[wpbvideo id=’302019′]
Respect the run, fear the pass.
Monett used Owensville’s attention on star running back Michael Branch to its advantage, burning the Dutchmen with repeated big plays through the air in Saturday’s Class 3 state quarterfinals matchup at Burl Fowler Stadium.
Cubs senior quarterback Ian Meyer threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, while adding three short-yardage rushing touchdowns on the ground, as Monett won going away, 48-20.
Meyer completed 14 of 23 passing attempts. Seven of those completions went for 20 or more yards, including a 40-yard catch-and-run connection to tight end Alex Turner and a 35-yard play-action outlet to Branch.
“I don’t think (defenses) overlook our passing game, they just respect our running game,” Meyer said. “I think that’s more what it is. They respect Mikey (Branch) as a running back. Our linemen sell it, and Mikey sells it, in our play-action fakes and everything, so just being able to sell that and hit (receivers) over the top or in the flats where (defenders) are not, it’s a really nice thing to have.”
Meyer completed passes to six different receivers. Turner (5 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD) and Branch (6 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD) were the biggest beneficiaries.
“The key to our offense is just spreading the ball around,” Meyer said. “I don’t know how many different receivers I threw to but I think it was a lot. We had like four or five different running backs get the ball. We just spread it out to everybody and it’s hard to defend that.”
The game took a sudden, and drastic, turn late in the first quarter. Dutchmen quarterback Wyatt Ellis was taken down near the sideline following a 28-yard scramble.
Ellis never got up due to a serious lower-leg injury. He was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Owensville finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by Tanner Rector, but the Dutchmen’s offense was never the same.
Owensville’s offense failed to drive inside the Monett 30 for the remainder of the game. Its offense had only 66 net yards of offense in the second half.
“(Ellis) going down was a big deal. He’s a big part of their offense,” said Monett coach Derek Uhl. “Once he went down, we played (Owensville) a little differently. We focused more on their run game. So we were able to go to a four-man front and get out of our three-man front, which benefited us.”
Owensville fumbled on its next two drives after Ellis’ injuries, and the Cubs finally made them pay early in the second quarter. Following a 23-yard catch by Turner, Branch plowed over multiple Owensville defenders to reach the endzone and push Monett’s lead to 21-13.
After a 3-and-out by Owensville, Monett went 86 yards in nine plays, the final blow coming when Meyer found Turner for a 40-yard catch and rumble touchdown that made it 27-13.
“We thought we could run it on them early, the hit play-action (passes) on them later,” Turner said. “It was something we worked on all week. We ran the ball hard and when we threw the ball, we made big plays.”
A 3-yard touchdown run by Onis Howard gave Monett a 34-13 lead at halftime. After giving the ball away on a fumble to start the second half, Monett ultimately put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter.
On the Cubs’ second drive, Branch hauled in catches of 33 and 35 yards, the latter giving Monett a four-touchdown lead.
“From what we saw, we knew we were going to have to throw the football,” Uhl said. “When we got into our wing look, we knew (Owensville’s defense) would be really aggressive so we took shots over the top and were able to complete some.”
Branch had 12 carries for 104 yards. He wore out the Owensville defense late in the game, taking his final five carries for 76 yards.
“Everyone knows Michael Branch and everyone knows he’s good, so they devote to stopping the run,” said Monett senior and left tackle Aiden Brown. “It leaves a lot of space in the back of the defense.
“We thought if we could complete some passes over the top, then maybe we could get Mikey going – and then we got him going later.”
Monett’s offense tallied over 450 total yards.
Rector led the Owensville offense with 20 carries for 92 yards. The Cubs limited Owensville’s backup quarterback to 5-for-17 passing for 16 net yards.
“When (Owensville) came down and scored on their opening possession, I still felt confident in our defense, but I knew (Owensville) was going to have a big play here and there,” Uhl said. “Our kids, they didn’t panic. We’ve been down before this year and came back. It’s based off the seniors. We have good senior leadership.”
The Cubs will head up to the St. Louis area next Saturday, facing McCluer South-Berkeley in Ferguson for a Class 3 state semifinals matchup.
“We’ve been blessed with a couple of good seasons here lately,” Brown said. “Everyone’s hoping we go far, everyone’s really proud of us. The team feeds off that.”
Of note, Saturday’s outcome continued a run of recent postseason success for Monett – in even-numbered years. The Cubs also reached the Class 3 state semifinals in 2012 and 2014, but failed to reach the state title game either season.
Monett will try to buck that trend in Ferguson on Nov. 19.
“We notice it, the every-other year thing, but we don’t really talk about it,” Meyer said. “Every other year going to (the semifinals), we think this is our year to punch through and finally get to the finals. That’d be really nice.”
Monett 48, Owensville 20
Owensville 13 0 0 7 — 20
Monett 14 20 7 7 — 48
First quarter
Owensville – Ellis 78 pass to Ridenhour (kick failed)
Monett – Meyer 1 run (Cody kick)
Monett – Meyer 3 run (Cody kick)
Owensville – Rector 7 run (Steever kick)
Second quarter
Monett – Branch 9 run (Cody kick)
Monett – Meyer 40 pass to Turner (kick failed)
Monett – Howard 3 run (Cody kick)
Third quarter
Monett – Meyer 35 pass to Branch (Cody kick)
Fourth quarter
Monett – Meyer 1 run (Cody kick)
Owensville – Faragher 92 kickoff return (Steever kick)
