Coach, players put focus on better week of practice

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

Cassville erased a 14-point deficit Friday night against Big 8 foe Lamar, but the Wildcats could not complete the comeback, falling 28-21.

The Wildcats trailed 21-7 entering the fourth quarter before scoring twice to tie the game, but Lamar answered with a touchdown with 3:47 remaining and held on to hand Cassville its first loss of the season.

The Wildcats entered the game unbeaten but struggled to find their rhythm early, something coach Clay Weldy attributed in large part to a poor week of practice.

“I was worried to go in the game because we had a terrible week of practice,” Weldy said. “We played like we practiced the whole week.”

The first quarter ended scoreless after both teams had opportunities.

Lamar opened the game with a drive that reached the Cassville 34 before a botched snap resulted in a fumble recovered by the Wildcats.

Cassville drove inside the Tigers’ 20 on its ensuing possession, but a 36-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.

After Lamar punted on its next possession, Cassville moved across midfield before a pass fell incomplete and the Wildcats punted.

Lamar finally broke through in the second quarter after Cassville was forced to punt from deep in its own territory. The Tigers blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown, taking a 7-0 lead with 8:51 left in the first half.

Lamar extended the advantage with 38 seconds left before halftime when the quarterback kept the ball alive on a drive that included several Cassville penalties before finding a receiver for a 23-yard touchdown and 14-0 lead at the break.

Cassville responded immediately out of the locker room. The Wildcats put together a drive that featured runs from Easton Hughes, Masin Bryan and Jaren Stearns before Bryan threw a 40-yard halfback pass to Mace Bredeson for a touchdown. The score cut the deficit to 14-7 with 9 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Lamar answered with a long scoring drive, using a combination of runs and a halfback pass to reach the Cassville 6 before scoring on a quarterback keeper to go up 21-7 with 5:58 left in the third quarter.

Cassville then began its comeback.

The Wildcats drove deep into Lamar territory as the third quarter wound down, overcoming several penalties to reach the Tigers’ 16.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Stearns found Bredeson for a 17-yard touchdown pass, cutting Lamar’s lead to 21-14 with 11:50 remaining.

Cassville’s defense then forced a Lamar punt, setting up another opportunity.

Bryan gained a first down on an option pitch, and Stearns followed by finding Bryan on a late route for a 27-yard touchdown. The score tied the game 21-21 with 7:18 remaining.

The momentum, however, swung back to Lamar on the next possession.

The Tigers converted a pass that moved the ball to the Cassville 17, then worked the ball inside before scoring on an 8-yard run with 3:47 remaining.

Cassville had one final opportunity after Bredeson returned the kickoff to the Wildcats’ 33.

The Wildcats faced fourth down after a series of negative plays and an incomplete pass, but a pass-interference penalty gave Cassville another chance on fourth-and-3.

Stearns kept the ball but was stopped short, giving Lamar possession at the Cassville 39.

The Tigers were unable to run out the clock after a fumbled snap with 49.7 seconds remaining, giving Cassville one final possession at its own 42 with no timeouts.

Stearns found Bryan for a first down, but a holding penalty brought the play back to the 33. Stearns gained five yards on the next play, and an incompletion left the Wildcats facing third and long. A final deep pass fell incomplete as time expired.

Weldy said the Wildcats’ inability to consistently execute, particularly against a physically imposing Lamar team, proved costly.

“We made so many unforced errors, so many mistakes,” Weldy said. “We just hurt ourselves at the wrong time, and when you play really good teams, well coached, and talented like they are, they’re going to expose that, and that’s what happened.”

Penalties were particularly damaging. Cassville had opportunities offensively but repeatedly put itself in difficult situations. Weldy said those mistakes became especially costly against Lamar’s defense.

“We were struggling,” Weldy said. “They’re so much bigger up front than we are. So you can’t be fighting the chain.”

Weldy said Lamar’s size was a significant challenge for the Wildcats. The Tigers were physical and athletic up front on both sides of the ball and a disciplined defense that made it difficult for Cassville to get to the outside.

“They’re big kids that are athletic,” Weldy said. “They’re very good up front on both sides of the ball. They have big backs in the backfield, and then defensively, they’re very disciplined. They’re very fast.”

The Wildcats’ comeback showed a different side of the team, though. Weldy challenged the team at halftime to respond after what he considered an unacceptable first half.

“I said, ‘Hey, you guys have embarrassed yourselves. You know, you didn’t show up to play tonight. Now we’re going to see what kind of team you’re made of, what kind of kids you are, what kind of leaders we have,’” Weldy said.

He was pleased with the response.

“After playing as badly as we could the first half, I was really proud of our kids coming back and fighting at halftime,” Weldy said. “I thought they came back and they tied it up and we had opportunities.”

Senior lineman Ricky Norris said the Wildcats recognized during halftime that they needed to change their approach.

“I think we decided to actually focus,” Norris said. “We didn’t have a great week of practice this week, and it showed in the first half. But since that locker room talk with Coach Weldy telling us we need to get stuff together, we decided to start working together instead of working against each other.”

Norris also acknowledged his own struggles against Lamar’s physical front.

“Me personally, I didn’t shove off my blocks as much,” he said. “I wasn’t low enough. Didn’t drive as hard as what I usually do.”

Norris said the experience reinforced the importance of preparation and consistency.

“I think our biggest takeaway from this game is that we need to work harder during practices, during games, working through all four quarters,” Norris said.

For Weldy, that lesson was the most important takeaway from the loss.

“We’ve got to prepare better,” Weldy said. “We’ve got to practice better. I mean, that’s a big thing I keep saying. I just thought we had a really bad week of practice, and it showed. And if we don’t prepare well, you can’t play well. You’re going to play how you practice — I hope we learned a lesson tonight.”

Despite the loss, Weldy said Cassville’s goals remain intact with three games left in the regular season.

“We haven’t really talked about that stuff,” Weldy said of Cassville losing its unbeaten record. “I think we lost to a good team tonight that played better than us. We still have all of our goals in front of us, things we want to do.”

Norris also believes the loss can provide a valuable reset for the Wildcats.

“It can, but I honestly think it will help us because we will now realize that we have so much more to learn, so much more to do,” Norris said.

Cassville will return home Friday to face Miller Career Academy for Homecoming.

Offensively against Lamar, Stearns went 6-of-12 through the air for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 14 yards. Hughes led rushers with 39 yards on 10 carries, and Bredeson led receivers with 62 yards on 3 catches and 2 touchdowns. Bryan had one catch for 28 yards and a score.

Defensive stats were not available as of presstime.