District playoffs — Mt. Vernon Mt’neers defeat Panthers

Team will play Strafford Indians in district final showdown on Strafford’s home turf, Friday
The Mt. Vernon Mt’neers defeated the Mountain Grove Panthers in the Class 3, District 5 semifinal game at Mt’neer Stadium on Friday, Nov. 8. With this win, the Mt’neers advance to the district final game in Strafford on Friday, Nov. 15.
Mountain Grove was first on the board when they scored a touchdown and a PAT about midway through the first quarter to make the score 7-0. It appeared that they would further their lead when they recovered a fumble not long afterwards from the Mt’neers, but the Mt’neers took the ball back when Mountain Grove made a fumble of their own, putting the team in business on Mt. Vernon’s 33-yard line. Three plays later, Braden Dodson made a 54-yard run into the end zone to give the Mt’neers their first touchdown of the night. Hunter Dawson followed up with a successful PAT to even the score, 7-all at the end of the first quarter.
The Mt’neers then halted the Panthers’ offensive drive in the beginning of second quarter by forcing a turnover on downs, but Mountain Grove then intercepted the ball to go back on offense. They quickly made a touchdown, followed by a PAT, to retake the lead, 14-7.
On offense, the Mt’neers fought their way down the field to make a touchdown near the end of the half, with Dodson capping off the drive with a three-yard touchdown plunge. Dawson made a successful PAT to even the score, 14-all.
In the final seconds of the half, the Mt’neers took the lead when Coy Felton made a pick-six, intercepting the ball from the Panthers and then making a 65-yard touchdown run in the end zone. Dawson followed up with his third PAT of the evening to make the score 21-14 at halftime.

Soggy second half
Enduring the rainfall in the second half of the game, the Mt’neers scored again about midway through the third quarter after slowly fighting their way to the Panthers’ end zone; Dodson capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. However, an attempt to follow up with a PAT was unsuccessful, making the score 27-14. The Panthers scored their own touchdown near the end of the quarter and made a PAT in an attempt to close the gap with a score of 27-21.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, Mountain Grove recovered a fumble from Mt. Vernon to go back on offense, but the Mt’neers quickly forced a turnover to take the ball back near the beginning of the fourth quarter and fought their way to the Panthers’ end zone. Dodson capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown run, and the team followed up with a two-point conversion when Gavin Johnston successfully completed a pass to Juliun Hernandez, ending the game with a score of 35-21.
Mt’neer head coach Tom Cox said the team had a hard time at the beginning of the game but found their momentum.
“We started poorly by fumbling on the first play of the game,” he said. “Fortunately, we recovered it, but we followed that up with a false start which put us in a deep hole to dig out of. I was disappointed in the start, but super proud of the grit we showed throughout the night. We battled back to tie the score before the end of the first half, and Coy Felton made possibly the play of the game with his pick-six with around a minute to play. That gave us huge momentum coming out of the locker room for the second half.”
Cox also said that the Mt’neers dominated the second half of the game.
“I felt like we controlled the line of scrimmage for the final 24 minutes of the game,” he said. “Our defense played great, and our offense was able to run the ball when everyone in the stadium knew we were going to run it. Braden Dodson carried the ball 38 times for 220 yards and four touchdowns. The guy is a beast, but he didn’t do it alone; it was a total team effort.”

This Friday
The team is now focused on their upcoming game with the Strafford Indians, at Strafford. Cox said they will be difficult to beat, but the Mt’neers are eager to meet them on the field.
“Our sights are set on the Strafford Indians now, who are 9-1 with their only loss coming at the hands of the undefeated Fair Grove Eagles,” he said. “Their tailback was selected as the Class 1-3 Offensive Player of the Year by the Springfield Quarterback Club. Our very own Braden Dodson was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year, so it should be a great matchup. We will have to play very well to come out on top. Needless to say, we are looking forward to the challenge.”