MONETT, Mo. — Derek Uhl had heard all about the Lamar defense, the one that had not been scored upon in five games. He knew the Tigers had hung 155 points through the first 12 quarters of the season.
He also knew about his own passing game and what it was capable of doing.
The Cubs did find the end zone and held a lead from late in the first quarter until early in the fourth, but Lamar outscored them 22-7 in the final quarter to claim a 49-34 at Burl Fowler Stadium.
The Tigers (4-0,2-0 ) ran their win streak to 24 games in dealing with possibly their biggest threat to another the Big 8 championship.
"(Monett) has got an excellent combination of size and speed," Lamar head coach Scott Bailey said. "In the Big 8, we do a good job of beating each other up every week. You see a lot of guys with ice bags and limping off. It prepares you very well when it comes to district and playoff time."
The Tigers were playing without senior Luke Hardman, who was nursing an injured shoulder. His absence was noticed in the secondary, but as Lamar has grown accustomed to, others filled his shoes with flying colors.
Namely, Cooper Lucas, who amassed 200 of the Tigers' 359 yards on the ground with three scores.
"They still run the same stuff. I know they're missing (Hardman), but they still have good players out there," Monett head coach Derek Uhl said. "Our gameplan did not change."
Lucas' first touchdown came on the second play from scrimmage as he took a pitch 65 yards to make it 7-0.
On the next drive, Monett (3-1, 1-1) took advantage of their passing prowess as Ian Meyer hit Alex Turner for a 49-yard touchdown with just over three minutes left in the first quarter. It was the first points the Tigers had allowed since Cale Cornman of MV-BT/Liberty found the end zone in the Class 2 quarterfinals last season.
Meyer built on the damage following a fumble recovery as he plunged into the end zone late in the frame to give Monett a 14-7 lead and Lamar their first deficit of the season.
After Lamar had their own touchdown called back for holding, the teams traded scores for the remainder of the half. Meyer hit Brian Parra-Navaroon a 64-yard scoring connection to make it 21-13 with 2:13 remaining.
"What (Uhl) does with a heavy dose of the heavy run game and then the spread, it's really hard to defend," Bailey said.
Lamar managed to keep momentum within reach after Monett drives by returning two ensuing kickoffs for touchdowns. Matt Whyman provided the first in the waning minutes of the second quarter to make it a 21-21 tie at the break.
Michael Danner contributed the other, a 65-yarder midway through the fourth.
"When it's 90 degrees out and you're working special teams, all your best athletes are out there. They're basically running gassers working special teams reps. I was pleased to see our young guys come in on kickoffs, get down the field and get tackles made to give our defensive guys that normally run down there a chance to sit for a play."
Uhl, who was animated throughout the night, commended his players on being able to fight back after these responses to long, methodical drives.
"You're going to feel a little letdown," he said. "We had to work for ours and they got two on kick returns. It does change the feel of the game. It's human nature."
Meyer's fourth touchdown of the night handed the lead back to the Cubs on the opening drive of the third quarter. They would maintain it until the final frame when Lamar failed a two-point conversion attempt following a Stuart McKarus one-yard score.
Whyman scampered 16 yards in the first minute of the fourth quarter to reclaim the lead for Lamar, 35-28. Lucas then followed Danner's touchdown with a 64-yard run for his third score of the evening.
"I think what you saw was the defenses spend a lot of energy having to react to a play moreso than the offenses creating it," Bailey said. "As the game goes along, the defenses tend to wear out."
Michael Branch pounded in the final Monett touchdown from six yards out.
Bailey echoed to Uhl his sentiment about the toughness of the Big 8 and was open about the caliber of this Cubs team.
"I told each one of those guys: I would love nothing more than to get back and play for a state championship right alongside Monett playing in Class 3."
Now, Monett will try to bounce back next week when they travel to Aurora.
"Hopefully, from this , they'll understand what it takes if we want to continue on playing," Uhl said. "This was our big week against a five-time state champion and I thought our kids competed. I know we got better."
