Cassville blanks Catholic, awaits Class 2 No. 1 Lamar

There are few back-to-back weeks in high school football with opponents as opposite as Cassville’s Week 7 and Week 8 foes.

The Wildcats got the job done at Homecoming on Friday, earning a 42-0 win over a winless Springfield Catholic team with only one touchdown on the year. The challenge this week is at the opposite of the spectrum, as Cassville (4-3) hits the road to face Class 2 No. 1 Lamar (6-1), a team averaging 35 points a game and allowing just 12.

“We have two tough games in front of us with Lamar being No. 1 in Class 2 and Monett at home in Week 9,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville football coach. “The last couple weeks we’ve had two good first halves, and I hope the win last week has built our confidence up.”

Cassville wasted little time dispatching of the Irish on Friday. Following sustained drives, quarterback Bodee Rose scored rushing touchdowns from 35 and 7 yards within the first 4 minutes of play.

The Wildcats’ defense also put up points, forcing an intentional grounding for a safety in the second quarter. Rose added touchdowns on runs of 7 and 10 to put Cassville up 28-0 at the half.

After a turnover on downs at the goal line in the third quarter, the Wildcats salted the game away with another Rose score from 8 yards in the fourth. Cassville added to the lead with an Easton Hughes 40-yard touchdown run with 3:43 to play.

“I thought the kids played well,” Weldy said. “We had a good week of handled it well and did what they needed to do.”

The night was Cassville’s best of the season offensively, with the offensive line opening holes for the Wildcats to gain 396 yards on the ground with the six scores.

Senior lineman Colton Blankenship said it was satisfying to get those kinds of results.

“We just tried to stay low, keep our hands inside and run our feet,” he said. “We gave the best push we can, and that gave clean holes for our backs to run through. In the first half we tried to pop them in the mouth real quick, and they never quit.”

Weldy said as the season has progressed, the hodgepodge line has found a rhythm despite lineup changes and injuries.

“The line is starting to come together, and sometimes it can take a long tome to get that cohesion because it’s five guys, plus a tight end, and penalties had hurt us. it was nice [on Friday] to play almost a full game instead of just two quarters.”

A full game will be necessary this week on the road in Lamar, whose only loss this season came 28-14 to Seneca. The Tigers traditionally run multiple disguises and misdirection plays, which Weldy hopes his young Wildcats can anticipate.

“The big thing is that our guys trust their reads and don’t get caught up looking at all the eye candy that Lamar provides on offense,” Weldy said. “That is obviously easier said than done, but that is what we will be working on all week.”

Another big factor in the result this Friday will be line play again, and Weldy said he hopes the improved play in recent weeks continues.

“We have gotten progressively better each of the last several weeks upfront,” he said. “So, we must continue to progress this week. Lamar will be big and physical up front and will present a tough challenge for us.

“However, our lineman are playing more confidently and have become more cohesive as a unit the last several weeks.”

That cohesion may be tested more this week, though Weldy said the swing in strength of schedule this week is not a concern in the locker room.

“We treat every opponent like they are a No. 1 team in their class,” he said. “We never underestimate any opponent, so their record doesn’t matter if it is good or bad. We try to prepare with the same focus and intensity for everyone.”

Blankenship said if the line keeps up its strong play, the Wildcats can compete.

“Lamar is pretty tough, but we can move the ball on them if we stay low, hit hard and drive,” he said.

Kickoff on Friday is at 7 p.m.