ANDERSON, Mo. — The McDonald County Mustangs made crucial plays on both sides of the ball late in the game to earn a 27-26 win over Nevada on Friday.
The Tigers entered the night ranked third in Class 4, but the Mustangs got it done in crunch time to secure a statement victory.
McDonald County scored a go-ahead touchdown with a minute remaining when Destyn Dowd found Cross Dowd on a 24-yard TD strike on fourth down.
Joshua Pacheco came up with a late-game interception that sealed the win for the Mustangs, who improved to 3-1.
It was Mac County’s third straight win after a 31-7 loss to Mount Vernon in Week 1. The Mustangs have wins over Marshfield 35-13, Rogersville 21-14 and Nevada.
Destyn Dowd completed three touchdown passes and ran for another.
The Mustangs scored on a 9-yard pass from Dowd to Isaac Behm before the Tigers got on the board on Avious Steadman’s 12-yard run.
A 19-yard touchdown pass to Dalton McClain gave the Mustangs a 14-6 lead at the break.
Nevada received a pair of touchdown runs from Jordan Johnson that gave the Tigers a 20-14 lead.
Dowd’s QB keeper from two yards out tied the game with 4:34 left.
Nevada took a 26-20 lead with just under three minutes to play on Case Sanderson’s 35-yard touchdown run. However, the 2-point conversion failed.
After the go-ahead TD pass, McDonald County’s Richard Gasca converted the PAT kick for a 27-26 lead with 1:01 left.
Pacheco’s late INT came on the 19-yard line with 30 seconds left.
McDonald County is at Cassville (3-1) in Week 5. Nevada (3-1) is at Mount Vernon (3-1) this Friday.
Missouri Southern quarterback Dawson Herl threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as the Lions took out Central Oklahoma 40-21 tonight in front of 5,011 fans inside Fred G. Hughes Stadium.
Southern (2-1, 2-1 MIAA) put up 392 yards of offense (195 rushing, 197 passing) as the Lions held the ball for 32 minutes and limited Central Oklahoma (1-2, 1-2 MIAA) to just 2-for-14 on third down attempts.
Herl went 15-of-24 for 189 yards and three passing touchdowns, while he rushed for 50 yards and a pair of scores. He was one off the school record for touchdowns responsible for in a game (six, Jacob Park 2019 vs. Northeastern State).
Nathan Glades had 105 yards on the ground, while Ezekiel Lang caught three passes, two of which went for touchdowns. Chris Boudreaux had five catches for 56 yards, while Jaedon Stoshak had three catches for 62 yards and a score.
Nick Williams had two field goals from 18 and 40 on the evening, and averaged 37.3 yards in punts, including a long of 43 and three inside the 20.
Defensively, Richard Jordan Jr. and Coleman Booker had nine tackles each with Booker posting a half a sack and two tackles for a loss. Jordan had 2.5 tackles for a loss of five yards, a forced fumble and two pass breakups. Jamie Tago had a sack, while Romel Readus added a half a sack. Ian McSwain had an interception.
Southern had four forced fumbles on defense and nine quarterback hurries on the night. The defense had an interception and a fumble recovery, while the offense didn’t have a single turnover.
Southern started the scoring in the first as Herl hit Lang for the first of two touchdown passes with 12:01 left on the clock. After a touchdown from the Bronchos with nine minutes left, Williams answered with an 18-yard field goal, giving the Lions a 10-7 lead after one.
Lang and Herl hooked up again with just 21 seconds left in the half to make the score 17-7 at the break.
UCO got a touchdown to get within six (20-14) as the third quarter wound down, but the fourth quarter was all Lions. Southern got a five-yard rushing touchdown from Herl, a 42-yard passing touchdown from Herl to Stoshak and another 16-yard score on the ground from Herl in the period. The Bronchos had one touchdown in the fourth but it wasn’t enough.
The Lions will be back at it next week as Southern travels to Fort Hays State. Kickoff from Lewis Field Stadium is set for 7 pm.
The Webb City Cardinals split four games at the Park Hill South Softball Tournament over the weekend.
On Saturday, Webb City defeated Willard 9-7 and also suffered a 13-6 loss to St. Joseph Central.
The Cardinals went 1-1 on Friday, beating Smithville 12-2 and falling 4-0 to Liberty North.
WEBB CITY 9, WILLARD 7
Webb City’s Kylee Sargent went 3-for-3 with a home run, a triple and a double. Sargent drove in three runs and scored twice.
Dawsyn Decker and Alex Maturino had two hits apiece for the Cardinals.
Laney Taylor was the winning pitcher. She gave up three earned runs on six hits in three innings. Karsyn Cahoon pitched two innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
CENTRAL 13, WEBB CITY 6
The Cardinals led 5-4 when Central plated five runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth. The Cardinals got a run back in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough.
Decker had a big day at the plate for the Cardinals. She hit two home runs and drove in three runs.
Liz Rhuems went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while Maturino had two hits, including a homer. Sargent and Sydney Strickland also had two hits apiece.
Taylor was charged with the loss after she allowed five earned runs on nine hits in four innings. Cahoon went two innings, allowing one earned run while striking out four.
LIBERTY NORTH 4, WEBB CITY 0
Liberty North’s Kiana McDowell tossed five scoreless innings, striking out eight and giving up just five hits.
Sargent had two of Webb City’s five hits. Jensyn Pickett, Kenzie Wynn and Maturino each had one hit for the Cards.
Cahoon took the loss, but she only allowed two earned runs on two hits in three innings. Taylor pitched a scoreless frame.
WEBB CITY 12, SMITHVILLE 2
The Cardinals recorded 16 hits in the lopsided win.
Sargent, Strickland and Maturino all had three hits apiece. Sargent and Rhuems drove in two runs apiece for the Cardinals, who put up eight runs in the fifth inning.
Lily Hall, Maddie Barchak, Pickett, Strickland and Maturino had one RBI apiece.
Taylor was the winning pitcher. She allowed two earned runs on four hits in five innings.
COC PLAY RESUMES TUESDAY
Webb City (9-8, 3-1 COC) hosts Neosho (14-3, 3-1 COC) at 4:30 on Tuesday in a key Central Ozark Conference clash.
BRANSON, Mo. — Joplin softball had a strong showing with a 3-2 record and a second-place finish at the Branson Lady Pirate Invitational over the weekend.
POOL PLAY
The Eagles (19-5) went 1-1 on Friday with a 10-2 win over Cassville and an 8-7 loss to Bolivar to finish as the top seed in Pool D.
Ava Wolf earned the win for the Eagles, which scored eight runs in the fourth inning, over Cassville after allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits, two walks and two strikeouts in five innings. Libby Munn doubled and led the team with three RBI and added a run scored. Kirsten McMillen doubled and drove in a run. Jadyn Pankow had two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Abby Lowery had a hit, two runs scored and an RBI, Maria Loum added a hit, two RBI and a run scored.
Bolivar scored all of their runs in the second inning and held Joplin the rest of the way in the second game. Caelyn Bobski took the loss after allowing six runs on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Munn led Joplin at the plate with a pair of home runs in a three-hit game along with three RBI and two runs scored. Riley Kelly had two hits, including a double, and an RBI. Bailey Ledford had two hits and scored a run.
CHAMPIONSHIP DAY
Joplin wrapped the tournament with a 2-1 record on Saturday with a 13-0 loss to Neosho before beating West Plains 7-6 and Branson 11-10.
In the opening loss to the Wildcats, who scored two runs in the first inning and 11 runs in the second inning en route to the three-inning win, Jill McDaniel took the loss after allowing eight runs, seven earned, on five hits, two walks and two strikeouts in one inning. Ledford had two hits, while Pankow also recorded a base hit.
Joplin scored in every inning, with five runs coming in the first two innings, in the win over West Plains. Wolf earned the win after allowing six runs, three earned, on five hits, three walks in 3 1/3 innings. Ledford had a hit, two RBI and scored a run, while Lowery had a hit, an RBI and scored twice and Kelly had a hit and drove in two. McMillen had two hits, while Munn doubled and drove in a run. Izzy Yust had a hit, scored one and drove in one.
Branson scored five runs in each of the first two innings only for Joplin to score the final eight runs, including a five-run fourth inning, to earn the win in the final game. Wolf earned the win in relief after allowing one unearned run on three hits, a walk and a strikeout in four innings. Yust tripled and had two hits, three RBI and scored a run. Ledford had two hits and three RBI, while Pankow had a hit, scored twice and drove in two. Ashley Phillips had two hits, an RBI and scored a team-high three runs.
Joplin returns to conference play with a matchup at Carl Junction on Tuesday.
BRANSON, Mo. — After a 2-0 record in pool play, Neosho finished off the Branson Lady Pirate Invitational with three more wins on Saturday to cap the weekend with a first-place showing.
POOL PLAY ROUNDUP
In pool play on Friday, Neosho (14-3) earned a 6-0 win over Glendale and a 14-0 win against Aurora to qualify as the top seed in Pool C.
A five-run second inning was the catalyst for Neosho in the win over the Falcons to open the tournament. Carleigh Kinnaird earned the win in the circle after pitching five scoreless innings on two hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. Beclynn Garrett had one hit and a team-high three RBI at the plate, while Abbie Carpenter added a hit and an RBI.
The Wildcats scored eight runs in the second inning against Aurora, another in the third and five runs in the fifth to cap the four-inning win. Chloe Patterson earned the win with five shutout innings on one hit, one walk and eight strikeouts.
CHAMPIONSHIP DAY ROUNDUP
Neosho opened the second day with a 13-0 win over Joplin in three innings, fueled by an 11-run second inning, before beating host Branson 9-0 in the Wildcats’ second game of the day. Neosho ended the day with a 2-1 win over West Plains.
Olivia Emery earned the win in the circle against the Eagles after pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out three. Beclynn Garrett had three hits, including a double and a triple, a team-high four RBI and two runs scored to lead NHS at the plate. Maelynn Garrett also had a double, three RBI and two runs scored.
Jill McDaniel took the loss for Joplin after allowing eight runs, six earned, on four hits, two walks and two strikeouts in one inning. Bailey Ledford had two hits, including a triple, while Jadyn Pankow also registered a hit.
Neosho scored four runs in the first inning against the Pirates in Game 2 before adding two runs in the second and third frames to highlight the day offensively. Carleigh Kinnaird earned the win after five scoreless innings, two hits allowed and six strikeouts. Autumn Kinnaird had two hits, including a double, an RBI and team-high three runs scored. Beclynn Garrett had a hit, team-high three RBI and scored a run. Grace Johnson had two hits, including a double, two RBI and a run scored. McKaylie Forrest also had two hits and an RBI.
Neosho scored two runs in the first inning against West Plains and Patterson earned the win after holding the Zizzers to one run on two hits and six strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. Carpenter had two hits for Neosho, while Carleigh Kinnaird had a two-run single with two outs in the first inning to fuel the Wildcats’ offense in the win.
On Saturday, thousands of high school and collegiate runners descended upon Missouri Southern’s Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course for the 33rd annual Southern Stampede.
An individual school record, top 10 finishes, and many season-best performances highlighted the day for high school runners from Joplin, Webb City, Carthage, Carl Junction, Neosho, McAuley Catholic, and Thomas Jefferson.
Joplin’s Hobbs Campbell runs to a third place finish in the Green Division at Saturday’s Southern Stampede. Campbell clocked a school record time of 15:24. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Joplin boys, girls both finish in top 10
The Joplin boys finished 10th overall in the 40-team Green Division with 340 points, their day highlighted by three runners among the top 18 individual finishers.
“We ran OK,” Joplin coach Dustin Dixon said. “We had some kids run well. We had some kids not run well. The university makes it very difficult to be successful here because we run so late in the afternoon. I told the kids that you’re not racing against the other kids, you’re racing against the heat.”
Hobbs Campbell broke his own school record on Saturday (15 minutes, 39 seconds) with a time of 15:24 that placed the Joplin senior third behind Kickapoo’s Tyler Harris (15:18) and Liberty North’s Sage Wilde (14:55).
Ian Horton, a junior, approached Campbell’s former school record and finished sixth overall at 15:42, not far behind Kickapoo’s Grant Musick (15:39) and Webb City’s Evan Stevens (15:38) in one of the first waves of runners.
Chance Tindall finished 18th in 16:08, Parker Durham 117th in 17:45, Aidan Koch 231st in 19:09, Brady Honeycutt 284th in 20:11, and Grey Edwards 335th in 22:28.
“The wheels fell off for us after that (our top three),” Dixon said. “Our No. 4 collapsed a couple hundred meters before the finish line. Our No. 5 had a good race today and he PR’d today. Then, the freshman at the back, he did his best.
“We had a kid obviously run poorly, because of the heat. It’s not his fault. He ran poorly, but it’s way too hot to give kids a good chance to run well out here.”
The Joplin girls competed Saturday in the Gold Division and placed fifth in the overall team standings at 201 points.
Allie Keizer placed fourth in 20:18, Averi Burks 23rd in 21:38, Mairi Beranek 62nd in 23:14, Cylee Gilreath 73rd in 23:39, Meridyth Mai 86th in 24:28, Isabella Cruse 92nd in 24:42, and Masyn Briggs 94th in 24:48.
“On the girls side, Allie Keizer ran pretty well today,” Dixon said. “To even out the races, the university asked some large schools if they were willing to run in the small schools division. I took them up on that opportunity to give us a little more space, because the race, as crowded as it was. … You saw the boys race start four times today and it started four times because they put too many people in the race. Kids trip over each other.
“I told the kids that we don’t make a big deal about the Southern Stampede because we know that some kids are going to run well, but there’s also so many challenges here because there’s too many kids in the race and it’s way too hot to run.”
Joplin returns to the course Saturday, Sept. 24, in the Gans Creek Classic in Columbia. Gans Creek hosts the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships in early November.
“I feel very confident in our team and our ability,” Dixon said. “Our boys have been very intent on defending our Central Ozark Conference championship that we won last year. I’m sure Nixa beat us today, but we are well on our way to defending that title. I’m proud of the way that we ran today.
“Goodness, in the race today, we had three kids run top 10 times in Joplin High School history. The fastest kid in Joplin school history, the second-fastest kid in Joplin school history, and maybe the seven-fastest kid in Joplin school history…they’re all on this team so it’s a darn good team.”
Webb City’s Abi Street is pictured during Saturday’s Southern Stampede. Street finished third in the Green Division. All photos by Shawn Fowler.
WC’s Stevens, Street place in top 5
The Webb City boys finished 22nd overall and girls 26th overall in their respective Green Division races Saturday.
Evan Stevens placed fourth in the boys race in 15:38 and Abi Street third in the girls race in 18:39. Both runners posted their best times of the season.
“I’m real proud of Evan and Abi,” Webb City coach Dustin Miller said. “They’ve put in consistent training all summer and all fall so far. They’re dedicated, they do all the little things right, and to watch them go out and compete in an elite race, it’s a lot of fun. I look forward to next week at Gans to see even more huge schools and to see how we progress.”
Evan Stevens
Blue Springs’ Abigail Brackenbury (18:27) and Cor Jesu Academy’s Adrienne Luna (18:30) were the only girls to finish ahead of Street.
“She’s run completely alone in her first two races,” Miller said of Street. “She’s raced some quality girls, but she’s just on another level this year. It was good to have girls in front of her and realize that she had more in her tank.”
Stevens continues to impress, Miller noted.
“He doesn’t believe how good he is yet,” Miller said. “I think now he sees, holy smoke, I was right there with the elite of the elite in the state of Missouri. He’s right there in the top 10 of the state with anybody else.”
Mason Hedger placed 56th in 16:49, Dakota Grove 153rd in 18:08, Spencer Kendall 163rd in 18:16, Andrew Dawson 242nd in 19:20, Noah Lankard 268th in 19:51, and Atticus Luzadder 274th in 20:00.
For the Webb City girls, Brooke Hedger finished 126th in 21:24, Kristina Bundy 157th in 22:10, Rachel Miller 158th in 22:11, and Hally Philpot 234th in 23:33.
“We look forward to this, certainly,” Miller said. “We run here, we train here twice a week in the summer, and we consider this our home course. I got to run here in college, and so it holds a special place to us. They look forward to it, because it’s the first time I really let the top kids loose every year. It’s a good challenge, a wonderful course, and an excellent event.”
The rest of the local varsity finishers
The Carthage boys finished 21st and the girls 37th in the Green Division.
Eddy Fuentes ran 86th in 17:17, Devin Smith 105th in 17:38, Miguel Solano 108th in 17:39, Michael Lanyon 122nd in 17:48, Caleb Fewin 158th in 18:11, Javen Boyd 237th in 19:17, Skuylor Honeycutt 252nd in 19:34, Colt Pugh 298th in 20:30, Xander Vasquez 311th in 20:58, and Indiana Gray 329th in 21:37.
Maggie Boyd finished 109th in 21:13, Katy Witherspoon 202nd in 22:46, Jennifer Rodas-Gomez 229th in 23:26, Jenna Wilson 273rd in 24:42, Sonia Lopez-Gramajo 284th in 24:55, Elsi Hernandez De Leon 293rd in 25:16, Sharon Velasquez-Mejia 299th in 25:46, Julissa Hernandez 300th in 25:53, Joanna Garcia 305th in 26:09, and Diana Pichardo 307th in 26:14.
Carl Junction’s boys were 40th and the girls 36th in the Green Division.
Jack Lawson finished 154th in 18:08, Alexander Allison 191st in 18:34, Isaac Willoughby 261st in 19:45, Colby Westhoff 296th in 20:23, Gavin Hall 302nd in 20:42, Jacob Garrett 314th in 21:07, and Luke Battagler 328th in 21:36.
For the Carl Junction girls, Alexis Carpenter was 136th, Klohe Burk was 166th, Sadie Burchett 198th, Bailey Feken 231st and Audrey Fletcher 241st.
Neosho sophomore Chloe Wood highlighted the Wildcats’ day with a 56th place finish in 20:22 in the Green Division.
Riley Kemna ran 115th in 21:17, Lakyn Prough 221st in 23:12, Makenna Davis 258th in 24:06, and Isabella Mabrey 315th in 27:37.
On the boys side, Neosho’s Gabriel Mabrey finished 214th in 18:51, Corbin Ables 239th in 19:18, Brandon Cargile 270th in 19:55, Christian Lindsay 277th in 20:01, Adam Farrell 286th in 20:13, Christian Williams 303rd in 20:57, Cannin Keena 310th in 20:57, Corbin Goins 324th in 21:27, Steven Knapp 339th in 23:13, and Zaine Powers 346th in 25:15.
Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry finished 11th in the Gold Division race in 17:11.
On the girls side, Sarah Mueller placed 84th in 24:20 for the Cavaliers.
McAuley Catholic’s boys finished 19th in the Gold Division with Joe Staton 81st in 19:26, Drew Zeb 89th in 19:38, Trae Veer 125th in 20:34, Alex Bohachick 152nd in 21:24, Connor Taffner 176th in 22:29, Cliff Nolan 179th in 22:33, and Grant Horinek 203rd in 25:38.
McAuley’s Kendall Ramsey placed 53rd in the girls race in 22:56.
