Wildcats defeat Seneca for first time since 2020

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

Over the last five years, the Cassville football team has fallen to Seneca seven times and been shut out three times —  but not on Friday.

With a strong first quarter and a resilient fourth quarter, the Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in Class 3 going into the contest, produced a 28-25 victory over the No. 3 ranked defending state champion Indians. The Wildcats rallied twice in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points in the final 6:28 and making an end zone stand in the final seconds to preserve the win.

For senior lineman Harley Madison, the victory carried extra significance after Cassville’s 33-27 loss to Seneca in the season opener a year ago.

“I feel so many emotions,” he said after the game. “I’ve been waiting for a long time to beat them. It feels so good. That whole last drive, I couldn’t even look up. There was so much just nervousness and excitement, and that kind of similar to Monett, but I feel like this one meant a lot more to me.”

Cassville appeared to have control early, jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

The Wildcats opened the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run by Mace Bredeson. After Spencer Drollinger helped pin Seneca deep on the ensuing kickoff, Cassville forced a turnover on downs and quickly went back to work.

Bredeson caught a long pass at the Seneca 17, and after the Wildcats moved inside the 10, Kellen Weldy powered his way into the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 2:26 left in the opening frame.

Seneca answered with a touchdown in the second quarter, then scored again with 28 seconds left in the half after a Cassville field goal attempt came up short. The Indians missed the extra point, leaving Cassville with a 14-13 halftime lead.

Seneca then took control of the third quarter.

The Indians put together a long opening drive of the second half, using their running game to move 80 yards before scoring on a 3-yard run. A failed 2-point conversion left Seneca ahead 19-14 with 6:53 remaining in the third.

Cassville’s next possession ended with an interception, and Seneca carried its lead into the fourth quarter.

“We just kept fighting,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville coach. “I told at halftime, hey, we got a lead right now. We were up two scores and then our mistakes gave them 13 points.”

Cassville’s defense eventually stopped Seneca on downs early in the fourth quarter, giving the Wildcats another opportunity — they took advantage.

Cassville drove 63 yards, converting several key third downs before Kamden Beebe broke through for a 19-yard touchdown with 6:28 remaining. The score put Cassville back in front 21-19.

Seneca responded immediately.

The Indians drove 55 yards in less than three minutes and regained the lead on a 13-yard quarterback keeper. The Wildcats stifled a third 2-point conversion attempt, leaving the deficit at 4 points, 25-21, with 3:52 remaining.

The Wildcats then delivered the biggest answer of the night.

Braydyn Sizemore recovered Seneca’s onside kick at the Cassville 47, giving the Wildcats preferable field position with 3:52 still on the clock.

Beebe moved the chains, and Jaren Stearns converted a key first down on an option keeper. Stearns then kept the ball again, beating his defender to the outside and racing into the end zone for the go-ahead 25-yard touchdown with 1:10 remaining.

Madison said the offense’s ability to keep moving the ball in the final quarter gave the team confidence to punch in the winner.

“That felt really good,” he said. “When it’s in a situation like that, you can just look and understand that we’re moving the ball. It feels great.”

Seneca, however, wasn’t finished.

The Indians started at their own 20 with one timeout and moved quickly into Cassville territory. A penalty for having 12 players on the field gave Seneca a first down at the Cassville 44 with 26 seconds remaining.

Seneca eventually reached the Cassville 26 and stopped the clock with a spike.

With 13.1 seconds left, the Indians faced third down. A pass fell incomplete, and a holding penalty pushed Seneca back to the 36 with 5.1 seconds remaining.

Kellen Weldy broke up the final pass to the end zone, sending the Cassville student section onto the field in celebration.

Weldy said the Wildcats’ ability to keep fighting through the middle portion of the game ultimately made the difference.

“I thought we were physical; our kids didn’t quit,” Weldy said. “Our kids wanted it tonight, and Seneca’s kids wanted it, too. I was really proud of how our kids fought.”

Cassville’s struggles in the second and third quarters were largely self-inflicted, Weldy said. Penalties repeatedly stalled offensive drives, while defensive breakdowns allowed Seneca to erase the early deficit.

“We have a few things to fix up,” Weldy said. “I told people a week ago, we’re going to know about a lot about ourselves we need to fix. We got a lot of things to fix right now, but we’re playing good football now. We found a way to win in the end.”

Madison saw a similar turning point from the players’ perspective.

“We were really just playing our game to start off,” he said. “In the second and third quarters, we were down on ourselves trying to make excuses, but we came together and we understood that we had to just get it done ourselves.

“We can’t look to the past, and we knew we could do it because we saw at the start of the game if we just all do our jobs, everything would come together, and that’s what we did at the end,” he said.

The Wildcats also had to deal with Seneca’s size and physical running game.

“I feel like we handled it low,” Madison said. “All week, we’ve talked about how big they were. We just needed to play with better pad level and be more aggressive. Coach Weldy harps on how the more aggressive team will win, and that’s just our philosophy.”

Weldy said Seneca’s physicality tested the Wildcats, particularly during the second and third quarters.

“They’re really good at running the football,” he said. “They have big backs back. They have big linemen, and they kind of grind us a little bit. But we find a way to make plays at the end when we needed to.”

The win was especially meaningful given Seneca’s recent success. Weldy noted the Indians had played in three consecutive state championship games and won their conference several times in recent years. Still, he cautioned his players against allowing the victory to become a distraction.

“Any time you play a team that’s been really good the last five years, it’s good to get a win there,” Weldy said. “In the grand scheme of things, it’s a Week 3 win, and we have got to keep playing. We have a lot of football in front of us.”

Madison echoed that message.

“Obviously, it’s big,” he said. “Like Coach Weldy said earlier, it’s only Week 3, so we got a long road ahead of us. But this is big because we want to earn more home games in districts because we don’t have that many home games — this is just one step forward.”

The Wildcats now turn their attention to the road and a matchup with McDonald County.

Weldy said the team will have plenty to address during the week, including penalties, missed blocking assignments, defensive breakdowns and hydration issues that contributed to cramps.

“I think that will be a big part of this next week, getting ourselves better, so we get ready for next week,” he said.

For Madison, the plan was simple after the biggest win of the season.

“We’ll celebrate tonight and tomorrow, then on Monday, we’re back to work and we’re focused,” he said. “We’re not done.”

Offensively against the Indians, Stearns was 3-for-4 in the air for 85 yards with 1 interception. On the ground, he led rushers with 102 yards on 12 carries and a score. Kamden Beebe had his best showing of the season so far with 53 yards on 9 carries and a score. Bredeson and Kellen Weldy has 30 and 20 yards, respectively, and each found paydirt once. Bredeson led receivers with 2 catches for 48 yards.

On defense, Carlos Barrientos and Weldy led with 6 tackles and 5 assists each. Masin Bryan and Spencer Drollinger each contributed 5 tackles and 6 assists, with one of Bryan’s being a tackle for loss. Easton Hughes tallied 1.5 tackles for loss. Weldy also had an interception and caused a fumble, and Bodie Hodge had a pair of pass breakups.

Kickoff in McDonald County on Friday is at 7 p.m.