High school football: District championship on line Friday for Moberly - Moberly Monitor-Index

2023-01-14 12:30:37 By : Mr. yi li

One year ago as juniors, Moberly High School Class of 2023 football players slogged through a two-win season. 

Now fast forward to a stormy Friday, Nov. 4, at Dr. Larry K. Noel Spartan … 4007 Fan

High school football: District championship on line Friday for Moberly - Moberly Monitor-Index

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One year ago as juniors, Moberly High School Class of 2023 football players slogged through a two-win season. 

Now fast forward to a stormy Friday, Nov. 4, at Dr. Larry K. Noel Spartan Stadium. 

Senior defensive back Brett Gelina snagged the game-clinching interception to defeat Southern Boone 21-20, and Moberly will face Boonville for the Class 3 District 5 championship this Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans sit on the precipice. 

The Missouri State High School Activities Association has set the admission price for the game, which is $6 per person across the board. 

Boonville is a familiar foe for Moberly. The Pirates competed in the Higskin Classic and the preseason jamboree during the summer. 

Moberly head football coach Cody McDowell said not to read too much into those glorified scrimmages from roughly three months ago.

“Both teams are a distant version of what we saw in July and August,” McDowell said. “There might be some core elements remaining with what we do. But over a 12-week period, we’ve both morphed into different versions, mostly out of necessity.” 

McDowell said the Pirates (7-4) will be well-prepared under head coach Greg Hough, a former head coach at Marceline. 

“They will present challenges on offense with their no-huddle, spread attack,” McDowell said. “On defense, they’ll be sound and play hard.”

Moberly (5-5) has grown as a football program, too. The Spartans have learned valuable lessons winning close games, showing resilience along the way. 

Several players will spearhead Boonville’s offense. 

Quarterback Colby Caton has completed 67 percent of his pass attempts for 1,945 yards and 20 TD. He’s also rushed for 1,048 yards and nine more TD. Jackson Johns and Dakota Troost are a pair of prolific wide receivers totaling nearly 1,400 yards and 15 TD combined. 

Tyson Ellison, a defensive end, will spearhead Boonville’s defense with 84 tackle points and four quarterback sacks. Other defensive players to watch are middle linebackers Abram Taylor and Maddex Douglas. 

They will counter a Moberly offense that produced clutch plays in last Friday’s victory over Southern Boone. 

Senior Derieus Wallace produced more than 200 all-purpose yards on just 11 touches with two rushing TD. Gage St. Clair racked up 118 yards rushing on 20 carries. Quarterback Collin Huffman sustained drives with both his legs and arms (233 yards passing, 51 yards rushing). 

On defense, Moberly’s Gabriel Flood has become its most reliable tackler with 51 solo stops this season, and he also had a key pass deflection versus the Eagles. Dyllan Johnston also recorded a pass break-up, and Weston Hurt added 10 tackle points. 

Moberly and Southern Boone traded dramatic TD during the game’s closing moments, with the Eagles scoring on a halfback option pass from Brady Dapkus to Chase Morris covering 54 yards at the 4:30 mark of the fourth quarter.

“That was a great play call,” McDowell said, complimentary of Southern Boone head coach Mark Ross. “It’s hard to defend what they do, and we saw that from the result. Credit them for calling a big play, and executing it.” 

A group of Spartans blocked the ensuing extra-point kick attempt, and that ultimately proved to be the difference as Moberly won its first playoff game since a 55-14 conquest over Kirksville Nov. 6, 2020.

On fourth-down-and-2 at Southern Boone’s 27-yard-line, and a season hanging in the balance, Wallace rushed off left tackle for a TD. That knotted the score at 20-all with 1:51 remaining. Micah Land booted home the go-ahead extra point. 

“It was a great job by a lot of people,” McDowell noted. “Not only on that play, but on that entire game-winning drive (which started at Moberly’s own 20). Our quarterback did a great job of managing the clock and making sure people were in the right spots. Our backs turned seams into big runs, and the line paved the way, especially on that fourth-down play.”

Then Gelina came through with that interception to send Moberly’s fans home happy while everyone dodged raindrops. Game time was moved up three hours due to impending poor weather.

The Moberly-Boonville game will air on 92.5 KWIX-FM and 1230 KWIX-AM from Alpha Media. 

Also follow along with score updates and videos on the Moberly Monitor-Index Facebook page, plus the post-game sportscast from the MMI office. 

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High school football: District championship on line Friday for Moberly - Moberly Monitor-Index

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