One year after surprising district foes, Eldon wants to avoid a surprise

Dawson Brandt of Eldon takes off for a first down during a game this season against School of the Osage.
Dawson Brandt of Eldon takes off for a first down during a game this season against School of the Osage.

ELDON, Mo. - As one of the favorites in the Missouri Class 3 District 3 Tournament, don't look for the Eldon Mustangs to take any of the lower seeds for granted.

All they have to do is think back to last year, when they were one of those lower seeds only to flirt with the district championship.

"If anybody knows it's us," said Eldon head coach Shannon Jolley, whose squad suffered through a nightmarish amount of injuries throughout 2016 only to start getting healthy come district time and advance to the district title game before falling to then-unbeaten No. 1 seed Owensville. "Being the No. 6 seed last year and making it to the championship game."

This time around the Mustangs sit as the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 seed Buffalo tonight in the first round of the district tourney (7 p.m. kickoff).

And make no mistake, the visiting Bison will have the complete attention of the Mustangs.

The district is full of potential potholes for any of the top seeds.

The competition is so close St. James moved up from No. 3 to the top seed last week,  even though Eldon - then seeded No. 2 - posted a 35-14 victory against Hallsville and still got leap-frogged. And the sixth-seed - Osage - has potentially as explosive an offense as any team in the district.

"This district will be interesting," Jolley said. "One or two kids get hurt and it could change the whole district around."

St. James (7-2) is No. 1 entering district play while Eldon (8-1) is No. 2, Springfield Catholic (7-2) No. 3, defending district champ Owensville (6-3) No. 4, Logan-Rogersville No. 5, Osage No. 6, Buffalo No. 7 and Sullivan No. 8.

Eldon, ranked No. 6 in the final regular-season Missouri Media Rankings in Class 3, comes in sharp, riding a five-game winning streak. The Mustangs are averaging 48.1 points per game while allowing 25.8. The run-heavy Mustang offense has piled up single-game point totals of 82, 72, 69, 55 and 49 points. The squad has scored 30 or more points in seven of its nine games.

"Other than a couple of injuries lately, we've stayed pretty healthy this year," Jolley said. "I can't say enough about our kids this year. The good football played is a product of all the hard work they have put in.

"We wanted to be playing our best ball in Week 10, and I think we're close to that."

The Bison are 3-6 overall and finished the Central Ozark Conference's small division at 1-5 for first-year head coach Ed Phillips. However, that is a step in the right direction for a program that has won just 10 games during the last eight seasons.

Phillips, a Buffalo native, returned home to try to turn things around after spending the previous seven seasons as the defensive coordinator at Branson.

Buffalo is coming off a 28-22 league loss to Logan-Rogersville.

Pacing the Bison spread offensive attack is senior quarterback Kyle Cooley, a two-year starter who has thrown for more than 1,300 yards in each of the past two seasons.

Cooley has spread the passes around, with leading receiving targets including 6-foot-4 wideout Jared Gentry, senior wideout Parker Tyree, freshman wideout Jamen Smith and junior running back Bradley Hosiner, a physical runner who is also the team's leading rusher.

Senior Colten Kenady is the team's top offensive and defensive lineman and pacing a strong linebacking unit is Hosiner.

"They throw the ball 70 percent of the time," Jolley said of Buffalo. "They have a talented quarterback who does a good job delivering the ball. Everything kind of runs through (Cooley). They have some good athletes on the field. We have to make sure we keep the quarterback in the pocket; keep him corralled.

"They run a 4-2-5 defense and do a good job of not giving up the big play and they have good team speed. I think they're a better team than their record shows."

Eldon may be without two starters for the second straight week, as standout senior wingback/linebacker Trenton Dillon is questionable with a slight separation of the collarbone and sophomore offensive right tackle John Schoenfeld is probably out as well.

Dillon has 397 rushing yards, 155 receiving yards and four touchdowns, but even if he's gone the Mustangs still have plenty of firepower.

Senior running back Isaiah Merida has rushed for 1,262 yards on 144 carries and 18 touchdowns, while junior fullback Isaiah Parsons has 869 yards on 172 carries and 16 touchdowns and junior quarterback Dawson Brandt has rushed for 509 yards and nine TDs while completing 18-of-43 passes for 533 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Senior tight end Cole Walker has six receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns while Merida has five catches for 143 yards and three TDs.

The other district games tonight have Osage at Catholic, Sullivan at St. James and Logan-Rogersville at Owensville.

In next week's semifinals the Eldon/Buffalo winner will play the Osage/Catholic winner while the St. James/Sullivan winner faces the Owensville/Rogersville winner.