The McDonald County High School football team's anticipated homecoming game against Seneca turned into an away at Frontenac, Kan., after Seneca was forced to cancel due to a number of players on quarantine for covid-19 exposure.
But the Mustangs took the change of plans in stride and defeated the Raiders, 39-13, for their fourth consecutive win following a season-opening loss.
McDonald County did not find out that Seneca was going to be unable to play until Thursday afternoon. A frantic search by athletic director Bo Bergen found a game at Frontenac that saved the Mustangs from having an off week.
The timing of the cancellation and pickup of Frontenac gave the McDonald County coaching staff only a couple of hours to watch film and prepare a practice schedule for the Mustangs' only practice before Friday night's game.
"Just another curveball from the year 2020," said coach Kellen Hoover. "There is some crazy stuff going on all the time. Our kids took it in stride. When we got the news we weren't playing Seneca but instead going to Kansas, we went out and had one of our best Thursday practices we have had all year. That shows our kids just want to play football."
McDonald County took the opening kickoff and marched 56 yards in five plays, capped by Cole Martin's 38-yard touchdown pass to Trent Alik. Jared Mora hit the upright on his point-after attempt for only his second miss of the year.
The Mustangs forced Frontenac to punt on the Raiders' first possession, with McDonald County taking over at their own 23-yard line.
Led by the running of Bailey Lewis and Weston Gordon and passing combination of Martin to Alik, the Mustangs covered the 77 yards in 11 plays, with Martin sneaking over from two yards out. Martin's pass attempt for a two-point conversion was incomplete, leaving McDonald County with a 12-0 lead with 204 left in the first quarter.
McDonald County again forced Frontenac to punt without picking up a first down, giving the Mustangs the ball on the 50-yard line after the Raiders were called for a late hit on the punt.
Martin and Alik connected three times for 42 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown. But for the second time in the game, Mora's PAT hit an upright, leaving the Mustangs with an 18-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first half.
Frontenac answered with a 10-play, 67-yard drive capped by Collin McCartney's three-yard touchdown run. Clay Jameson's extra punt cut McDonald County's lead to 18-7 at the end of the first half.
The Raiders followed up its touchdown to end the first half with another to start the second half. Frontenac went 69 yards in 12 plays, including McCartney's three-yard touchdown. A bad snap led to a missed extra point, leaving the Mustangs with an 18-13 lead.
McDonald County then scored touchdowns on its next two possessions to pull away.
The first came on a third and seven when Martin hit sophomore Jack Parnell with a 41-yard touchdown pass. Mora's PAT extended the Mustangs' lead to 25-13 with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
After stopping Frontenac on downs, Gordon gained nine yards before Lewis carried four consecutive plays, including a five-yard touchdown. Mora added the extra point to give McDonald County a 32-13 lead with 9:29 left in the game.
The Raiders' next two drives ended in interceptions by the Mustangs.
First, Alik intercepted a McCartney pass deep downfield to give McDonald County the ball on their own 24-yard-line.
After the ensuing drive stalled, Lewis' punt pinned the Raiders back at their own 15-yard line. The Raiders faced a third and 13 after a loss of three yards and an incomplete pass when defensive end Logan Harriman intercepted a McCartney screen pass. The junior nearly ran the pick into the end zone but was brought down at the two before Lewis scored on the next play. Mora's third extra point in a row made the final 39-13.
"The boys were focused from the get-go tonight," Hoover said. "We took our foot off the gas a little bit right there at the end of the first half. We came out in the second half and played really well after they scored. I thought both sides of the ball did a great job tonight. I thought we were physical and that was what we had preached to them going into the game. We saw on film they had some big kids and we knew we had to play our most physical game. Our front seven on defense did, and our offensive line with Bailey (Lewis) running hard behind them did too."
Lewis finished with 137 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Gordon added 24 yards on just three carries. Martin completed 10 of 12 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns -- two to Alik and one to Parnell. After catching one pass for six yards last week, Alik had nine catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns.
"You can game-plan against us to stop certain things, but that's why I like the versatility of our offense," Hoover said. "If you focus on stopping one guy, we have another that can hurt you. I think they really tried to take Bailey and Levi (Malone) away over the top and it left Trent open underneath. He did a great job once he got the ball in his hands. The really big play in the game was the third down where we hit a seam to Jack (Parnell). Bailey had a great pickup on a guy coming at Cole. That was just a great play -- a really important play."
McDonald County takes its 4-1 record on the road to East Newton on Oct. 2. The Mustangs are at Reeds Spring on Oct. 9 before returning home to face Nevada on Oct. 16. Homecoming has been rescheduled for the Oct. 16 game.
