Monett coach Derrek Uhl knew that Brian Parra-Navarro could be a playmaker for him. On Friday night, the Pierce City transfer proved his coach right.
Parra-Navarro made three catches for 148 yards and two touchdowns, leading Class 3 No. 4-ranked Monett past Mount Vernon 42-28 at Mountaineer Stadium on Friday night.
"That's kind of what I thought we'd get out of him, what we saw tonight," Uhl said. "I hope it continues."
Monett quarterback Ian Meyer completed 10 of 14 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns, while tailback Michael Branch collected 108 rushing yards on 19 carries and had three receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.
Last year at Pierce City, Parra-Navarro had 26 receptions totaling 723 yards and five touchdowns. On Friday, he busted open a tight game in the second quarter with with back-to-back touchdown receptions of at least 48 yards. But it was Parra-Navarro who stole the show for the state-ranked Cubs.
Mount Vernon was loading the box to stop Branch, who was held to just 30 rushing yards on 10 first-half carries. With no running room available, the Cubs decided to get the ball in the hands of its playmakers on the perimeter.
Playing with a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter, Parra-Navarro took a check down from Meyer and busted it for a 48-yard score. The next drive, he was the recipient of a double-pass and left wide open for a 65-yard touchdown.
"We know that if they're going to load the box, we can spread them out and throw it," Uhl said.
Even though tonight was his coming out party (he had just two receptions for 20 yards this year entering play), Parra-Navarro deferred the praise to his teammates.
"I'm not here for myself, I'm here for this team," Parra-Navarro said. "We're making a run right now. Hopefully we can keep going. It's all for this team."
After Parra-Navarro's consecutive scores, Branch took a short pass from Meyer, trucked two Mountaineer defenders and sprinted 68 yards for another Cubs touchdown. Three touchdowns on plays of 48-plus yards on three consecutive drives gave Monett (3-0, 1-0 Big 8) all the momentum with a 28-6 halftime lead.
"Watching Michael do his thing, carrying people down the field," Parra-Navarro said, "it pumps everybody up."
In the third quarter, Monett's special teams joined in on the fun, blocking a punt that led to a 48-yard touchdown return by Patrick Valentine, putting the game out of reach.
Mount Vernon (1-2, 0-1 Big 8) never quit, scoring two late touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Garrett Hadlock found Sammy Robinson, who passed to Jarrett Massie for a 28-yard touchdown reception off a double pass. With less than a minute remaining, Hadlock connected with Chance Fenton for a 33-yard touchdown. But it wasn't enough to overcome the Cubs' big plays on Friday.
Andrew Montemayor had nine catches for 83 yards for the Mountaineers, while Massie made eight grabs for 86 yards. Fenton added four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Monett 7 21 7 7 42
Mount Vernon 6 0 8 14 28
First Quarter
8:38 – Monett – Branch 7-yd TD run (Cody PAT)
2:03 – Mt. Vernon – Boswell 2-yd TD run (2-pt fail)
Second Quarter
9:23 – Monett – Meyer to Parra-Navarro, 48-yd TD completion (Cody PAT)
6:09 – Monett – Meyer to Howard to Parra-Navarro, 65-yd TD completion (Cody PAT)
4:19 – Monett – Meyer to Branch, 68-yd TD completion (Cody PAT)
THIRD QUARTER
3:51 – Monett – Punt block, Valentine 48-yd TD return (Cody PAT)
:21.3 – Mt. Vernon – Robinson, 1-yd TD run (2-pt, Hadlock to Boswell)
FOURTH QUARTER
7:55 – Monett – Howard 4-yd TD run (Cody PAT)
4:43 – Mt. Vernon – Hadlock to Robinson to Massie, 28-yd TD completion (Buttram PAT)
:49.1 – Mt. Vernon – Hadlock to Fenton, 33-yd TD completion (Buttram PAT)
