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The Neosho Wildcats and the McDonald County Mustangs closed out the summer 7-on-7 football league at Bob Anderson Stadium on Wednesday morning.
For the past month, Neosho has been hosting McDonald County, East Newton and Vinita, Okla. However, this week East Newton was attending a camp elsewhere and Vinita was forced to sit out due to the fact that Oklahoma is in a mandatory “dead week.”
So, the two local teams took advantage of the situation and treated the session like a practice for the first hour or so, stopping play when a coach wanted to make a correction or go over a coverage with his defense, etc.
After approximately 60 plays like that, the teams lined up for a full-on, game-speed scrimmage.
McDonald County got the scoring started after a good drive resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Cody Hobbs to Jansten Lynn. The Mustangs tacked on a two-point conversion by way of a Hobbs to Chance Buttram pass.
Neosho would answer — quickly. Justin McKee, who had an outstanding day at the quarterback position for the Wildcats, found Tyler Rathmann wide open on a wheel route for a 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. The two-point attempt by Neosho was no good when McKee’s pass for Ethan Pogue was broken up.
The next McDonald County drive stalled and they gave the ball back to the Wildcats. The Mustangs’ defense responded when Rodney Leland stayed with a tipped ball and snagged it out of the air for an interception.
With the score still at 8-6 in favor of the Mustangs, McDonald County went to work again offensively. The Mustangs continued an impressive display of intermediate passing all the way down the field. On a third down and goal to go play, Hobbs found Travis Metter for eight yards and a score. The two-point conversion was successful and McDonald County pulled away to a 16-6 lead.
Once again, Neosho responded quickly. McKee found Rathmann for another 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. This time, the two-point conversion was successful when Rathmann leapt above the defense to snare a jump ball in the end zone.
After that, both teams put in their junior varsity players and there was no more scoring.
Aside from McKee, Rathmann looked very impressive for Neosho. Two weeks ago, the last time the Wildcats played 7-on-7, the returning All-Conference player was on vacation with his family and the offense was not as effective. Rathmann was able to consistently find holes in the defense and make defenders miss in open space.
For McDonald County, Hobbs concluded a very strong summer by spreading the ball around to several different receivers. Buttram is the team’s most experienced and productive returning pass catcher; but Hobbs was also able to find Lynn and Grant Strickland with regularity for the Mustangs as well.
Both coaches were happy with the progress made this month. However, both know that there is still work to be done before the teams’ respective season openers on Aug. 26.
Neosho opens its regular season at home against Bolivar while McDonald County will travel to Monett.
The Neosho Wildcats and the McDonald County Mustangs closed out the summer 7-on-7 football league at Bob Anderson Stadium on Wednesday morning.
For the past month, Neosho has been hosting McDonald County, East Newton and Vinita, Okla. However, this week East Newton was attending a camp elsewhere and Vinita was forced to sit out due to the fact that Oklahoma is in a mandatory “dead week.”
So, the two local teams took advantage of the situation and treated the session like a practice for the first hour or so, stopping play when a coach wanted to make a correction or go over a coverage with his defense, etc.
After approximately 60 plays like that, the teams lined up for a full-on, game-speed scrimmage.
McDonald County got the scoring started after a good drive resulted in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Cody Hobbs to Jansten Lynn. The Mustangs tacked on a two-point conversion by way of a Hobbs to Chance Buttram pass.
Neosho would answer — quickly. Justin McKee, who had an outstanding day at the quarterback position for the Wildcats, found Tyler Rathmann wide open on a wheel route for a 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. The two-point attempt by Neosho was no good when McKee’s pass for Ethan Pogue was broken up.
The next McDonald County drive stalled and they gave the ball back to the Wildcats. The Mustangs’ defense responded when Rodney Leland stayed with a tipped ball and snagged it out of the air for an interception.
With the score still at 8-6 in favor of the Mustangs, McDonald County went to work again offensively. The Mustangs continued an impressive display of intermediate passing all the way down the field. On a third down and goal to go play, Hobbs found Travis Metter for eight yards and a score. The two-point conversion was successful and McDonald County pulled away to a 16-6 lead.
Once again, Neosho responded quickly. McKee found Rathmann for another 40-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive. This time, the two-point conversion was successful when Rathmann leapt above the defense to snare a jump ball in the end zone.
After that, both teams put in their junior varsity players and there was no more scoring.
Aside from McKee, Rathmann looked very impressive for Neosho. Two weeks ago, the last time the Wildcats played 7-on-7, the returning All-Conference player was on vacation with his family and the offense was not as effective. Rathmann was able to consistently find holes in the defense and make defenders miss in open space.
For McDonald County, Hobbs concluded a very strong summer by spreading the ball around to several different receivers. Buttram is the team’s most experienced and productive returning pass catcher; but Hobbs was also able to find Lynn and Grant Strickland with regularity for the Mustangs as well.
Both coaches were happy with the progress made this month. However, both know that there is still work to be done before the teams’ respective season openers on Aug. 26.
Neosho opens its regular season at home against Bolivar while McDonald County will travel to Monett.
