Mt’neers fall to Wildcats, 26-8

By: 
Steve Chapman

A host of Mt’neers tackle the Wildcats’ ball carrier.

Juliun Hernandez runs the ball down the field and past the Wildcats.

The Mt’neers suffered their first defeat of the season at Mt’neer Stadium on Friday, Sept. 16 while playing the Logan-Rogersville Wildcats.
The Wildcats scored their first touchdown in the first quarter and followed up with a PAT to make the initial score 7-0. The scored two more touchdowns in second quarter. They attempted a PAT after the second touchdown, but it fell short of the goal. An attempted two-point conversion after the third touchdown was blocked by the Mt’neers.
The Mt’neers appeared to rally at the end of the half when Gavin Johnston made a six-yard touchdown pass to Clayton Turner just as the play clock ran out. The Mt’neers followed up with a two-point conversion when Johnston completed a pass to Braden Dodson, who ran the ball into the end zone, making the score 19-8 at the end of the half.
Unfortunately, the Mt’neers were unable to maintain their momentum in the second half of the game, and after a scoreless third quarter, the Wildcats scored one more touchdown in the fourth quarter, followed by a successful PAT to make the final score 26-8.
Tom Cox, the Mt’neers head coach, said the team should have pulled done a better job of working together.
“Overall, we didn't play very well, and I didn't coach very well,” he said. “We had some outstanding individual performances, but this is a team sport, and we just didn't play very well together. It takes all eleven men on the field to execute an offensive play or a defensive stunt and/or coverage. Rogersville made the plays when it counted, and we didn't. Our offense had trouble sustaining and finishing drives and our defense couldn't get off the field on several crucial third downs. However, I was extremely proud of how we handled the last 30 seconds of the first half. To score with no time left on the clock and convert the two point conversion took a lot of determination and grit.”  
The Mt’neers will play at Mt’neer Stadium again on Friday, Sept. 23; Cox said the team will use the lessons they learned in the loss to Logan-Rogersville when they play Nevada.
“This defeat hurts, but it is not fatal,” he said. “We look forward to playing at home again Friday against a formidable opponent in the Class-Four Nevada Tigers. Both teams are 3-1, (so) it should be a heck of a game. We will continue to work hard each and every week in preparation for whomever is next on the schedule. The Mountaineers will keep climbing.”
 

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Lawrence County Record

312 S. Hickory St.
Mt. Vernon, MO, 65712
www.lawrencecountyrecord.com

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