In the week leading up to last Friday night’s Homecoming game between Mountain Grove and Willow Springs, both teams were feeling the affects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both had several players in quarantine, forcing many reserve players to step into key starting positions.
In spite of the challenge, the Panthers overcame their adversity as they won the total yardage battle, 372-147, in an impressive 20-0 shutout of the Bears.
Both offenses struggled to move the ball early in the first quarter. This changed with 6:14 left in the first quarter when the Panthers marched 65 yards down the field.
Quarterback Tyson Elliott connected with Hollen Glenn, who missed last week’s game with Ava, for a 10-yard passing play.
The two connected on a pair of five-yard passes during the drive before Elliott found Todd Edwards down the sideline for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
A bad snap exchange on the extra-point kept the score at 6-0.
Willow Springs’ offense did answer with a 25-yard pass on their next drive. Unfortunately, the Bears would turn the ball over on downs.
Elliott would soon hit Glenn for an apparent 65-yard touchdown pass that was called back due to a block in the back penalty.
Though they still gained 25 yards on the play, the Panthers did march the ball to the Bears’ 17 when Elliott had a pass intercepted around the 4.
Willow Springs’ offense then went three-and-out, but got the ball back when a punt hit the back of a Mountain Grove player.
The teams eventually entered halftime with the Panthers up 6-0.
In the first half, the Panthers’ defense held the Bears to just 61 yards of total offense. Mountain Grove had 181 total yards.
The Bears opened the second half with a pair of passing plays that totaled 46 yards. A roughing the passer penalty kept the Bears drive alive as they pushed the ball down to the Panthers’ 20.
Mountain Grove’s defense though stood their ground as Willow Springs was two yards short of converting a 4th-and-9.
The Panthers’ offense took advantage as they marched 82 yards on just four plays.
Glenn opened the drive with a 77-yard run. He scored then from four yards out and ran in a two-point conversion to push the Panthers lead to 14-0.
On their next drive, the Bears’ quarterback had a 58-yard touchdown run called back due to a penalty. They eventually pushed the ball past midfield when Brendan Rogers recovered a fumble.
Mountain Grove took advantage of the turnover as they marched 63 yards on seven plays to score their final touchdown of the game.
Glenn had a 24-yard run early in the drive. Elliott closed the drive with a pass that allowed Alex Casas to run under the ball on a sprint down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown play.
A high snap on the extra-point attempt and Casas’ decision to hold the ball led to Casas having his passed picked off on a two-point opportunity.
Gaven Moore had a sack for a seven-yard loss to keep the Bears from responding. Moore had a sack earlier in the game for a six-yard loss.
Kaden Bruce did have a big 27-yard run as he entered the game for the Panthers’ offense. Though the drive stalled, Rogers pinned the Bears inside their own 5 with a 55-yard punt.
Xander Goins finished off the Bears four plays later with a sack for an eight-yard loss.
The Panthers finished with 154 yards in the air and 218 on the ground for 372 total yards of offense. The Bears had just 115 in the air and 32 on the ground for 147.
Glenn led the Panthers with 13 carries for 144 yards and one touchdown. He also caught four passes for 45 yards. Trenton Bevan did have nine carries for 24 yards while Bruce had three carries for 28 yards.
Elliott completed 12-of-15 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
Casas had two catches for 48 yards and one touchdown.
Up next for the Panthers is a trip to nearby Cabool for a showdown with the Bulldogs on Friday, Sep. 25. Cabool is 3-1 after falling last week to Windsor, 26-0. They did beat the Bears on Sep. 11, 19-14.
