For the first time since 2016, the Barry County Brawl trophy will not be displayed in Cassville’s trophy case, as the Wildcats fell on the road to the Cubs on Friday, 27-10.

Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach, said the Wildcats succumbed to the warnings of pitfalls earlier in the week.

“First off, we had some turnovers early. We turned the ball over on our first play, and we had three turnovers in the first half, and a bunch of penalties. We had four possession with holding calls that put us at first or second and 20.

“I told them all week it would come down to the team that had the least amount of turnovers and penalties would win, and that’s exactly what happened. “ Monett punted on its initial possession, but the Wildcats (4-5) fumbled on their opening play, giving Monett the ball at the 30.

The Cubs then went to their bag of tricks, using the Wildcat Formation as Joshua Harvey threw to Ian Hildebrand for a 30-yard touchdown strike on the ensuing play. The 2-point conversion failed, putting Cassville down 6-0 with 9:27 left in the first.

The Wildcats’ next drive ended with an interception, as Cassville’s bag of tricks produced a pitch and Garrett Ewing pass to quarterback Bodee Rose, but the ball was picked off. From there, both teams’ offenses sputtered to move the ball, as the defensive units forced a quartet of punts.

Monett then found a rhythm and went 80 yards on seven plays as quarterback capped by the Cubs quarterback’s 49-yard touchdown run.

Where Monett found rhythm, Cassville found discord, plagued by penalties and suffering from less-thanideal field position.

Another interception set Monett up at the Wildcats’ 25, and three plays later, another quarterback keeper moved the deficit to 20-0 at intermission.

Cassville put a drive together in the third quarter, marching all the way to the 2-yard line, but a Rose keeper was stuffed a yard short on fourth-and-goal.

“We tried to get some positive momentum with a stop on defense and starting to move the ball on offense,” Weldy said. “We were also trying to calm some guys down because they were frustrated and taking penalties. Every time a positive thing happened, something else would happen, too.”

The Wildcats again threatened at the end of the third, facing a third-and-3 at the 9-yard line. They settled for a 27-yard field goal from Peter Littlefield.

Monett added to the score with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 6:36 left in the game.

Senior Jake Anthonysz said the Wildcats were missing a key ingredient.

“It came down to intensity,” he said. “We just didn’t play as a team and were not in the right mindset. I know we can play better. We starting playing better in the second half, but it still was not our best. They killed our offense. We couldn’t pass, and their defense shut us down. When we tried to start making a comeback, there just wasn’t enough time.”

Despite the loss, Anthonysz said it was still a memorable night.

“This is the game I look forward to every year,” he said. “Last year was such a great game.”

The Wildcats now head into the Class 3, District 6 tournament, where they are the No. 4 seed and host No. 5 Aurora on Friday. Cassville defeated Aurora in Week 2 action, 42-14.

“The big thing we are telling the kids is that Week 2 was a long time ago, and both of us are different teams now. They’ve changed some things personnel-wise and are doing different things on offense, and they have a different defensive front.

“They’ve changed some things, but we have, too. The Week 2 game doesn’t mean anything. We have to be ready for Week 10 Aurora, and we have to play better than last week.”

Anthonysz said for Cassville, that will come down to preparation. “We need to prepare better in practice and be in the right mindset,” he said. “We have to work hard and study the film. We have to be better in every area and get our minds in the game. Expect us to be better and play harder in the playoffs.”

Hopefully, a strong home Crowd will also play a role. “I hope being at home helps.,” Weldy said. “We only had four home games this year, so it’s nice to get in that fifth game and take advantage of being at home.” Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.