‘Cats blank Nevada, get bye as district No. 1

By Kyle Troutman [email protected]

By the time the Wildcats suit up for their Class 3, District 6 semifinal on Nov. 6, they will have gone 35 days and 99 minutes and 47 seconds of game time without allowing a score.

Cassville’s football squad turned in a second consecutive shutout on Friday, defeating Nevada, 28-0, to cap the regular season at 8-1. The only loss on the books heading into district play is by 7 points to Lamar — the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2, undefeated Big 8 champion and the last team to score on the Wildcats.

With the Nevada win, Cassville secured the No. 1 district seed and a bye in the first round of district play. It will be the second time in four weeks the Wildcats have a break, as their Week 7 matchup against Miller Career Academy resulted in a forfeit and no contest played.

Jayce Magula, senior offensive lineman, said with the regular season in the books, Cassville is optimistic for what the next weeks will bring.

“I feel confident going into districts,” he said. “We’ll probably prepare for it like all teams, and rest, mainly. [After getting two shutouts in a row], I feel like we’re not going to lose again.”

Against Nevada on the road Friday, the Wildcats overcame a scoreless first quarter and some early offensive miscues to pull away, scoring twice in the second quarter before adding two more touchdowns in the second half.

“I’m very proud of this group,” said Clay Weldy, Cassville coach. “I’ve seen us grow this year. We got some things we had to fix, obviously. But one of the things all year we talked about was trying to earn more home games.”

The Wildcats’ defense helped make that possible Friday, holding Nevada scoreless while forcing turnovers and coming up with key stops. After a sluggish opening quarter in which Nevada punted four times and Cassville fumbled one possession away and punted twice, the Wildcats’ offense found its rhythm with a lengthy scoring drive in the second.

“It was challenging at first to get to the right spot,” Magula said. “For me personally, I was just trying to get over the shin. The shin was killing me.”

Kamden Beebe sparked the possession of the second frame with a 9-yard run and first down. Quarterback Jaren Stearns added key runs, while Easton Hughes and Mace Bredeson helped move the ball into the red zone. Beebe eventually bounced off multiple tackles to score from 3 yards out, giving Cassville a 7-0 lead with 5:49 left in the first half.

The Wildcats’ defense then stopped Nevada on fourth down at the Tigers’ 27-yard line, giving the offense another opportunity to score. Stearns weaved his way to the 11, and Masin Bryan carried the ball to the 1-yard line. Bryan followed the offensive line into the end zone to extend the lead to 14-0 with 2:56 remaining before halftime.

Cassville carried that advantage into the break and continued to rely on its defense in the third quarter. Nevada managed to move the ball on a few possessions, but the Wildcats came up with timely stops. Wylan Farris nearly intercepted a pass, Carlos Barrientos broke up another attempt and Barrientos later intercepted a pass at the Wildcats’ 32-yard line.

Weldy said the defense has been playing at a high level over the past several weeks, providing a strong foundation as the postseason approaches.

“Our defense has played extremely well the last few weeks,” he said. “I’ve been so proud of them.”

Cassville extended its lead early in the fourth quarter. After Hughes picked up a first down and Stearns connected with senior Chase Ruark for another, Hughes broke through Nevada’s defense for a 39-yard touchdown run. The score made it 21-0 with 10:33 remaining.

The Wildcats added their final touchdown with 5:36 left in the game. Beebe converted a third down to keep the drive moving, and a pass to Bredeson advanced Cassville to the Nevada 12-yard line. Hughes then worked his way through the middle to the 2 before finishing the drive with another touchdown, completing the 28-0 scoreline.

The shutout marked another strong defensive showing for a Cassville team that has continued to produce despite some offensive inconsistency. Weldy said the Wildcats have experienced recent issues with fumbles and execution after playing through an unusual stretch of the schedule that included multiple road games, a Saturday contest and changes to the team’s normal routine.

“It’s us,” Weldy said of the offensive struggles. “We were playing so sharp early in the year, and at some point, you knew we were going to have some things happen.”

Weldy said the team will use its upcoming week off to recover, sharpen its execution and address mistakes before turning its attention to a district opponent.

“This week is about us,” Weldy said. “We’re going to focus on us, kind of like we did in camp. We will not necessarily focus on any team that we’re trying to get ready for, just get ourselves better.”

On Nov. 6, the Wildcats will host the winner of Friday’s No. 4 Mt. Vernon and No. 5 Reeds Spring matchup. The remainder of the bracket includes No. 2 Seneca against No. 7 Hollister and No. 3 Nevada against No. 6 Aurora. The Wildcats hold wins this season over Mt. Vernon, Seneca, Nevada and Aurora. 

Cassville is also ranked No. 3 in Class 3 behind No. 1 St. Pius X (Kansas City) and No. 2 Maryville, teams that hold the top two seeds and byes this week in the Class 3, District 8 bracket. Seneca, who the Wildcats defeated 28-25 in Week 3, is ranked No. 4 in the state. If champions from districts 6 and 8 advance through the sectional rounds, they will meet in the Class 3 state semifinals on Nov. 28.

For Weldy, however, there is no emphasis on that far in the future, Rather, Weldy said the immediate priorities are improving ball security, getting the offense back to its early-season form and getting players healthy.

The Wildcats’ defensive front will be a key part of that postseason effort. Weldy said Cassville rotates several players along the line, including athletes who moved from linebacker to defensive line this season. The group includes players of different sizes who have found ways to disrupt opposing offenses.

“We got a lot of guys,” Weldy said. “There’s some smaller guys that are just playing out of their minds right now.”

Weldy said the defensive line has created havoc throughout the season and hopes that production continues into postseason play.

Offensively, Stearns went 3-for-9 for 76 yards through the air and racked up another 52 yards on 8 carries. Hughes led the offense with 99 yards on 12 carries and 2 scores, followed by Beebe’s 93 yards on 12 carries and score. Bryan managed 20 yards on 6 carries and a score. Bredeson, Barrientos and Ruark split the three receptions at 1 apiece for 41, 23 and 12 yards, respectively.

Defensive stats were not available as of presstime.