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By John Miller (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Reeds Spring, Mo. – After losing their quarterback and top receiving threat from last year, few people would have picked Mount Vernon to win districts this season.
And after they lost three straight games heading into the district playoffs, even fewer would have pegged them as district champs.
But there they were, on a foggy and chilly night in early November, dumping Gatorade on head coach Tom Cox after a thrilling 30-28 victory over Reeds Spring that gave the Mountaineers not only a district title but one they earned the hard way with three playoff road wins.
“We are the road warriors,” Cox said. “That’s what we’ve been going by lately. Great victory for our guys. This was really, really good for our program and I’m really happy for our seniors. … That’s a good football team over there that’s just been rolling people. We’re really happy to come out on top in this one.”
Sammy Robinson rushed for 175 yards, Will Boswell blocked a punt that led to an Eli Bolin score, and Ty Boswell ran for two scores and 53 yards on only 12 carries in the win.
“We prepared really well and were really ready for this,” Robinson said. “We came down there and took care of business.”
Reeds Spring (9-3) took the initial lead Friday in the second quarter when Dakota Romesburg picked off a Ty Boswell pass and ran it 26 yards for a touchdown. But Mount Vernon responded. The Mountaineers executed a four play, 65-yard drive that finished with a 45-yard touchdown run from Robinson to tie the game 7-7 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the game shifted. After getting the football out of halftime and going three and out, the Wolves’ punt was blocked by Boswell and rolled into the endzone where Bolin pounced on it for the go-ahead score.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“That was big, wasn’t it?” Cox said.
On its next drive, the Wolves fumbled and Mount Vernon assumed possession at midfield. The drive stalled in the redzone, but Jayden Buttram blasted a 22-yard field goal to give the Mountaineers a 17-7 lead with 4:43 left in the third. The deficit seemed large for Reeds Spring at the time, who had moved the football but struggled to finish drives.
Wolves’ tailback tailback Kelly Newton rushed for 207 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries. Reeds Spring tallied 363 yards of offense on Friday, including 319 rushing yards. But three fumbles and stalled drives limited the scoring chances the Woldves had.
That all changed late in the third, when Reeds Spring marched 76 yards and found the endzone with a 32-yard pass from Blake Gronvold to Austin Staugaard, pulling within 17-14. Mount Vernon answered, though, feeding Ty Boswell on a quarterback draw play that accounted for 36 yards of a 42-yard drive. Boswell ended the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run, lifting the Mountaineers in front 24-14 with 9:59 remaining in the game.
Once again, it seemed like Mount Vernon had the game in hand. Eleven seconds later, that changed. Davaughn Irvin took the ensuing kick to the house and it was 24-17, Mountaineers.
The game continued to hang in the balance until Mount Vernon put it to bed with a five-play, 65-yard drive of 2:27 to regain a two-score lead.
Mount Vernon will now host Eldon in the Class 3 quarterfinals on Saturday, November 11. Should they win Saturday, they would host the state semifinal game, also – quite a change of pace for the road warriors.
Mount Vernon 30, Reeds Spring 28
Second Quarter
9:26 – Dakota Romesburg 26-yd pick-6 (Cramblett PAT) 7-0
7:51 – Sammy Robinson 45-yd run (Buttram PAT) 7-7
Third Quarter
8:45 – Eli Bolin fumble recovery (Buttram PAT) 14-7
4:43 – Jayden Buttram 22-yd field goal 17-7
1:31 – Gronvold 32-yd pass to Staugaard (Cramblett PAT) 17-14
Fourth Quarter
9:59 – Ty Boswell 12-yd run (Buttram PAT) 24-14
9:48 – Irvin 86-yd kickoff return (Cramblett PAT) 24-21
4:04 – Ty Boswell 1-yd run (PAT missed) 30-21
1:26 – Kelly Newton 3-yd run (Cramblett PAT) 30-28
