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The young and inexperienced McDonald County Mustangs grew up Friday night, but not before spotting Monett to a 19-point advantage in a 19-6 season-opening loss. The Mustangs were clearly in control of the field by the second half of play, but could not overcome early turnovers and key penalties.
Monett took advantage of a first-quarter turnover to march only 22 yards for its first score of the game. The Cubs scored again when a promising Mac County drive ended deep in Monett territory following a costly penalty. On the next play, the Mustangs were caught off guard when Kurran Blamey broke free and raced 75 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter for a 13-0 lead.
“When you start a bunch of kids for the first time, these kinds of things happen,” McDonald County coach Chris Gwartney said.
The good news for the Mustangs is that after the early miscues, they settled down and dominated play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball from midway through the first quarter on.
“We came out in the second half, drove down and put points on the board, and we fought all the way to the end,” Gwartney said. “That’s the positive you take from it.”
Mustang running back Jantsen Lynn ran for 188 yards on 33 carries and scored Mac County’s only touchdown at the 5:02 mark of the fourth quarter. New quarterback Cody Hobbs threw for 73 yards on 6-of-16 passing. He connected four times with wideout Chance Buttram in the second half, after the two struggled to get in sync early in the game.
As the game wore on, Mac County clearly dominated the line of scrimmage. The defensive front, led by Drew Fickle, Trent Baker and Jordan Moffett, forced Monett to look for yards on the outside.
That’s where they found them, too.
“No question we got hurt on the edges,” Gwartney said. “They got some big plays outside. We need to do a better job of reading blocks.”
The biggest play of the game, however, came on the opening kickoff of the second half. Blamey fielded the kickoff at his own 10, and raced 90 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
McDonald County drove into Monett territory four times in the first half, and inside the Cubs’ 30 twice. One drive ended after a fumbled snap, the other killed by a critical penalty. The Mustangs were flagged five times in the first half, one of them being a defensive penalty that kept Monett’s first scoring drive alive.
The young and inexperienced McDonald County Mustangs grew up Friday night, but not before spotting Monett to a 19-point advantage in a 19-6 season-opening loss. The Mustangs were clearly in control of the field by the second half of play, but could not overcome early turnovers and key penalties.
Monett took advantage of a first-quarter turnover to march only 22 yards for its first score of the game. The Cubs scored again when a promising Mac County drive ended deep in Monett territory following a costly penalty. On the next play, the Mustangs were caught off guard when Kurran Blamey broke free and raced 75 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter for a 13-0 lead.
“When you start a bunch of kids for the first time, these kinds of things happen,” McDonald County coach Chris Gwartney said.
The good news for the Mustangs is that after the early miscues, they settled down and dominated play at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball from midway through the first quarter on.
“We came out in the second half, drove down and put points on the board, and we fought all the way to the end,” Gwartney said. “That’s the positive you take from it.”
Mustang running back Jantsen Lynn ran for 188 yards on 33 carries and scored Mac County’s only touchdown at the 5:02 mark of the fourth quarter. New quarterback Cody Hobbs threw for 73 yards on 6-of-16 passing. He connected four times with wideout Chance Buttram in the second half, after the two struggled to get in sync early in the game.
As the game wore on, Mac County clearly dominated the line of scrimmage. The defensive front, led by Drew Fickle, Trent Baker and Jordan Moffett, forced Monett to look for yards on the outside.
That’s where they found them, too.
“No question we got hurt on the edges,” Gwartney said. “They got some big plays outside. We need to do a better job of reading blocks.”
The biggest play of the game, however, came on the opening kickoff of the second half. Blamey fielded the kickoff at his own 10, and raced 90 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.
McDonald County drove into Monett territory four times in the first half, and inside the Cubs’ 30 twice. One drive ended after a fumbled snap, the other killed by a critical penalty. The Mustangs were flagged five times in the first half, one of them being a defensive penalty that kept Monett’s first scoring drive alive.
Blamey only touched the ball eight times, but finished with 230 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. He also caught a 66-yard touchdown pass that was called back on a penalty. The Cubs’ workhorse was running back Aaron Hall, who finished with 71 yards on 20 carries, including a one-yard touchdown carry in the first quarter.
The Mustangs got solid play at linebacker, particularly from Rodney Leland and Josh Serr, while Grant Strickland picked off Monett quarterback Kyle Woods in the first half.
“We challenged them at halftime to go out and play hard, and not give up, and they didn’t,” Gwartney said. “For a lot of these kids, it was their first time to play. They went through jamboree, but that’s nothing like this.”
The Mustangs finished with 299 totals yards.
Next week, McDonald County opens it’s home slate when the Mustangs entertain Chanute, Kan.
