By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
SENECA, Mo. — So much for rust coming off a bye week.
The Seneca football team jumped out to a 35-0 halftime advantage on Cassville and never looked back in a 48-0 victory in the Class 3 District 6 semifinals on Friday night at Tom Hodge Field.
“We wanted to start fast coming off the bye week,” Seneca coach Cody Hilburn said. “There is a little concern. You haven’t been out there in two weeks and maybe there is rust. I felt like we had a good week of preparation leading up to it. We started fast. We played hard and we played physical.”
The victory sets up a long-awaited district championship rematch with second-seeded Mt. Vernon, a 45-13 winner over Reeds Spring in the other semifinal contest. The Indians, improving to 10-0, will host the Mountaineers next Friday night.
Of course, Seneca defeated Mt. Vernon 25-21 in a thrilling district finals game last year. Hilburn is excited to have home-field advantage once again.
“I don’t think there is a better place to play a high school football game than here,” Hilburn said. “Our kids love playing here. That’s why you play the regular season to get the No. 1 seed. We are happy to be at home.
“Mt. Vernon is a good football team. Coach (Tom) Cox does a good job. We had a tough game against them last year. Everybody thought there was a good chance it would happen again this year and here we are. We’ll have to play well to get a win.”
One of the best running backs in the Ozarks, Jackson Marrs rushed for 117 yards on 19 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead the Indians on Friday night. He scored on runs of 1, 1, 3 and 3 to help the hosts to a 35-0 lead at halftime.
“That’s who he is,” Hilburn said of Marrs. “He gets better with every carry that he gets. He is built for the playoffs right here. When in doubt, give him the football.”
Oh, and then Seneca quarterback Gavyn Hoover showed his dual-threat ability, accounting for the Indians’ other first half touchdown. He scored on a 3-yard run and then connected with Morgan Vaughn for a 23-yard touchdown strike, giving the hosts a 42-0 lead with 10:39 remaining in the game.
A senior, Hoover converted 10-of-13 passes for 206 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 64 yards on nine carries and a score.
The Indians benefitted from a running clock the rest of the way. Sophomore Hunter Hanes accounted for Seneca’s final score of the night, a 3-yard run.
In addition to Marrs and Hoover, wide receiver Ethan Altic had five catches for 129 yards and tallied 29 yards on four carries. Seneca amassed over 400 yards of total offense.
Drew Sherwood made six of seven extra-point kicks for the Indians.
Seneca’s defense limited Cassville to 55 yards of total offense. That included three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble recovery).
“It was how hard we played. I think it starts with effort and running to the football,” Hilburn said of his defense. “Shoot, those guys work extremely hard to prepare. They get themselves lined up correctly and trust their technique and get their eyes in the right spot. Then it’s about effort, playing hard and tackling. I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”
