"Turn out the lights
The party's over
They say that
All good things must end"
The party's over
They say that
All good things must end"
- Willie Nelson
Yes, the high school football season officially came to an end Saturday, and it ended in twin blazes of glory for the Ozarks and the Big 8. One was red & black as Lamar won their 6th straight state title on Friday, the other was purple & gold as Monett claimed their 3rd championship Saturday.
It capped a pretty good season for me as well as I finish with the 2nd highest percentage in a season since I've been doing this. And that's with picking more games than I ever have before. So here's how it all played out in this 'see you next year' edition of...
- Lamar (13-0) vs Trinity Catholic (12-0) - Fri. 3 PM
- Prediction: I think the Titans get some points offensively. But defensively, they are in a pickle. If they continue to play their highly aggressive style, they will get torn to shreds. But the alternative is to play a more reserved, less familiar style against an offense they have yet to see. Lamar will have no problem putting points up and should be able to get title #6.
- Result: Lamar 26, Trinity 18. Easily the ugliest game the Tigers have played all season as they fumbled the ball 5 times losing 3, including their first offensive play. They also tossed an interception. And their longest scoring play was a 22 yard field goal from Eduardo Montayo to stake them to a 10-0 lead at the half. Offsetting that were Trinity's mistakes starting with failing to score from the Lamar 5 and missing a FG after recovering the Tigers first fumble. Lamar responded by grinding out a 15 play, 80 yard drive opening the scoring on an 11 yard Stuart McKarus run. Lamar intercepted Trinity QB Isaiah Williams 3 times in the first half to keep them out off the scoreboard. But the Titans broke through in the 3rd scoring first after Lamar fumbled the ball away on their 1st possession. That resulted in an 86 yard drive capped by Williams 37 yard TD run. After a Lamar punt, Williams hit Marcus Washington on a pass in the flat, Washington broke a tackle, and was gone for 65 yards and a 12-10 Trinity lead. That ignited the Tigers who embarked on an 11 play 67 yard drive that was keyed by Cooper Lucas converting a 4th and 1 from the Trinity 2 yard line. McKarus followed that with a 1 yard plunge to retake the lead. Lamar got their 5th interception to end Trinity's next drive, and finally looked like Lamar going 87 yards in just 5 plays with Lucas scoring from 11 yards out to make it 26-12 for a 2 score lead. And Lamar almost put the game away as Trey Mooney would intercept Williams again but would fumble the ball during the return to give it back to Trinity at the Lamar 5 with 1:37 left. Williams would take it in from there but the 2 point conversion was no good making it 26-18 with 1:27 remaining. But with just 1 timeout remaining, Trinity's onside kick attempt went out of bounds, and Lamar was able to run the clock out. Lucas finished with 110 rushing yards to lead the Tigers as they become the first Missouri team ever to win 6 state titles in a row.
- Monett (13-1) vs Maryville (14-0) - Sat. 11 AM
- Prediction: The Cubs can win this game, but their offensive line will have to play the game of their lives. Monett cannot totally shut down the Spoofhound offense, but they can slow them down. That means their best chance to win is grind out some long drives, eat up time of possession, and keep the Maryville O off the field. Unfortunately, I don't think they can do that for an entire game. I think it's close for a while, but ultimately, Maryville wins a tough game.
- Result: Monett 27, Maryville 18. Maryville outgained Monett on the ground, in the air, and had more first downs. But the Cubs did what they had to do to win. They won the battle for time of possession not only for the game, but in each quarter, they won the turnover battle 4-1, and they were a perfect 3 for 3 in the red zone scoring a touchdown each time. The Cubs set the tone early. Maryville took the opening drive down to the Monett 1 yard line, but after a penalty took it back to the 5 yard line, Monett would hold. They then embarked on a 14 play, 95 yard drive that consumed almost all of the rest of the 1st quarter. Ian Meyer finished it off with a 2 yard rush and it was game on. But the Spoofhounds responded emphatically going 80 yards in 10 plays but missing the extra point. The Cubs would just gain just 27 yards on their next 3 possessions and would make their only turnover of the game, but still held the lead until Maryville hit a 40 yard TD pass for a 12-7 lead going into halftime. Momentum swayed back to the Cubs when Michael Branch went 5 yards for a 14-12 lead with 3:35 left in the 3rd. The Spoofhounds came right back eating up the rest of the 3rd and scoring on the second play of the 4th but once again failed on the 2-point attempt to lead 18-14. But then momentum took a huge turn toward Monett. After forcing Maryville to attempt a punt, the snap sailed over the head of the Spoofhound punter. He recovered the ball but was tackled at the 1 by Onis Howard. 3 plays later, Meyer found the end zone again. The failed XP made it 20-18 to the Cubs. Monett kept the momentum on Maryville's first play following the kickoff picking off Maryville QB Trey Oglesby at the 44. Monett drove to the Maryville 10 yard line but faced 4th & 7. Rather than kick a field goal Coach Derek Uhl decided to go for the kill and got it when Meyer found Alex Turner for a 10 yard TD. The extra point made it a 2 possession game with 2:42 remaining, and when Brody Crawford picked off Oglesby a minute and a half later, the celebration was on. Great performance by the Cubs as they win their first state championship since 1977.
Overall Record: 356-74, .828. Second only to my 2013 season when I picked 83.5% of games right. So, not bad.
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