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It hasn’t been the season that many hoped for with the Neosho football team. But on Thursday night, the Wildcats ended the season on a positive note.
Behind a solid performance by the defense and the most productive night of the season out of the offense, Neosho beat the visiting Central Bulldogs, 28-13.
“I think that it’s been a season of some growing pains, but it is nice to win this one,” Neosho head coach Jared Schoonover said.
After an interception on Neosho’s first play from scrimmage, Tyler Rathmann and Justin McKee led the Wildcats to 452 total yards of offense, 238 of them on the ground.
McKee got the fireworks started in the first quarter when he took a reverse 76 yards for the opening touchdown.
“After that first interception, Tyler didn’t get frustrated and we stuck with the gameplan,” Schoonover said. “We went into our four formation out our quad bunch and we got Justin McKee in that reverse on the next drive and, of course, he took it to the house.”
The Bulldogs answered back just a few minutes later on a 46-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at seven. That would be the only big gain that Neosho would surrender.
“Our defense played a great game tonight,” Schoonover said. “Our defense gave up one big play, on that long pass play. We were keying on No. 88 and the safety jumped the drag route underneath and they ran a post over the top. Outside of that our defense didn’t give up any big plays.”
In the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a long drive that saw them convert two fourth down conversions. The drive ended when Rathmann punched the ball in from a yard out to make it 14-7.
After forcing a punt, the Wildcats took over around their own 40-yard line with just over two minutes to play until halftime. With time winding down, Neosho took to the air. Rathmann connected with Ryan Taylor on a long pass play right off the bat to move into Central territory. A few plays later, Rathmann found McKee for a 14-yard score with 37 seconds to play until halftime.
After an unsuccessful hook-and-ladder play by the Bulldogs, Central tried to lateral the ball over and over again until a player found some daylight. As a result, it looked like Neosho forced a fumble deep in Bulldogs territory with a second left on the clock. However the referee signaled that the half was over and the Wildcats took a 20-7 lead into the locker room.
Neosho got the ball back at halftime and promptly picked back up where it left off in the second quarter, going 70-plus yards and scoring on a one-yard dive by Ryan Manuel. After a two-point conversion by Ethan Pogue, the Wildcats’ lead was 28-7.
Central star Secoy Hodges made his biggest play of the game on defense later in the third quarter when he came free on a blitz. Rathmann avoided the sack, but as Hodges ran by, he snagged the ball right out of Rathmanns hands and took it back 40 yards for a score. After an unsportsmanlike penalty set the extra point back 15 yards, the kick was wide and the score was 28-13.
From there, Neosho and the Bulldogs traded punts for most of the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Central was on the move. They had the ball inside the Neosho red zone with less than a minute to play in the season. A score wouldn’t have given Central the lead or even tied the score. But, the Wildcats’ defense held strong and Rathmann came up with the game-clinching interception in the end zone.
At this point, it was time for Neosho to have a little fun. The coaches called a number that hasn’t been called in four years. Senior offensive lineman Dalton Harris took a hand off up the middle and gained six yards.
It was the last play of the season and of his career.
For Neosho, Rathmann accounted for 309 all-purpose yards. He had 92 yards rushing on 10 carries, 176 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-20 passing and 41 yards on two catches. McKee had 88 yards on just three totes. Christian Lopez and Johnny Lowe had 43 and 24 yards rushing, respectively. McKee completed two passes, both to Rathmann and had 67 yards receiving while Taylor had 40 yards receiving.
On defense, Ethan Epperson had another great game. The senior linebacker recorded 16 tackles, unofficially. That would put him at 152 tackles on the season.
For 10 seniors, it was the last time they would pull on the black and gold of Neosho high school football. And while the results of this season weren’t what they had hoped for, it was clear that they were happy to end the season with a win in front of the home crowd.
“Across the board, our seniors played a great game tonight,” Schoonover said. “And there were some guys that played well who won’t show up in the box score. Dalton McDaniel is a kid that we put on their big No. 88 and in the first quarter he kind of hurt us but, after that, he wasn’t really a factor the rest of the game. Dalton did a great job. Obviously you saw some of the big plays from Rathmann tonight and you look at Gavin Rainwater and Dalton Harris on the offensive line. Ethan Epperson and Ethan Pogue and Ryan Manuel played well for us at linebacker. Dustin Burns made plays for us on special teams, Aaron McDonald played a good game and Johnny Lowe had as good a game as he had all season long.”
Beyond the impact of the seniors, perhaps the best news of the evening was the play of the underclassmen that the team will depend so heavily on in 2012.
“The Marble boys and Jacob Brock on the interior offensive line as well as Grant Shurley, who I think is going to be a very good football player down the line, (their play) is promising,” Schoonover said. “That’s four sophomores that got a ton of playing time on the offensive line in a tough conference. Then you’ve got Justin McKee and Davin Bentz who are going to be very good and they got a lot of playing time. I think that as the season went on, things kind of slowed down for them and let them get into a rhythm.”
Adversity is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to sports. However, the Neosho Wildcats have dealt with a great deal of adversity this season, dating back to the preseason.
“I think that it shows a lot about the kids that we have here at Neosho High School and I think it speaks to their character,” Schoonover said. “They went through a lot. Look at Dalton McDaniel and just how he carried himself and what he did this season. That’s a testament to what kind of young man he is and what kind of character he has. Look at Justin McKee and what he went through. People need to understand not only the people who are directly effected, but how it effects young people in general. It spreads out. It says a lot about these kids and how they handled it and how they stuck together. All season long, when one kid was down, the rest of the guys picked him up. And they truly loved and cared about one another. I am really proud of these boys and I am proud to be a part of this team and I am proud to have coached these seniors.”
It hasn’t been the season that many hoped for with the Neosho football team. But on Thursday night, the Wildcats ended the season on a positive note.
Behind a solid performance by the defense and the most productive night of the season out of the offense, Neosho beat the visiting Central Bulldogs, 28-13.
“I think that it’s been a season of some growing pains, but it is nice to win this one,” Neosho head coach Jared Schoonover said.
After an interception on Neosho’s first play from scrimmage, Tyler Rathmann and Justin McKee led the Wildcats to 452 total yards of offense, 238 of them on the ground.
McKee got the fireworks started in the first quarter when he took a reverse 76 yards for the opening touchdown.
“After that first interception, Tyler didn’t get frustrated and we stuck with the gameplan,” Schoonover said. “We went into our four formation out our quad bunch and we got Justin McKee in that reverse on the next drive and, of course, he took it to the house.”
The Bulldogs answered back just a few minutes later on a 46-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at seven. That would be the only big gain that Neosho would surrender.
“Our defense played a great game tonight,” Schoonover said. “Our defense gave up one big play, on that long pass play. We were keying on No. 88 and the safety jumped the drag route underneath and they ran a post over the top. Outside of that our defense didn’t give up any big plays.”
In the second quarter, the Wildcats went on a long drive that saw them convert two fourth down conversions. The drive ended when Rathmann punched the ball in from a yard out to make it 14-7.
After forcing a punt, the Wildcats took over around their own 40-yard line with just over two minutes to play until halftime. With time winding down, Neosho took to the air. Rathmann connected with Ryan Taylor on a long pass play right off the bat to move into Central territory. A few plays later, Rathmann found McKee for a 14-yard score with 37 seconds to play until halftime.
After an unsuccessful hook-and-ladder play by the Bulldogs, Central tried to lateral the ball over and over again until a player found some daylight. As a result, it looked like Neosho forced a fumble deep in Bulldogs territory with a second left on the clock. However the referee signaled that the half was over and the Wildcats took a 20-7 lead into the locker room.
Neosho got the ball back at halftime and promptly picked back up where it left off in the second quarter, going 70-plus yards and scoring on a one-yard dive by Ryan Manuel. After a two-point conversion by Ethan Pogue, the Wildcats’ lead was 28-7.
Central star Secoy Hodges made his biggest play of the game on defense later in the third quarter when he came free on a blitz. Rathmann avoided the sack, but as Hodges ran by, he snagged the ball right out of Rathmanns hands and took it back 40 yards for a score. After an unsportsmanlike penalty set the extra point back 15 yards, the kick was wide and the score was 28-13.
From there, Neosho and the Bulldogs traded punts for most of the game. Late in the fourth quarter, Central was on the move. They had the ball inside the Neosho red zone with less than a minute to play in the season. A score wouldn’t have given Central the lead or even tied the score. But, the Wildcats’ defense held strong and Rathmann came up with the game-clinching interception in the end zone.
At this point, it was time for Neosho to have a little fun. The coaches called a number that hasn’t been called in four years. Senior offensive lineman Dalton Harris took a hand off up the middle and gained six yards.
It was the last play of the season and of his career.
For Neosho, Rathmann accounted for 309 all-purpose yards. He had 92 yards rushing on 10 carries, 176 yards and a touchdown on 9-of-20 passing and 41 yards on two catches. McKee had 88 yards on just three totes. Christian Lopez and Johnny Lowe had 43 and 24 yards rushing, respectively. McKee completed two passes, both to Rathmann and had 67 yards receiving while Taylor had 40 yards receiving.
On defense, Ethan Epperson had another great game. The senior linebacker recorded 16 tackles, unofficially. That would put him at 152 tackles on the season.
For 10 seniors, it was the last time they would pull on the black and gold of Neosho high school football. And while the results of this season weren’t what they had hoped for, it was clear that they were happy to end the season with a win in front of the home crowd.
“Across the board, our seniors played a great game tonight,” Schoonover said. “And there were some guys that played well who won’t show up in the box score. Dalton McDaniel is a kid that we put on their big No. 88 and in the first quarter he kind of hurt us but, after that, he wasn’t really a factor the rest of the game. Dalton did a great job. Obviously you saw some of the big plays from Rathmann tonight and you look at Gavin Rainwater and Dalton Harris on the offensive line. Ethan Epperson and Ethan Pogue and Ryan Manuel played well for us at linebacker. Dustin Burns made plays for us on special teams, Aaron McDonald played a good game and Johnny Lowe had as good a game as he had all season long.”
Beyond the impact of the seniors, perhaps the best news of the evening was the play of the underclassmen that the team will depend so heavily on in 2012.
“The Marble boys and Jacob Brock on the interior offensive line as well as Grant Shurley, who I think is going to be a very good football player down the line, (their play) is promising,” Schoonover said. “That’s four sophomores that got a ton of playing time on the offensive line in a tough conference. Then you’ve got Justin McKee and Davin Bentz who are going to be very good and they got a lot of playing time. I think that as the season went on, things kind of slowed down for them and let them get into a rhythm.”
Adversity is a word that gets thrown around a lot when it comes to sports. However, the Neosho Wildcats have dealt with a great deal of adversity this season, dating back to the preseason.
“I think that it shows a lot about the kids that we have here at Neosho High School and I think it speaks to their character,” Schoonover said. “They went through a lot. Look at Dalton McDaniel and just how he carried himself and what he did this season. That’s a testament to what kind of young man he is and what kind of character he has. Look at Justin McKee and what he went through. People need to understand not only the people who are directly effected, but how it effects young people in general. It spreads out. It says a lot about these kids and how they handled it and how they stuck together. All season long, when one kid was down, the rest of the guys picked him up. And they truly loved and cared about one another. I am really proud of these boys and I am proud to be a part of this team and I am proud to have coached these seniors.”
