RAYTOWN, Mo. — Second-seeded Raytown South took the early lead and never gave it up on the way to a 35-14 win over seventh-seeded Neosho in the Class 5 District 7 opening round of action on Friday.
Raytown South scored first and used three unanswered touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into the intermission. Neosho got on the board first in the second half, but it was all Raytown South from there on the way to the win.
Raytown South advances to take on third-seeded Carthage on Friday in the district semifinals.
Neosho’s season ends with a 1-9 record. The Wildcats graduate 15 seniors.
After Raytown South marched down the field for a touchdown from Mylen Simmons on the first possession of the game for a 7-0 lead, the Cardinals went up 13-0 by the end of the first quarter after Marcus Neal Jr. scored from 2 yards out at the 17-second mark.
Simmons added a 2-yard touchdown run for Raytown South with 39 seconds left in the first half with Logan Lanear hauling in the reception to convert the 2-point try for a 21-0 lead by the intermission.
Neosho got on the scoreboard first in the second half for the Wildcats’ first score of the game. The Wildcats used a 6-yard touchdown pass from QB Quenton Hughes to WR Hudson Williams with 6:51 on the clock to trim Neosho’s deficit to 21-7.
Raytown South answered the Neosho score with a 3-yard touchdown run by Simmons late in the third quarter to push the lead to 28-7.
Simmons added his fourth touchdown of the night with less than eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter to give Raytown South a 35-7 lead.
Hughes connected for a 30-yard touchdown pass late to make the score 35-14 with less than two minutes to play in the game.
