit a sacrifice fly to bring her home. The Tigers could have done much more damage, but once again, two called third strikes in the inning killed their chances. Instead of a tie game, Albany was up 7-5 and remained in control of the game.
Albany began pulling away at that point, scoring one in the fourth and one in the fifth to make it 9-5. Worth County responded as Adrian Fletchall recovered enough to go back into the game and hit a solid single to make it 9-6 in the sixth. Alysa Lyle, who hit the ball well all game, absolutely crushed a line drive, but it was right at the pitcher, who had the presence of mind to snare the ball and end the rally and give all the momentum back to Albany. The Warriors then proceeded to time and crush the ball in the bottom of the sixth to score four and make it 13-6. Sydney Thummel, playing second, caught a line drive and doubled a runner off first to keep Albany from winning by the ten run rule.
Nichole Aragon showed that her triple against North Nodaway was no accident as she crushed a double to the wall in right field to jump start a good inning for Worth County as they got a run across in the seventh. Brooklyn White, another newcomer, got another solid hit as she singled in Worth County's run in the inning. If the Tigers are to improve and start winning these sorts of games, it will take younger players stepping up and making plays.
The Tigers have two wins at this point and have to come together as a team if they are to navigate a tough schedule this week, with games against Gallatin and Jefferson coming up along with a long road trip to Braymer. The pitchers have to trust their fielders behind them to make plays and throw strikes and the fielders have to remain focused in the field when the pitchers are fighting the strike zone.
Worth County Sheriff's Report
9-8 -- Report of car speeding on 169.
9-8 -- Officers on bailiff duty for court.
9-8 -- Report of stolen gazing balls.
9-9 -- Officer enroute to Holt County to pick up female prisoner arrested on Worth County warrant.
9-9 -- Person in for CCP update.
9-10 -- Report of destroyed mailbox in Grant City.
9-11 -- Report of stolen wallet and money from resident in Grant City.
9-12 -- Person in for fingerprinting.
9-12 -- Report of cattle out on Route C and 213 Road; owner notified.
9-12 -- Cattle out report; Routes M & C; owner notified.
9-12 -- Cattle out report; Routes M&C; owner notified.
9-12 -- Person calls about coyote problem in cattle.
9-13 -- Report of accident on private property.
9-13 -- Cattle out on 46 west of Grant City.
9-13 -- Report of computer stalker and hacker.
9-8 -- Officers on bailiff duty for court.
9-8 -- Report of stolen gazing balls.
9-9 -- Officer enroute to Holt County to pick up female prisoner arrested on Worth County warrant.
9-9 -- Person in for CCP update.
9-10 -- Report of destroyed mailbox in Grant City.
9-11 -- Report of stolen wallet and money from resident in Grant City.
9-12 -- Person in for fingerprinting.
9-12 -- Report of cattle out on Route C and 213 Road; owner notified.
9-12 -- Cattle out report; Routes M & C; owner notified.
9-12 -- Cattle out report; Routes M&C; owner notified.
9-12 -- Person calls about coyote problem in cattle.
9-13 -- Report of accident on private property.
9-13 -- Cattle out on 46 west of Grant City.
9-13 -- Report of computer stalker and hacker.
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Important District Contest with North-West Nodaway Looms
Worth County will not have time to dwell on their heartbreaking 40-36 loss to Albany. In order to pick up their first win, they will have to beat North-West Nodaway, a rapidly improving team which evened their record at 2-2 Friday night. The goal will be to avoid a trip to Rock Port for the first round of districts. Despite dropping back to back games, the Blue Jays are still a formidable team.
North-West Nodaway came close in losses to Stanberry and Rock Port; however the problem is, that close doesn't count. Coach Andrew Webster challenged his team to pick it up in practices and they have responded, with wins over East Atchison and a 57-0 win over South Holt Friday. After facing one of the top backs in eight man football in Zach Sharp of Albany, Worth County will now have to face the top passer in eight man football in Koby Reynolds. He is 80 for 116 this year for 1,040 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only three picks. They will also have to face one of the top receivers in Trevor Meyer; he is absolutely fearless and is willing to take a big hit if it means coming up with a catch. He can run after the catch and can count on his receivers to block for him after the catch, which is something not necessarily taught even at the NFL level. He is ranked as the top receiver with 606 yards, over twice the 2nd ranked receiver. One of North-West's favorite plays is to isolate Meyer on the zero pass; if he can make his defender miss, then he is frequently gone. He burned Rock Port twice this way.
But Worth County cannot just focus on Trevor Meyer. The other three receivers, Dakota Smyser, Jakob Cordell, and Dakota Chesnut are all ranked as well. And the Muskets can run as well as throw; after throwing it nearly every single time against Stanberry and Rock Port, they ran nearly every single time in their 42-20 win over East Atchison. And Meyer picked up 224 yards in that win; he is the fourth-ranked runningback with 525 yards for the year.
The challenge for North Nodaway will be pass protection. The one way Rock Port was able to stop the Muskets and get the win was through constantly blitzing from different angles, something that North Nodaway did not have an answer for. Worth County held Albany well below their average defensively, so they showed some promise in the defensive area last Friday. But a good possibility could be a high-scoring game; last year, the only way Worth County could beat both North Nodaway (72-54) and West Nodaway (86-68) was to keep scoring. Paradoxically, if the game is high-scoring, the outcome can hinge on a key fumble recovery or a key pick. While North Nodaway is loaded with talent, former Tiger Coach Gary Wood says that Worth County is loaded with talent as well. It's simply a matter of being able to put it to use on the football field.
Worth County was nearly the second winless team to knock off an unbeaten. What looked like a misprint on Northwest Mo Info turned out not to be the case as previously winless South Nodaway knocked off previously unbeaten Mound City 34-0. Tryston Freemyer returned the opening kickoff 71 yards for a score and they continued to pull away, crashing Mound City's homecoming and winning 34-0. The win obviously had Dan Collins' fingerprints all over it; he is now helping out there after being forced out at Stanberry. Whatever he told the Longhorn players must have lit a fire under them as South Nodaway showed that they could be relevant this year.
Trying to regain their footing after their disappointing 66-18 loss to Albany, Rock Port used a 76-yard kickoff return to start the second half to catch Stanberry at 16-16. But then Stanberry pulled away by scoring the next 30 points to pick up the 46-24 victory and remain unbeaten. The elusive Brady Minter was held to 18 yards before breaking away for a 46-yard run with the game already decided. Stanberry showed the capability of having two backs who can run for over 200 yards; Clayton Stoll ran for 211 yards in the win. Nick Shanks ran for 270+ yards in Stanberry's opening victory over North-West Nodaway.
East Atchison picked up their first win of the season, getting a halftime victory over Nodaway-Holt 48-0. Blaine Lambert picked up 105 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Greenfield picked up their first win, beating DeKalb 14-12. Hardin-Central went the distance against powerhouse North Andrew, dropping their game to the Cardinals 42-12. Hardin-Central showed that they are relevant as they are 3-1 despite the loss. St. Joseph Christian got locked in a track meet against Chilhowee, as they led them 24-16 in the second quarter. However, they broke the game open and won 72-22 to raise their record to 3-1.
On the 11-man scene, Maryville knocked another team from the unbeaten ranks as they beat LeBlond 58-19 after knocking Chillicothe from the unbeaten ranks last week. What looked like an offensive shootout turned into a rout for Maryville after the Spoofhounds, up 22-6, saw a long LeBlond score wiped out by a holding penalty. Last year, LeBlond nearly pulled off a shocker before Maryville pulled off an 18-16 win. Maryville's win streak is now 34 games.
Polo established themselves as the team to beat in the Grand River Conference. Quarterback Wiley Martin, normally known for his legs, threw for two touchdowns as Polo beat South Harrison 24-14 to drop them to 1-3. Martin had ran for over 300 yards in an earlier game. Maysville raised their record to 3-1 with a 26-20 win over Christ Prep Academy. Former Coach Wood says they are a team on the rise this year. Gallatin evened their record to 2-2 with a 44-0 win over hapless Princeton. After a promising start, Braymer (2-2) has gone into a tailspin as they fell 50-6 to King City, who used a 28-point third quarter to break the game open. Skylar Lane had 222 yards for the Wildkats.
Hamilton beat hapless East Buchanan 69-30 as they scored 62 points in the first half to seal the game. Kellen Overstreet had "only" 180 yards after getting over 300 in Hamilton's first three games.
Next week, Albany will stay at home as they host Nodaway-Holt. They will have to avoid a letdown against the Trojans, who won their first game of the year before dropping their last three. South Nodaway will have plenty to build on as they travel to DeKalb. In what could be an entertaining matchup, St. Joseph Christian will travel to Hardin-Central in a battle of 3-1 teams. Mound City will be traveling to Rock Port in a battle of normally solid teams that are reeling. The question is, which Mound City team will show up -- the one that established themselves as one of the top defensive teams in Missouri Eight Man Football along with Albany, or the team that fell 34-0 to previously winless South Nodaway. Rock Port is normally one of the most difficult venues to play in, but Albany had no problems in trouncing the Blue Jays in Rock Port. South Holt will be traveling to East Atchison. The Knights are still looking to score their first points of the year.
North-West Nodaway came close in losses to Stanberry and Rock Port; however the problem is, that close doesn't count. Coach Andrew Webster challenged his team to pick it up in practices and they have responded, with wins over East Atchison and a 57-0 win over South Holt Friday. After facing one of the top backs in eight man football in Zach Sharp of Albany, Worth County will now have to face the top passer in eight man football in Koby Reynolds. He is 80 for 116 this year for 1,040 yards, 12 touchdowns, and only three picks. They will also have to face one of the top receivers in Trevor Meyer; he is absolutely fearless and is willing to take a big hit if it means coming up with a catch. He can run after the catch and can count on his receivers to block for him after the catch, which is something not necessarily taught even at the NFL level. He is ranked as the top receiver with 606 yards, over twice the 2nd ranked receiver. One of North-West's favorite plays is to isolate Meyer on the zero pass; if he can make his defender miss, then he is frequently gone. He burned Rock Port twice this way.
But Worth County cannot just focus on Trevor Meyer. The other three receivers, Dakota Smyser, Jakob Cordell, and Dakota Chesnut are all ranked as well. And the Muskets can run as well as throw; after throwing it nearly every single time against Stanberry and Rock Port, they ran nearly every single time in their 42-20 win over East Atchison. And Meyer picked up 224 yards in that win; he is the fourth-ranked runningback with 525 yards for the year.
The challenge for North Nodaway will be pass protection. The one way Rock Port was able to stop the Muskets and get the win was through constantly blitzing from different angles, something that North Nodaway did not have an answer for. Worth County held Albany well below their average defensively, so they showed some promise in the defensive area last Friday. But a good possibility could be a high-scoring game; last year, the only way Worth County could beat both North Nodaway (72-54) and West Nodaway (86-68) was to keep scoring. Paradoxically, if the game is high-scoring, the outcome can hinge on a key fumble recovery or a key pick. While North Nodaway is loaded with talent, former Tiger Coach Gary Wood says that Worth County is loaded with talent as well. It's simply a matter of being able to put it to use on the football field.
Worth County was nearly the second winless team to knock off an unbeaten. What looked like a misprint on Northwest Mo Info turned out not to be the case as previously winless South Nodaway knocked off previously unbeaten Mound City 34-0. Tryston Freemyer returned the opening kickoff 71 yards for a score and they continued to pull away, crashing Mound City's homecoming and winning 34-0. The win obviously had Dan Collins' fingerprints all over it; he is now helping out there after being forced out at Stanberry. Whatever he told the Longhorn players must have lit a fire under them as South Nodaway showed that they could be relevant this year.
Trying to regain their footing after their disappointing 66-18 loss to Albany, Rock Port used a 76-yard kickoff return to start the second half to catch Stanberry at 16-16. But then Stanberry pulled away by scoring the next 30 points to pick up the 46-24 victory and remain unbeaten. The elusive Brady Minter was held to 18 yards before breaking away for a 46-yard run with the game already decided. Stanberry showed the capability of having two backs who can run for over 200 yards; Clayton Stoll ran for 211 yards in the win. Nick Shanks ran for 270+ yards in Stanberry's opening victory over North-West Nodaway.
East Atchison picked up their first win of the season, getting a halftime victory over Nodaway-Holt 48-0. Blaine Lambert picked up 105 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Greenfield picked up their first win, beating DeKalb 14-12. Hardin-Central went the distance against powerhouse North Andrew, dropping their game to the Cardinals 42-12. Hardin-Central showed that they are relevant as they are 3-1 despite the loss. St. Joseph Christian got locked in a track meet against Chilhowee, as they led them 24-16 in the second quarter. However, they broke the game open and won 72-22 to raise their record to 3-1.
On the 11-man scene, Maryville knocked another team from the unbeaten ranks as they beat LeBlond 58-19 after knocking Chillicothe from the unbeaten ranks last week. What looked like an offensive shootout turned into a rout for Maryville after the Spoofhounds, up 22-6, saw a long LeBlond score wiped out by a holding penalty. Last year, LeBlond nearly pulled off a shocker before Maryville pulled off an 18-16 win. Maryville's win streak is now 34 games.
Polo established themselves as the team to beat in the Grand River Conference. Quarterback Wiley Martin, normally known for his legs, threw for two touchdowns as Polo beat South Harrison 24-14 to drop them to 1-3. Martin had ran for over 300 yards in an earlier game. Maysville raised their record to 3-1 with a 26-20 win over Christ Prep Academy. Former Coach Wood says they are a team on the rise this year. Gallatin evened their record to 2-2 with a 44-0 win over hapless Princeton. After a promising start, Braymer (2-2) has gone into a tailspin as they fell 50-6 to King City, who used a 28-point third quarter to break the game open. Skylar Lane had 222 yards for the Wildkats.
Hamilton beat hapless East Buchanan 69-30 as they scored 62 points in the first half to seal the game. Kellen Overstreet had "only" 180 yards after getting over 300 in Hamilton's first three games.
Next week, Albany will stay at home as they host Nodaway-Holt. They will have to avoid a letdown against the Trojans, who won their first game of the year before dropping their last three. South Nodaway will have plenty to build on as they travel to DeKalb. In what could be an entertaining matchup, St. Joseph Christian will travel to Hardin-Central in a battle of 3-1 teams. Mound City will be traveling to Rock Port in a battle of normally solid teams that are reeling. The question is, which Mound City team will show up -- the one that established themselves as one of the top defensive teams in Missouri Eight Man Football along with Albany, or the team that fell 34-0 to previously winless South Nodaway. Rock Port is normally one of the most difficult venues to play in, but Albany had no problems in trouncing the Blue Jays in Rock Port. South Holt will be traveling to East Atchison. The Knights are still looking to score their first points of the year.
Tiger Football Gives Albany All They Can Handle, Falls in Heartbreaker
Worth County played their best game of the year in giving Albany, the top team in Missouri Eight Man Football this year, all they could handle. Unfortunately, they once again could not hold a two possession lead in the fourth quarter and fell 40-36. Worth County cleaned up a lot of their mistakes from the first two games, only getting six penalties after getting 21 against Rock Port and 18 against Mound City. They didn't have a single blown pass coverage against Albany after having eight against Mound City. The tackling was the best it was this year, with hardly any missed tackles after 50 against Rock Port. They proved they can play with anyone, but the time is gone when the Tigers only had one or two strong teams to contend with. In order to start winning games, the Tigers will have to master the little things.
One of these things is getting off to faster starts. In many games between evenly-matched teams, one team will jump out on the other team right off the bat; the other team uses all their energy to get back in the game, and then they don't have any energy to finish off the game. This is pretty much what happened Friday night. Worth County dug themselves into a 12-0 hole, fought back and led for much of the game, only to have no more energy to hold off Albany's final run in the last seven minutes of the game.
The Tigers had trouble containing Zach Sharp, the 2nd leading rusher in Missouri Eight Man Football. Drew Cottrill rightly had most of the hype; however, the scary thing was that he was only the third best back on the team behind Sharp and quarterback Seth Cline, both of whom had over 100 yards in Albany's 66-18 drubbing of Rock Port. Albany was having their way up the middle, people were getting blown off the line, and people were forgetting who they were supposed to hit as Sharp scored off an 18-yard scamper. After a Tiger fumble, Cottrill took a quick hitter up the middle, the same play that Mound City used, and scored from 15 yards out as Albany was up 12-0 with 5:28 left. It was seven minutes before the Tigers realized that they could play football with the Warriors, and that seven minutes proved costly in the end.
But the kickoff return game, which had been a liability against Mound City, turned into an asset against Albany as Tevin Cameron returned the ensuing kickoff to the Warrior 39. Assistant Coach Mark Fletcher said that Cameron would have the best hands on the team since Vinny Fletchall back in the late 1990's; he showed a ton of speed as he weaved his way through traffic. He is earning playing time; he played some receiver as well.
Another adjustment Coach Chris Healy made was putting Jayden Mancuso in at runningback and pairing him with Wade Rush and moving Chris Alarcon back to his natural position at end. Only a freshman, Jayden showed some raw speed and the ability to thrive in big games in junior high; this year, he showed that he has built on his success over the offseason. If the line can open holes for him, then he will be a threat to score every time he touches the ball similar to Eli Mullock. The line blocked as well as it has all year; the focus in future games will be to hold their blocks until the whistle and making sure that their guy does not make the tackle. They showed a lot more mobility in Friday's game; there were numerous times when Albany defenders had one of the Tiger backs zeroed in for a loss or short gain when someone would come out of nowhere and make a block to keep the play alive.
Jayden's 11-yard run to the 28 was followed by a 22-yard burst from Wade Rush down to the five. Wade showed some rust in his first game against Mound City; he got more confident against Albany and showed the form that made him so hard to tackle in junior high and in 'Lil Tigers, rumbling down to the five. Finally, Ben Badell threw a strike to Chris Alarcon to put the Tigers on the board with three minutes left. Worth County got a false start on the extra point, but they overcame that as a sweep play to Wade Rush fooled everyone as he was open all day as he rumbled in from eight yards out to make it 12-8.
The next challenge was to figure out how to stop the vaunted Warrior juggernaut; however, Josh Warner pounced on a loose ball at the Warrior 15 on their second play from scrimmage after Chris Alarcon's hit buried Albany in bad field position on the kickoff. Worth County was faced with fourth and three at the Warrior 8; however, they pulled off the guard eligible play and sprung Warner loose for a touchdown strike to put them in front. Warner rumbled in for the extra points to put Worth County up 16-12.
But Albany showed on their next possession that they could throw as well as run; Noah Wilmes showed that he is one of the top receivers in Eight Man as he got behind the Tiger defense for a 46-yard strike that put Albany back up 18-16 with 10:40 left in the first half. Worth County did a much better job of pass coverage than they did against Mound City; however, they could only slow down Wilmes for a time; they could not keep him down forever.
The question was how well Worth County would respond to Albany's opening up the game. But they showed some mental toughness as they responded with a solid kick return up to their own 35 and then a series of punishing runs, 3-5 yards at a time, down to the Warrior 17. Finally, Jayden Mancuso got the big hole that he needed and that was all he needed to scamper in to put Worth County up 24-18 with 6:36 left in the second after Ben Badell ran in the extra points. Worth County was ahead because they were converting their extra points and keeping Albany out of the end zone; a reversal from the Rock Port game.
Albany looked like they would come right back as Cottrill gashed the Tigers once again with the quick hitter. In order to get better, Worth County will have to find a way to stop this play. But finally, Andrew Faustlin pounced on a fumble at the Tiger 16 to kill the Warrior drive. Worth County had a promising drive to finish the half, but clock management turned out to be an area in need of improvement. Ben Badell got a block from Wade Rush and sprung loose for 15 yards into Warrior territory and then Jayden Mancuso got a block from Josh Warner for 10 more down to the 17 with time running out in the first half. But then the Tigers had a first down run wiped out by a holding penalty; the bad thing about that penalty was that it was committed after they had already gotten the first down.
Finally, with the Tigers in position to take a shot into the end zone at the Warrior 20 and one timeout left, they let the clock run out instead of calling timeout. Under the rules, either the head coach or any player can call timeout; but nobody noticed time running out until it was too late. Instead of Worth County possibly making it a two possession game and getting a chance to score twice without Albany having the benefit of a possession (Worth County had the ball to start the second half), they came away empty-handed. It's just like pop flies in softball, where someone has to take charge before the ball drops in for a hit.
That play seemed to kill Worth County's momentum, as they went three and out to start the second half and Ben Badell stumbled on defense and Wilmes had all the daylight in the world to catch a long pass that set up Drew Cottrill's five yard score early in the third to tie it at 24. Ben Badell atoned for that by breaking up the extra point pass to keep it tied.
Once again, the question was how well Worth County would respond to the change in momentum, but Wade Rush got consecutive carries of 11 and 8 yards and Ben Badell scrambled for a long gain and the ref tacked on a defensive holding penalty that move the ball all the way to the Warrior 6. Jayden Mancuso got a block from Truman Moore and got loose to put Worth County back in front at 30-24 with 6:30 left.
Albany went three and out, but then pinned Worth County at their own 8. Jayden got a 20-yard sweep to the 31 and Ben Badell broke another carry for 19 to get into Warrior territory at the 34, but then the blocking started to break down and the Tigers started having trouble holding their blocks and stalled there. Albany aired it out to Noah Wilmes in an effort to tie or take the lead, but Johnny Carlson came off the bench to break up the pass and Albany was forced to punt. He was able to give Ben Badell a rest on defense; Ben had to pull double duty directing the Tiger offense and trying to keep up with the fleet-footed Wilmes. One of the main reasons for Worth County improving their play this week was some of the younger players stepping things up and earning some playing time.
Gavin Hawk got a sack to force Albany to punt from their own end zone on that series and Worth County had a chance to go up two possessions as a shanked punt gave the Tigers a short field to work with on the Warrior 28. A holding penalty wiped out a first down run, but a pass interference penalty on Albany returned the favor and put the ball on the Warrior 13. Finally, Ben Badell found a big hole around the right end and got in to put Worth County up 36-24 with 7:19 left.
But then Albany spread out the field for the first time and marched right down the field, getting a pass to Cole Parman with 5:04 left to cut Worth County's lead to 36-32. Worth County had a chance to pick up some first downs and run out the clock, but once again, they could not run out enough clock and Albany got the ball back with plenty of time left. Ben Badell's 12-yard sweep picked up a first down following a Warner block and Worth County was faced with a fourth and one at the 40 with 2:23 left. Pick up another pair of first downs and the game would be over. But once again, clock management turned out to be a killer for the Tigers. They were out of timeouts, took too long to get the play in, and nobody noticed the play clock winding down and the Tigers took a delay of game penalty. Instead of a makeable fourth and one, Worth County was faced with fourth and six at their own 35 and was forced to punt.
Once again, Worth County could not keep up with Noah Wilmes, who hauled in a 36-yard pass to the Tiger 16. A false start penalty on Albany moved the ball back to the 21, but then Albany opened up the playbook with 53 seconds left and Zach Sharp went back for a halfback threw a perfect strike to Wilmes in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score to make it 40-36. Ben Badell made a smart play by not coming off his man and covered Wilmes as well as he could, but Sharp threw it in a spot where Wilmes could leap really high for the catch. Worth County got the ball back, but with no timeouts left, they could only get it to midfield before time ran out.
Coach Chris Healy told his team after the play that the goal going in was to find some heart. "We found some heart; we can build on this," he said. "This one's on me. You all played your hearts out this game."
One of these things is getting off to faster starts. In many games between evenly-matched teams, one team will jump out on the other team right off the bat; the other team uses all their energy to get back in the game, and then they don't have any energy to finish off the game. This is pretty much what happened Friday night. Worth County dug themselves into a 12-0 hole, fought back and led for much of the game, only to have no more energy to hold off Albany's final run in the last seven minutes of the game.
The Tigers had trouble containing Zach Sharp, the 2nd leading rusher in Missouri Eight Man Football. Drew Cottrill rightly had most of the hype; however, the scary thing was that he was only the third best back on the team behind Sharp and quarterback Seth Cline, both of whom had over 100 yards in Albany's 66-18 drubbing of Rock Port. Albany was having their way up the middle, people were getting blown off the line, and people were forgetting who they were supposed to hit as Sharp scored off an 18-yard scamper. After a Tiger fumble, Cottrill took a quick hitter up the middle, the same play that Mound City used, and scored from 15 yards out as Albany was up 12-0 with 5:28 left. It was seven minutes before the Tigers realized that they could play football with the Warriors, and that seven minutes proved costly in the end.
But the kickoff return game, which had been a liability against Mound City, turned into an asset against Albany as Tevin Cameron returned the ensuing kickoff to the Warrior 39. Assistant Coach Mark Fletcher said that Cameron would have the best hands on the team since Vinny Fletchall back in the late 1990's; he showed a ton of speed as he weaved his way through traffic. He is earning playing time; he played some receiver as well.
Another adjustment Coach Chris Healy made was putting Jayden Mancuso in at runningback and pairing him with Wade Rush and moving Chris Alarcon back to his natural position at end. Only a freshman, Jayden showed some raw speed and the ability to thrive in big games in junior high; this year, he showed that he has built on his success over the offseason. If the line can open holes for him, then he will be a threat to score every time he touches the ball similar to Eli Mullock. The line blocked as well as it has all year; the focus in future games will be to hold their blocks until the whistle and making sure that their guy does not make the tackle. They showed a lot more mobility in Friday's game; there were numerous times when Albany defenders had one of the Tiger backs zeroed in for a loss or short gain when someone would come out of nowhere and make a block to keep the play alive.
Jayden's 11-yard run to the 28 was followed by a 22-yard burst from Wade Rush down to the five. Wade showed some rust in his first game against Mound City; he got more confident against Albany and showed the form that made him so hard to tackle in junior high and in 'Lil Tigers, rumbling down to the five. Finally, Ben Badell threw a strike to Chris Alarcon to put the Tigers on the board with three minutes left. Worth County got a false start on the extra point, but they overcame that as a sweep play to Wade Rush fooled everyone as he was open all day as he rumbled in from eight yards out to make it 12-8.
The next challenge was to figure out how to stop the vaunted Warrior juggernaut; however, Josh Warner pounced on a loose ball at the Warrior 15 on their second play from scrimmage after Chris Alarcon's hit buried Albany in bad field position on the kickoff. Worth County was faced with fourth and three at the Warrior 8; however, they pulled off the guard eligible play and sprung Warner loose for a touchdown strike to put them in front. Warner rumbled in for the extra points to put Worth County up 16-12.
But Albany showed on their next possession that they could throw as well as run; Noah Wilmes showed that he is one of the top receivers in Eight Man as he got behind the Tiger defense for a 46-yard strike that put Albany back up 18-16 with 10:40 left in the first half. Worth County did a much better job of pass coverage than they did against Mound City; however, they could only slow down Wilmes for a time; they could not keep him down forever.
The question was how well Worth County would respond to Albany's opening up the game. But they showed some mental toughness as they responded with a solid kick return up to their own 35 and then a series of punishing runs, 3-5 yards at a time, down to the Warrior 17. Finally, Jayden Mancuso got the big hole that he needed and that was all he needed to scamper in to put Worth County up 24-18 with 6:36 left in the second after Ben Badell ran in the extra points. Worth County was ahead because they were converting their extra points and keeping Albany out of the end zone; a reversal from the Rock Port game.
Albany looked like they would come right back as Cottrill gashed the Tigers once again with the quick hitter. In order to get better, Worth County will have to find a way to stop this play. But finally, Andrew Faustlin pounced on a fumble at the Tiger 16 to kill the Warrior drive. Worth County had a promising drive to finish the half, but clock management turned out to be an area in need of improvement. Ben Badell got a block from Wade Rush and sprung loose for 15 yards into Warrior territory and then Jayden Mancuso got a block from Josh Warner for 10 more down to the 17 with time running out in the first half. But then the Tigers had a first down run wiped out by a holding penalty; the bad thing about that penalty was that it was committed after they had already gotten the first down.
Finally, with the Tigers in position to take a shot into the end zone at the Warrior 20 and one timeout left, they let the clock run out instead of calling timeout. Under the rules, either the head coach or any player can call timeout; but nobody noticed time running out until it was too late. Instead of Worth County possibly making it a two possession game and getting a chance to score twice without Albany having the benefit of a possession (Worth County had the ball to start the second half), they came away empty-handed. It's just like pop flies in softball, where someone has to take charge before the ball drops in for a hit.
That play seemed to kill Worth County's momentum, as they went three and out to start the second half and Ben Badell stumbled on defense and Wilmes had all the daylight in the world to catch a long pass that set up Drew Cottrill's five yard score early in the third to tie it at 24. Ben Badell atoned for that by breaking up the extra point pass to keep it tied.
Once again, the question was how well Worth County would respond to the change in momentum, but Wade Rush got consecutive carries of 11 and 8 yards and Ben Badell scrambled for a long gain and the ref tacked on a defensive holding penalty that move the ball all the way to the Warrior 6. Jayden Mancuso got a block from Truman Moore and got loose to put Worth County back in front at 30-24 with 6:30 left.
Albany went three and out, but then pinned Worth County at their own 8. Jayden got a 20-yard sweep to the 31 and Ben Badell broke another carry for 19 to get into Warrior territory at the 34, but then the blocking started to break down and the Tigers started having trouble holding their blocks and stalled there. Albany aired it out to Noah Wilmes in an effort to tie or take the lead, but Johnny Carlson came off the bench to break up the pass and Albany was forced to punt. He was able to give Ben Badell a rest on defense; Ben had to pull double duty directing the Tiger offense and trying to keep up with the fleet-footed Wilmes. One of the main reasons for Worth County improving their play this week was some of the younger players stepping things up and earning some playing time.
Gavin Hawk got a sack to force Albany to punt from their own end zone on that series and Worth County had a chance to go up two possessions as a shanked punt gave the Tigers a short field to work with on the Warrior 28. A holding penalty wiped out a first down run, but a pass interference penalty on Albany returned the favor and put the ball on the Warrior 13. Finally, Ben Badell found a big hole around the right end and got in to put Worth County up 36-24 with 7:19 left.
But then Albany spread out the field for the first time and marched right down the field, getting a pass to Cole Parman with 5:04 left to cut Worth County's lead to 36-32. Worth County had a chance to pick up some first downs and run out the clock, but once again, they could not run out enough clock and Albany got the ball back with plenty of time left. Ben Badell's 12-yard sweep picked up a first down following a Warner block and Worth County was faced with a fourth and one at the 40 with 2:23 left. Pick up another pair of first downs and the game would be over. But once again, clock management turned out to be a killer for the Tigers. They were out of timeouts, took too long to get the play in, and nobody noticed the play clock winding down and the Tigers took a delay of game penalty. Instead of a makeable fourth and one, Worth County was faced with fourth and six at their own 35 and was forced to punt.
Once again, Worth County could not keep up with Noah Wilmes, who hauled in a 36-yard pass to the Tiger 16. A false start penalty on Albany moved the ball back to the 21, but then Albany opened up the playbook with 53 seconds left and Zach Sharp went back for a halfback threw a perfect strike to Wilmes in the back of the end zone for the go-ahead score to make it 40-36. Ben Badell made a smart play by not coming off his man and covered Wilmes as well as he could, but Sharp threw it in a spot where Wilmes could leap really high for the catch. Worth County got the ball back, but with no timeouts left, they could only get it to midfield before time ran out.
Coach Chris Healy told his team after the play that the goal going in was to find some heart. "We found some heart; we can build on this," he said. "This one's on me. You all played your hearts out this game."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)