The Lamar Tigers rushed for 465 yards in their win over McDonald County on Oct. 11 at Lamar High School.
The Tigers needed just about every one of those as McDonald County gained 299 total yards and put up 28 points in its 49-28 loss.
"Anytime you play Lamar, you know it's going to be a physical game," said coach Kellen Hoover. "You know what they are going to give you on both sides of the ball -- it's just can you stop them and can you be physical enough to move the ball on the ground and can you take your shots on the man defense you know you are going to get. I was just really proud of how hard the kids fought to the end. That was something we talked about all week in practice because that's something we had to get better at from last week. I am proud of the kids taking that and running with it tonight and doing exactly what we talked about. We had an awesome week of practice in preparation for this game."
After forcing McDonald County to punt on the opening possession of the game, Lamar marched 64 yards in seven plays to take a 6-0 lead with 6:42 left in the first quarter. Quarterbacks Donte Stahl and Case Tucker alternated carries from the Tigers' two-quarterback, double-wing set for 62 of those yards, including Stahl's two-yard touchdown.
Another McDonald County punt and a 53-yard drive put the Tigers up 14-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter. Tucker carried three times for 24 yards, including a one-yard touchdown to key the drive. The junior quarterback added the conversion run.
But McDonald County answered on its ensuing possession, marching 58 yards in seven plays. Junior Teriek carried five times for 30 yards while quarterback Cole Martin gained eight to set up a five-yard touchdown run by Trent Alik. Dylan Allison's first of four extra points cut the margin to 21-7 with 9:29 left in the first half.
It took Lamar just two plays to stretch the lead back to 14 points. After a long kickoff return, Tucker ran 21 yards for a touchdown and Henry Alberto added the PAT to give Lamar a 21-7 lead with 8:36 left in the first half.
The Mustangs closed out the half with two punts, but the defense held once on downs and then stopped Lamar inside the 10 after an 18-yard pass from Stahl to Wyatt Hull as time ran out in half.
Lamar took just three plays in the third quarter to score its fourth touchdown of the game. Stahl carried for 41 yards on the first play of the half before Tucker's two-yard touchdown with 10:41 gave the Tigers a 28-7 lead with 10:41 left in the quarter.
McDonald County's next possession stalled after a pair of first downs and Lamar capitalized by grounding out a 12-play, 76-yard touchdown drive. Tucker carried 45 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown with 1:14 left in the third quarter, to give the Tigers a 34-7 lead.
But it took McDonald County just one play to cut the lead to 34-14. Martin hit a wide-open Michael Williams with a 64-yard touchdown with 57.3 seconds left in the third quarter.
McDonald County had a chance to cut deeper into the Tigers' lead after Levi Malone intercepted a Lamar pass on the Tigers' next possession, but Lamar returned the favor when the Mustangs tried to go deep on the first play from scrimmage after Malone's theft.
The Tigers then marched 60 yards in 10 plays, capped by Stahl's one-yard run and Tucker's conversion, for a 42-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
McDonald County then used the running of Teriek and the passing of Martin to go 71 yards in eight plays to trim the Tiger lead to 42-21 with 3:04 left in the game. Teriek carried three times for 19 yards, while Martin completed four passes for 52 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown to Alik.
After a failed onside kick, Lamar drove 51 yards in five plays to take a 49-21 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Terrill Davis with 1:09 left.
But for the second time in the game, McDonald County scored on its first play from scrimmage following a Tiger touchdown. Martin hit Alik in perfect stride down the left sideline to make the final score 49-28.
"With this team you have to be able to take your shots with some double moves," Hoover said of Lamar's press-man coverage. "We used our speed on the outside and Trent and Michael both had good nights. They both have good double moves and Cole had time to get the ball to them. Junior had a good night running the ball. You know you are going to have a tough time running the ball against these guys because they play man and load the box. We blocked really well against some guys that are hard to block and Junior ran really hard. I am really proud of our kids."
Teriek finished with 90 yards and on 18 carries, while Martin completed nine of 14 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
Alik caught five passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns and ran once for five yards and a touchdown. Williams had three catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Tucker led Lamar with 241 yards on 25 carries. Stahl finished with 86 yards on 13 carries. Lamar's only passing yards came on the last play of the first half on Hull's 18-yard reception.
McDonald County falls to 2-5 for the season heading into its Oct. 18 game against Monett in the Mustangs' final home game of the season. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Sports on 10/17/2019