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By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MARIONVILLE — When it was time for the Thayer football team to collect the Class 1 District 3 championship plaque on Friday, they reached a quick consensus about who would touch it first.
Just as they did the entire night, the linemen led the way.
The Bobcats won the battle in the trenches — and with it, the school’s seventh consecutive district title — as their offensive and defensive lines provided a 24-0 victory over top-seeded Marionville.
On offense, the line ensured senior Jackson Willison always had room to run — and he rewarded them with a 33-carry, 216-yard performance that included a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, they forced a key early turnover that set the tone and then proceeded to shut out a previously unbeaten Comets team that had outscored opponents 510-92 in the first 11 weeks.
So it’s no surprise that seniors Dalton Nicholson, Zach Jones and Shafer Mullins and juniors Cole Cates and Weston Rogers were front and center as the Bobcats began their celebration.
“They do a terrific job — and that’s an understatement, to be honest,” Willison said.
The line’s effort set up a showdown with another undefeated school, as Thayer (9-3) is set to host defending state champion Windsor (12-0) at 1 p.m. next Saturday in the state quarterfinals.
“Our offensive line, I don’t think you can say enough about them tonight,” Thayer coach Billy Webber said. “They got a push. We talk about getting a push early and it turning into a tidal wave. I think that kind of occurred. We did well in the first half, but really took control of the game in the second half up front. I think that dictated the outcome of the game.”
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That initial push came on the first two drives of the night.
The Bobcats got the ball first and drove all the way to the Marionville 16-yard line before the drive stalled and they turned the ball over on downs. Only just two plays later, they forced a fumble and recovered it on the 19-yard line. That set up an 8-yard touchdown run from Willison.
“That was vitally important,” Willison said. “I think that set the tone for the rest of the game. I think we gained a lot of confidence after that. We realized we can do this. We can score again.”
Yet that 8-0 lead held into the third quarter, as both defenses came up with key stops.
Thayer was first, as Marionville quickly marched to the Thayer 15-yard line on its first drive after Willison’s touchdown. But the Bobcats forced a turnover on downs to maintain their advantage.
Thayer took over and reached the Marionville 22-yard line in 10 plays, but committed several penalties and ultimately gave the ball back to the Comets without capitalizing on the turnover.
That looked like it might come back to haunt the Bobcats at the start of the third quarter, as Marionville took the opening drive all the way to the 7-yard line. But the Bobcats forced yet another turnover on downs to maintain the lead, then chewed more than eight minutes off the clock during a 15-play, 92-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown from Willison.
“Our guys bent but didn’t break and then we were able to turn and get a big surge up front,” Webber said. “Our backs ran the ball hard. It’s just an incredible effort to put a big long drive together and come away with some points.”
Thayer’s lengthy, clock-consuming drives made it hard for Marionville’s offense to be much of a threat. The Comets had just three drives in each half — one of which lasted only two plays.
“That was just a big part of our gameplan,” Willison said. “Keep the ball in our hands and just don’t give them a chance to score as much as possible. Just keep running down their throats.”
“That’s the kind of style we like to play,” Webber added. “Limit possessions. Eat up a lot of time. Throughout this season, we’ve thrown it a lot more than we have probably in the last eight to ten years, but tonight we were able to get back to that good solid run game. I think it paid dividends.”
The pass game did come into play late in regulation, as Landry Pitts connected with Lane Grimes for a 39-yard touchdown with just 5:33 to go and sealed Marionville’s fate.
The Comets finished 11-1 a year after winning the school’s first district title since 2014.
“We did good enough in the first half to give ourselves chances,” Marionville coach Paden Grubbs said. “You know, the turnover in the first half was killer after getting a stop. To turn it over right back to them on the second play — in the red zone again — that was brutal. It’s tough to stop them. It’s the most physical line we’ve seen all year, most physical backs. They did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and making holes for their backs to get to the second level. Once they get to the second level with a full head of steam, they’re just difficult to stop.”
THAYER (9-3) 8 0 0 16 — 24
MARIONVILLE (11-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
