For two years in a row, the Cabool Bulldogs’ football team simply had the upper hand in the rivalry match-up with Mountain Grove.
Cabool had outscored the Panthers, 53-12, in the last two meetings, which includes a 27-0 shutout two seasons ago.
The Bulldogs’ momentum in the rivalry came to a sudden halt last Friday night as the Panthers dominated Cabool in a 49-6 win on Homecoming night.
Mountain Grove had 300 more yards of total offense (418-118) as the Panthers enjoyed the benefits of a mercy clock for the second straight South Central Association (SCA) contest.
The Panthers’ defense set the tone early as Jakob Norman had a sack on the first play of the game. Cabool had minus nine yards of offense as they went three-and-out and punted the ball away.
A bad punt gave the Panthers the ball on Cabool’s 40. The Panthers took advantage by marching 40 yards on seven plays, paced by Isiah Hellbusch’s 19-yard run. Quarterback Tyson Elliott finished the drive by connecting with Drew Vaughan for a 12-yard touchdown pass. A failed extra point kick kept the score at 6-0.
Mountain Grove’s Gaven Moore came up big for the Panthers on Cabool’s next drive. He first had a big hit on Cabool’s quarterback on their second play.
The Bulldogs took advantage of three Mountain Grove defensive encroachment penalties to advance the ball to Mountain Grove’s 3 yard line.
A holding call pushed the ball back to the 15 when Moore had a sack for minus six yards. On 4th-and-21, Moore added a second straight sack, this time for a 13-yard loss, as Cabool turned the ball over on downs.
Four plays later, Elliott connected with Hollen Glenn for a 41-yard touchdown pass. He then hit Vaughan for a 2-point conversion to push the lead to 14-0.
Late in the first quarter, the Panthers’ offense put together a 82-yard drive.
Elliott connected with Vaughan for 17 yards. He then hit Bryce Stenzel with an over-the-shoulder pass that Stenzel caught in the end zone for a 34-yard touchdown.
Hoyt Mathews’ kick pushed the least to 21-0.
Two plays later, Cabool’s quarterback had his pitch to the running back hit the ground that was covered by Deveyn Martin.
With the ball on Cabool’s 34, Elliott connected with Glenn for two straight eight yard passes. Elliott would scored on a one yard touchdown as time expired in the first half. Mathews’ kick gave the Panthers a 28-0 halftime lead. In the first half, Mountain Grove had 171 yards passing and 76 yards on the ground for 247 total yards of offense. Cabool had just 39 yards passing and seven yard on the ground for 46 total yards.
The Panthers received the ball to start the second half and they took advantage.
Both Glenn and Hellbusch had 15-yard runs on a drive that started on the Panthers’ 38.
It ended when Elliott hit Vaughan for an eight yard touchdown pass. Mathews’ kick pushed the lead to 35-0.
After the Panthers’ defense forced another three-and-out, Mountain Grove marched 56 yards on seven plays. The drive was capped off by Glenn’s 21-yard touchdown scramble. Mathews’ kick gave the Panthers’ a 42-0 edge.
Cabool’s offense struggled early on their next possession as Brett Vandiver was credited for a sack resulting in a loss of nine yards.
The Bulldogs then started to move the ball against Mountain Grove’s JV defense. They had a 20-yard run followed by a 15-yard touchdown pass. A failed kick kept the score at 42-6.
The Panthers’ offense responded with a 53-yard drive on 10 plays. Brendan Rogers had one 10-yard run and finished the charge with a 24-yard touchdown run. Mathews’ kick pushed the lead to 49-6.
One play later, Stenzel picked off a Cabool pass on Mountain Grove’s 20 after a solid kickoff return. Stenzel returned the ball to the Bulldogs’ 39.
The JV offense then entered the game for the Panthers, but could not get a first down. The Panthers went on to win the game by 43 points as the offense had 196 yards in the air and 222 on the ground for 418 total yards of offense. Cabool had just 50 yards passing and 68 on the ground for 118 yards of total offense.
Elliott had a solid game completing 13-of-18 passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns.
Glenn finished with 10 carries for 72 yards and one touchdown. He also added three catches for 57 yards and one touchdown.
Stenzel caught four passes for 72 yards and one touchdown while Vaughan tallied five catches for 54 yards and two scores.
Rogers added four carries for 45 yards and one touchdown. Hellbusch had eight carries for 66 yards. Up next for Mountain Grove is a home match-up with a 2-3 Liberty (Mountain View) team on Friday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m.
The Eagles beat Willow Springs last week, 50-7, to end a three game losing streak. They had lost to Fair Grove (33-16), Thayer (42-28) and Ava (59-24). They opened the year with a 26-6 victory over Strafford, which is the Indians only loss this season.
