By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Thomas M. O’Sullivan Stadium in Lamar wasn’t the place for streaking on Friday night.
First, visiting Seneca saw its three-game shutout streak end barely five minutes into the game.
And then the Indians scored four straight touchdowns and ended Lamar’s 22-game winning streak at home with a hard-fought 28-14 triumph in Big 8 Conference action.
Lamar, 3-1, hadn’t lost on its home turf since the state quarterfinals in 2019. And the Tigers hadn’t dropped a regular season contest at home since Seneca won there in the same season.
“That may be the most consistent football program in the state over the last 10 years so they’ve done some really good things,” Seneca coach Cody Hilburn said. “It’s a very good football team, it’s very well coached and it’s a tough place to play. To come over here and get a win, we’re pleased with that but our kids understand we’ve still got to get better. I don’t know that we played our best football game by any means so we’ve got to get right back to work on Monday.”
Class 3 No. 3 Seneca entered the night having shut out its first three opponents by an average of 48-0. And Class 2 No. 1 Lamar, now 3-1, was averaging 47 points per game before Friday.
The Tigers marched 59 yards in 11 plays to open the game and jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Cooper Haun passed to Ian Ngugi for a 25-yard touchdown.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Seneca answered with an 80-yard drive that included a pass interference penalty on a third-and-6 and a 13-yard run on another third-and-6. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Indians quarterback Gavyn Hoover passed to Morgan Vaughn for the score and then Hoover ran it in for two to give Seneca a lead it would never relinquish.
Seneca’s defense settled in after that. The Indians forced a three-and-out and then Brodie Probert made it a 14-7 game early in the second with a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown. And then Seneca forced a turnover on downs at its own 39.
Still leading 14-7 after the break, the Indians started the third quarter with a pivotal scoring drive. Seneca covered 75 yards in 11 plays and again proved it was willing to take some risks; the Indians converted on fourth-and-3 at their own 32 and fourth-and-8 at their own 37 before Hoover connected with Blake Skelton on a deep 35-yard touchdown pass.
That made it 20-7 with 5:54 left in the third.
“We talk a lot about how in big football games it comes down to situational play,” Hilburn said. “Getting off the field defensively on fourth down, third down is huge and then being able to convert on third and fourth down. We felt like we needed to go score on that drive. If not, we kick it back to them and then this thing could get wild, so we were going to be aggressive right there and went for it. The kids did a good job executing.”
Lamar went three-and-out after that and Seneca put the Tigers on their heels with a 91-yard scoring drive to lead 28-7 early in the fourth. Again the Indians were clutch when it mattered – they got 40 yards on a third-and-9, 20 yards on a third-and-13 and scored the touchdown on a fourth-and-goal from the three. Hoover passed to Ethan Altic for the score and then to Hagen Ginger for the conversion.
Probert added another interception on Lamar’s next offensive play, and Seneca forced another turnover on downs in the waning minutes. Lamar scored with 35 seconds remaining on a 20-yard touchdown reception by Adam Kluhsman.
Seneca rushed for 153 yards in the game and Hoover completed 9 of 18 passes for 129 yards and three scores. Skelton had five receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Lamar was limited to 84 yards on the ground and 73 through the air.
