ELDON, Mo. - A pair of run-first teams began their respective run in the Missouri high school postseason tonight when the Eldon Mustangs travel to Springfield to take on the Catholic Fighting Irish in Class 3 District 3 action.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Catholic comes in as the No. 3 seed in Class 3 District 3 with a 6-3 record. Sixth-seeded Eldon is 5-4.
Both teams ended the regular season last week with big wins. The Mustangs completed Tri-County Conference play by whipping Hallsville 35-8. Catholic gained a share of the Central Ozark Conference (COC) small-school division championship by clipping Reeds Spring 16-14. Reeds Spring had entered the game ranked No. 10 in the Missouri Media Rankings Class 3 state poll.
The Irish tied with Reeds Spring and Bolivar for a share of the COC small-school title - their first COC football championship since joining the league.
The Eldon/Catholic winner will meet the winner of tonight's second-seeded Osage/seventh-seeded St. James game in the district semifinals next Friday. The district championship game is set for Nov. 4.
"We're excited to move the season forward," Eldon coach Shannon Jolley said. "Right now it's all about trying to win one more week. It will be interesting to watch the guys' game preparation this week. Week 10 is a different atmosphere; the kids realize their season could be over (tonight)."
It will be a matchup of the Mustangs' wing-T rushing attack vs. the Irish option game.
In particular, Catholic's offense has been on a roll of late. The Irish are riding a four-game winning streak.
And prior to its tight victory against Reeds Spring, Catholic scored a combined 132 points in its previous three games.
Catholic is averaging 29.9 points per game while Eldon is scoring at a 25.0 clip.
"Looking at them on film, they're much-improved this year," Jolley said of Catholic. "Coach (Steve) Hancock is a very good coach. Their guys up front have good size and get off the ball well."
Leading the charge for Catholic is sophomore quarterback Tyson Riley, who has rushed for 850 yards and passed for more than 300 yards.
The Irish's leading rusher is senior fullback Robbie Avila, who has run for 875 yards.
Defensively, Catholic's leading tacklers include Riley at free safety and senior linemen Grant Schoen and 6-4, 220-pound Jace Wells.
"It's gone very well this season," said Hancock, long-time coach at Branson before coming to Catholic a couple years ago. "We lost a couple of close games early. We played a really good football team last week and feel really good where we're at right now. It's coming together at the right time. And it was kind of icing on the cake last week when we tied for a share of the conference title for our first COC championship."
"They have some good-looking kids," Jolley said of the Irish. "They have a very athletic quarterback who can make some plays. He plays free safety and quarterback for them and is arguably the best player on the field. Defensively they pursue really well and get off the ball. They do a good job of getting all 11 players to the football."
Eldon appears to be getting some late-season re-enforcement in the form of senior fullback Trenton Kidwell.
Kidwell rushed for 121 yards on 22 carries and scored three games before suffering a broken foot in Week 1 and has been sidelined ever since.
Kidwell has been cleared to return to action tonight.
"We'll play that by ear," Jolley said of the usage of Kidwell. "We'll see early on what he will and won't be able to do."
Sophomore Isaiah Parsons, who replaced Kidwell at fullback, leads the Mustangs in rushing with 617 yards on 134 carries and 10 touchdowns.
Also for Eldon, junior tailback Isaiah Merida has totaled 600 yards on 102 carries and five touchdowns and junior running back Trenton Dillon 152 yards on 17 carries.
Senior quarterback Austin Kempker, who returned to the lineup last week after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury, has completed 18-of-44 passes for 361 yards, two interceptions and eight touchdowns.
Senior tight end Jacob Whittle leads the squad in receptions with 12 for 295 yards and five touchdowns while senior wideout Morgan Anderson has five catches for 52 yards and three TDs.
Parsons, a linebacker, leads the Mustangs in tackles with 109 (39 solo), including 16 for losses.
Also for Eldon sophomore defensive back Dawson Brandt has 102 tackles (44 solo), including 8.5 tackles for losses and two interceptions; junior linebacker Cole Walker has 85 tackles (18 solo), and Dillon, a linebacker, has 54 tackles (23 solo) including 12.5 for losses and 7.5 sacks.
"From what we can tell on film they are well-coached with a good offensive system," Hancock said of Eldon. "They're a good run football team with good, hard downhill running. I'm impressed with their schemes. Defensively their kids are very active. They look like a good football team; we'll have our hands full."
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