Cassville moves to 2-0 with first road win

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

The Cassville football team followed its season-opening Barry County Brawl victory with another dominant performance Friday, shutting out Aurora 44-0 on the road.

The Wildcats scored on their opening possession and never looked back, building a 31-0 halftime advantage before activating the turbo clock in the third quarter.

“We’ve been talking about how we have to earn home games in the district playoffs, and I’m proud of how we played on the road,” Weldy said. “There’s years we’ve been terrible on the road and years we’ve been good, but we played well.”

Cassville opened the scoring with a 12-play drive after Masin Bryan returned the opening punt to the Aurora 43. Easton Hughes moved the Wildcats into the red zone before finishing the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 6:59 remaining in the first quarter.

Aurora appeared poised to answer on its next possession, moving to the Cassville 25 before an option pitch was fumbled and recovered by the Wildcats.

Cassville moved into Aurora territory on its ensuing possession, but the Wildcats were unable to convert on fourth down.

The Wildcats’ defense forced another Aurora punt early in the second quarter, and Cassville quickly doubled its lead.

Quarterback Jaren Stearns disguised an option handoff, and Aurora’s defense reacted to the dive, leaving Stearns with an open path. He raced 78 yards for a touchdown, putting Cassville ahead 14-0 with 10:09 left in the half.

“Jaren missed a few things early, but then he settled down and really grinded it out and wore them down,” Weldy said. “Then, he hit a few pass plays later. He’s a veteran and two-year starter, so he might miss a few but can come back, and I’m proud of him for that.”

Stearns’ next big play came through the air.

After Cassville’s defense stopped Aurora on downs at the Cassville 46, Stearns connected with Bryan along the left sideline for a 46-yard touchdown. The score extended the Wildcats’ lead to 21-0 with 7:35 remaining in the second quarter.

Stearns said Cassville adjusted its offensive approach after some early struggles throwing deep.

“I couldn’t tell if our guys were getting held or what, but we had to make an adjustment, some more rollouts, and then little options,” Stearns said. “The options were working really well. It was good play calling.”

Aurora moved to the Cassville 2-yard line on its next possession, but the Wildcats recovered a fumble to end the threat.

Cassville then put together another scoring drive. After a holding penalty erased a first down, Stearns converted a first down with a keeper before Bryan caught a pass for 11 yards.

Mace Bredeson then followed his blockers to the left and raced 72 yards for a touchdown. Cassville led 28-0 with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter.

“In the second quarter, we just started moving ball really well,” Stearns said. “Our line did a great job. We got a lot of blocks.”

Aurora punted again, and Bryan returned the kick to the Cassville 37 with 43.8 seconds remaining in the half.

Stearns moved the Wildcats down the field and connected with Kellen Weldy and Carlos Barrientos on completions. After an incomplete pass to Bryan and a defended pass intended for Weldy in the end zone, Stearns ran for 12 yards to set up a field-goal attempt.

Coach Clay Weldy called timeout with 2.9 seconds remaining, and Dade Zajac converted a 35-yard field goal as time expired to put Cassville up 31-0 at halftime.

The Wildcats wasted little time adding to the advantage in the third quarter.

Hughes opened the second-half drive with a first-down run, and Kamden Beebe moved the ball across midfield. Hughes then broke free for another first down at the Aurora 15 before Beebe moved the Wildcats to the 4.

Hughes finished the drive with a touchdown run, giving Cassville a 38-0 lead with 9:55 remaining in the third quarter.

Cassville’s defense continued to control the game. Bodie Hodge intercepted an Aurora pass and returned it to the Aurora 39.

The Wildcats then turned to their second string, with Spencer Drollinger, Wylan Farris and Hodge helping move the ball inside the Aurora 25. Hodge then kept the ball and scored from the right side, extending the lead to 44-0 with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter.

Cassville’s defense held Aurora scoreless throughout the remainder of the game. The Wildcats recovered another fumble at the Aurora 48 in the fourth quarter before running out the clock.

“Any time you go on the road and get a shutout, it’s a good day,” Weldy said. “I’m really proud of our defense. They have two kids that are D1 baseball commits, so they have some good athletes. Their quarterback made some good plays, and their running back was doing well before going out early.”

Stearns said the defense’s performance made things easier for the offense.

“It makes our job a lot easier for sure,” he said. “I’m really proud of our defense. They’ve stepped up and done really good the past two weeks.”

Cassville also used the game to give younger players extended opportunities.

“It’s huge for the young kids to get some time,” Weldy said. “We had a lot of freshmen play, and that’s good for the program. They play on Monday, but any time they get in time on Friday nights, that’s a huge thing and good for the program.”

Stearns said the Wildcats have more depth than they did a year ago.

“I love it,” he said. “We have it’s a much deeper depth chart than it was last year. If we got one or two guys to get hurt, we got more guys to fill in for that position alone, and they’re all really athletic. They do a really good job.”

Stearns went 6-for-11 through the air for 103 yards and one touchdown, and he led rushers with 127 yards on 5 carries with one score. Hughes had 8 carries for 57 yards and two scores. Bryan led receivers with 2 catches for 56 yards and a score.

In total, 12 Wildcats ran the ball in the game, tallying 401 total yards on 38 attempts.

Defensively, Hughes, Baxton Cornell, Spencer Drollinger, Kellen Weldy and Logan Parsons recorded 4 tackles each. Hughes, Bryan and Cornell also recorded 4 tackle assists apiece. Barrientos caused two fumbles, recovered by Hughes and Hodge. Hodge had one interception, and Ricky Norris recorded a sack.