Month: September 2018

Reeds Spring and Mt Vernon are becoming regular dance partners.  They met on Friday Night for the third time in just over a year.  The two teams have met in the regular season and district playoffs each of the past two years.

Last year it was Mt Vernon that got a 2-point victory at Carl Langley Field in the District Championship game, ending the Wolves season and propelling the Mountaineers to what eventually would be a spot in the State Championship game.

This night would be another classic, perhaps even more so than any of the previous meetings.

In the early going it looked as if Reeds Spring was going to be able to handle Mt Vernon.  The Wolves defense limited the Mountaineers to 3 and outs on their first three possessions.  Meanwhile a 22 yard Colton Cramblett field goal and a 30 yard touchdown pass from Blake Gronvold to Cole Watson gave the Wolves a 10-0 lead.

Mt Vernon would own the rest of the first half.  Two touchdown passes from Zach Jones to Rafe Darter erased the early Reeds Spring dominance and sent the home town Mountaineers to the locker room with a 14-10 halftime lead.

Seth Stamps would get the Reeds Spring faithful back in the game immediately, to start the second half.  He took the kickoff and took it to the house to put the Wolves back on top.  But, Mt Vernon would respond.  Jones went to the air again, this time finding Carson Bowman for the score and regaining the lead 20-17.

That set up a dramatic fourth quarter.  Reeds Spring drove deep into Mt Vernon territory before having to settle for a 25 yard Cramblett field goal with 7:59 left.  That, tied the score at 20.

It looked like we might be headed to overtime.  But neither team was done.  Reeds Spring went into their bag of tricks with 2:25 left to go in the game and pulled out the hook and ladder.  It worked to perfection, as Seth Stamps got the pitch and raced down the sidelines and into the endzone to give Reeds Spring the lead and possible victory.

But, Mt Vernon did not go away.  After three incomplete passes, they faced a fourth and ten with under two minutes to play and deep in their own territory.  Two completions later and  targeting penalty put them on the Wolves doorstep with time running out.

Eventually they faced fourth and goal from the four yard line, with :26 seconds to play.  And, once again the home team delivered as a touchdown strike to the front, right corner of the endzone brought them to within one.  As they had all night they went for two.

After a time out on each side, one play from the three yard line, to basically determine a winner.  A muddle huddle and a quick snap was followed with an attempted jump pass that was well defensed and intercepted by Reeds Spring.

An onside kick and one kneel down sealed the victory.  27-26 was the final in a classic high school football game.

Unofficially, Cody Hughes had 24 carries for 95 yards to lead the Reeds Spring rushing attack.  Colton Cramblett was perfect on three PATs and two FG attempts.

The win moves Reeds Spring to 4-0 on the season.  They will play host to Springfield Catholic next week for Homecoming.

The District Football Standings have been released following a week where the weather forced numerous delays…

Class 3

1. Cassville  3-0  51.33
2. Mt Vernon 3-0  49.33
3. REEDS SPRING 3-0  44.67
4. Aurora 1-2 25.67
5. Seneca 1-2   25.67
6. Hollister 1-2 24
7. Clinton  0-3  20.33
8. Nevada  0-3  13.67

Class 5

1. Carthage 3-0  51.33
2. Parkview 2-1 37.67
3. BRANSON  2-1   31.33
4. Nixa  1-2  23.67
5. Republic  0-3   17

Class 2

1. Strafford 3-0  48
2. Fair Grove  3-0 46.33
3. Houston 2-1  41.33
4. Ava  2-1  37.33
5. Mt View Liberty 1-2  33.33
6. Willow Springs 1-2  32.17
7. FORSYTH  0-3  15.33
8. Mountain Grove 0-3  15.33

I will update standings weekly and starting next week I will also start with my projections in each class based on current standings and upcoming schedule….

Reeds Spring defeated Logan-Rogersville 40-15 on a rainy night at Carl Langley Field.

For the second year in a row, the home crowd saw the visiting Wildcats jump out early but for the second year in a row,  the Wolves came roaring back.

Rogersville took the opening kickoff and drove down the field.  Their drive ended when quarterback, Zachary Bergman scored on a 5-yard run giving the Wildcats a 7-0 lead.

Reeds Spring would get the equalizer near the end of the first quarter.  Blake Gronvold got a one yard touchdown run.

The second quarter would completely belong to Reeds Spring.  Seth Stamps and Coby Hughes would each have a rushing touchdown in the  period.  And, Blake Gronvold would add his second TD run in the final minute of the half.  Reeds Spring would go to the locker room with a 27-7 lead.

The rain would pick up in the second half.  Reeds Spring added a score from Colton Cramblett in the fourth quarter and added further on a spectacular one handed interception and return for touchdown from JT Bayliff.

From there, the Wolves gave the young kids a chance to finish things out.  Rog would push one into the endzone with 1:38 left to bring the margin to within 25.

Wolves would rush, unofficially for 366 yards on the night, 256 in the first half alone.  Reeds Spring had four runner top the 75 yard mark for the game.

Reeds Spring will travel to Mount Vernon next week in a rematch of the district championship game from a year ago.  Both teams are 3-0 coming in.

Don’t expect to see the Nike “swoosh” anytime in the Howell Keeter Athletic Complex.  Well, at least, no Bobcat athlete will be wearing the apparel.

The School of the Ozarks has announced that they will no longer wear the company’s brand after the company’s deal with  NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick

The Nike advertisement features Keapnerick, who was the player that began kneeling during the National Anthem to protest what he deems as  wrongdoings to African Americans and other minorities in the United States

“In their new ad campaign, we believe Nike executives are promoting an attitude of division and disrespect toward America,” said College of the Ozarks President Jerry C. Davis in a statement. “If Nike is ashamed of America, we are ashamed of them. We also believe that those who know what sacrifice is all about are more likely to be wearing a military uniform than an athletic uniform.”

Dr. Marci Linson, vice president for patriotic activities and dean of admissions, agrees with Davis.

“Nike is free to campaign as it sees fit, as the College is free, and honor-bound by its mission and goals, to ensure that it respects our country and those who truly served and sacrificed,” Linson says.

The College has been extremely consistent in standing up for its core values.  They gave up hosting the NAIA Division II National Basketball Championships after the  organization refused to require that all teams commit to requiring their players to stand for the National Anthem.

The field at Seneca is unique.  It can be intimidating and a very tough place to play, especially for a team that has never experienced that atmosphere before.

The Wolves made their first trip to Tom Hodge Field last night.  But, they were anything but intimidated.

As the game progressed, it became more and more evident that, on this night, Reeds Spring was the better football team.  They owned the game up front and that set the tone on both sides of the football.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Wolves got on the board with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Blake Gronvold to JT Bayliff with 7:56 left to go in the second quarter.

Reeds Spring looked to add to that lead before going to the locker room.  And, they used every possible second to do that.  With time running out in the half Reeds Spring went to their two minute offense as they finished marching towards the goal line.  As the clock got down to under ten seconds they went with a dive play to Colton Cramblett, who broke through the defensive line and rushed towards the goal line  He to to within a yard before being stacked up.  Reeds Spring immediately called time out.  The clock hit zero but the Wolves were granted the time out and two seconds were put back on the clock.  From here, Coach Lance Gosch showed confidence in his offense by going for it.  And that move payed off as Gronvold kept the snap and made his way into the endzone.  Cramblett made it 2-2 on extra points as he split the uprights and the Wolves went to the locker room with a 14-0 lead.

The second half was much of the same, as the offense continued to show the ability to move the ball and the defense kept the Indians in check.

Gronvold would toss his second touchdown pass of the night (sixth of the year) with :38 seconds left in the third quarter, hooking up with Seth Stamps for a 21 yard score.

The Defense/Special Teams would get into the scoring column in the fourth quarter.  A blocked punt for a touchdown would give Reeds Spring a 28-0 lead.

From there it was just a matter of preserving the shutout, and the defense was able to do just that.

I had Cody Hughes, unofficially, with 14 carries for 100 yards.  Cramblett added another 43.

Wolves move to 2-0 in the season and picked up another district win.  They will return to Carl Langley Field next week and welcome a familiar foe.  Logan-Rogersville will be coming to town.