MONETT -- The McDonald County Mustangs entered their game at Monett on Friday night, averaging 21 points a game, and were going up against a squad that was giving up 31.
But the host Cubs (2-5, 2-2) bowed their necks in posting their first shutout of the season, an 18-0 win over the Mustangs (4-3, 2-2), who had two passes intercepted while losing two fumbles -- one that was scooped up and returned 21 yards for a touchdown -- on the way to their second loss in a row after four straight victories.
"Monett came out and made more plays than we did," said McDonald County coach Kellen Hoover. "They played with a lot of energy and confidence all night. I thought our defense played extremely well, and I'm extremely proud of that entire unit, which did its job all night against a team that makes you play responsible football."
The Mustangs, who failed to gain a first down in their first two possessions of the game, were unable to capitalize on two drives in the game in which they faced first-and-goal situations against a team that scored three times without converting a point-after try or two two-point conversion runs.
McDonald County's third possession ended in a fumble recovered by the Cubs at the Mustang 41-yard line. That recovery led to Monett's first score, a 3-yard run by Jake Hoyt with 2:57 left in the opening quarter. The missed PAT left the score at 6-0 in favor of the Cubs.
After coming up with a goal-line stand to turn back the Mustangs in the second quarter, the Cubs capitalized on a high snap that got away from McDonald County quarterback Destyn Dowd. Hoyt then stripped the ball, scooped it up off the turf and scored from 21 yards out for a 12-0 advantage with 6:48 left in the first half.
The Mustangs tried to break through for a score right before the half, driving to the Monett 7-yard line, but the Monett defense broke up passes on third and fourth downs to preserve the shutout.
"We just have to execute much better on the offensive side of the ball," said Hoover. "There were a lot of things in the game that halted drives. We've got to have a renewed focus on the little details and re-establish who we are as a physical football team as we go into the upcoming week."
Monett notched its final score of the game on its second drive of the third quarter. Daven Madrid capped the scoring with a 4-yard run with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs tried to muster another rally, driving to the Monett 5 before a penalty pushed them back to the 20. Then, on third down, the Cubs intercepted a pass in the end zone to quiet the threat.
McDonald County's next drive was also stopped in the end zone.
The Mustangs finished with 98 rushing yards on 26 carries. Sam Barton gained 53 on nine totes while Dowd carried 12 times for 21 yards. Samuel Murphy carried twice for 12 yards, Weston Gordon twice for 6 yards and Jack Parnell once for 6 yards.
Dowd completed 10 of his 26 pass attempts for 134 yards, pushing the McDonald County offense to 232 total yards.
Gordon caught three passes for 56 yards, Cross Dowd four for 46 and Dalton McClain two for 21. Parnell added 11 yards on one reception.
Hoyt led the Cubs with 62 yards on 16 carries while completing two of six pass attempts for 2 yards.