Mt’neers are district champs!

Will next face unbeaten Seneca in state quarterfinal at Mt. Vernon, Saturday
The Mt’neers defeated the Strafford Indians on Friday, Nov. 15, to win the Class 3, District 5 championship. It was the first time the Mt’neers had won a district championship since 2018.
Indians strike first, quick
The Indians drew first blood about midway through first quarter with a touchdown and PAT. They then recovered a fumble from the Mt’neers to go back on offense, and quickly scored a second touchdown and PAT, to make the score 14-0.
The Mt’neers got on the board soon afterwards, taking the ball to just outside the goal line. Braden Dodson capped off their offensive drive when he ran the ball past the Indians’ defense and into the end zone. An attempt at a PAT afterwards was unsuccessful, making the score 14-6 at the end of the quarter.Near the beginning of the second quarter, the Indians again scored a touchdown and PAT to extend their lead to 21-6.
The Mt’neers went on offense, only to have the Indians intercept the ball. However, the Mt’neers forced a turnover on downs and began a new offensive drive, which ended with Mt. Vernon gunslinger Gavin Johnston completing a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Zerby. Johnston then successfully completed a two-point conversion pass to Zerby, cutting into the Indians’ lead with a score of 21-14.
The Indians began their offensive drive and fought their way down the field, but the Mt’neers defense kept them from the end zone. With seconds remaining in the half, the Indians attempted a field goal, but Dodson body blocked it.

Mt’neers take second half, victory
In the second half, the Mt’neers tied the score near the beginning of fourth quarter when Dodson capped off an offensive drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Hunter Dawson followed up with a successful PAT to make the score 21-all.
The Indians went on offense, but Preston Hardyman recovered a fumble from them to put the Mt’neers back in possession. The Indians took the ball back when they in turn recovered a fumble, but Hudson Gaddy made an interception and ran the ball to the Indian’s 35-yard line. Three plays later, the Mt’neers pulled ahead when Johnston completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Zerby. Dawson then followed up with his second successful PAT of the night to make the score 28-21.
The Indians went back on offense, but Mt. Vernon blocked their attempt to score a touchdown, and the game ended a Mt’neer victory.
Mt’neers head coach Tom Cox joked that the players were about to send him into cardiac arrest.
“Ater the game, I said, “I’ve got one question for you. Are you trying to kill me? My heart won’t take much more of this,” he laughed.
Cox also said that the team’s fighting spirit made the difference in the game.
“I’m super proud of the guys,” he said. That’s a testament to their grit, their determination and their ability. You know, we’ve got some good football players and … tonight, I think they just refused to lose.”

This Saturday
The Mt’neers will return to Mt’neer Stadium at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, for the state quarterfinals. In this game, they will face an old adversary, the Seneca Indians, whom they played on Sept. 6. Following that game, Cox said he hoped to see the Mt’neers play the Indians again later in the season. Now that the teams will meet again, he said that he and the Mt’neers are excited for another opportunity.
“I think that we wanted that chance … again to play them, and they’ve got such a great team. We know it’s a huge challenge for us, but I thought Stafford had a really excellent team tonight too, and our guys prevailed in that so, looking forward to another week of practice, another week of our young guys to get better, (and) our older guys to just … kind of heal up (and) being ready to go by the time we play Saturday afternoon.”