By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
MONETT — It was a wild season opener for the Reeds Spring football team, but coach Andy McFarland will certainly take the final result nonetheless.
The Wolves (1-0) were the beneficiaries of a strong start and withstood a late comeback attempt from Monett to earn a 33-28 victory on a hot Friday night at Burl Fowler Stadium.
“A win’s a win,” McFarland said. “It was a wild game. We had a lot of guys go down with dehydration issues with the heat and we had different kinds of injuries. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a bunch of kids sub in such a short amount of time, so that had us on our heels. A lot of young guys had to get into the game that haven’t gotten Friday night experience yet. There is some growth that needs to happen, but what I told them in the huddle after the game is that the only thing that matters is we are 1-0.”
Reeds Spring grabbed an early 20-7 advantage. The Wolves went 69 yards in 43 seconds on the first drive of the game as junior Jace Bolin capped the three-play drive with a 22-yard touchdown run.
The Cubs (0-1) knotted the score at 7 thanks to an 11-play, 54-yard drive that culminated with sophomore quarterback Collin Umfleet punching a one-yard run into the endzone at the 2:14 mark in the first quarter.
Then Reeds Springs QB Blandy Burall started to dial up the deep ball.
He connected with wide receiver James Dowdy on TD passes of 41 and 34 yards to account for the Wolves’ first half scoring.
Reeds Spring went for a 2-point conversion after Burall’s second TD pass, but the conversion failed.
A senior, Burall had a big night. He completed 11 of 18 passes for 287 yards and added a 74-yard TD strike to Miguel Campos with 8:30 to play in the third quarter while scoring an 8-yard TD to give the Wolves a 33-7 lead with 7:10 to play in the game.
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Dowdy, also a senior, caught four passes for 123 yards.
“It’s a good feeling to make a play call to a quarterback that is a third-year starter,” McFarland said. “Before I even finish saying the name of the play, he knows what I’m thinking. We are on the same page 99% of the time. I’m proud of him. Both of those guys did a great job tonight. Those guys make plays. That is what you want your senior leaders to do.”
Monett finished the game by scoring 21 unanswered points. Umfleet scored on touchdown runs of 9, 4 and 5 yards to get the Cubs within striking distance in the waning minutes, but the Wolves milked the last of the clock on their last possession.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Monett coach Ethan Lewis said. “Our guys continued to play hard. I think we are going to continue to play hard all year. That is never going to change. It was good to see that.”
Bolin netted 68 yards on 11 carries to lead Reeds Springs’ ground game. Senior WR Zack Preston hauled in four passes for 43 yards.
“We have to be honest with ourselves about the deficiencies we had as a team and hold each other accountable to making the improvements that are necessary right now,” McFarland said. “It was hot and a lot of stuff went bad, but we walked away with the win. That is all that matters.”
For Monett, Umfleet rushed for 138 yards on 25 carries with four scores. Senior Diego Baiden tallied 88 yards on the ground in eight attempts.
Reeds Spring hosts Nevada in Week 2 while Monett travels to Mount Vernon.
