Mountain Grove Panthers clinch share of SCA championship

For the first time since 2014, the Mountain Grove Panthers’ football team earned a share of the South Central Association (SCA) Conference championship after they traveled last Friday night to Thayer and left with a 26-7 victory.
Though they won the head-to-head with Liberty (Mountain View), both teams finished with one loss as they ended up sharing the crown.
A win for Thayer would have given them a share of the SCA title, but the Panthers had other plans for the Bobcats this year.
“I am just super proud of these guys,” said Mountain Grove head coach Dan Swofford who was excited to see his team clinch a share of the SCA crown. “I feel it’s what we’ve been working on all year. We knew it would be a tough beginning (with the schedule) and we all knew good things would happen, but we had to keep working hard.”
Swofford was all smiles after a culture-changing win as his Panthers got over the SCA hump. His team is now the No. 3 seed in districts and will host No. 6 Salem at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1 in the first round of the Class 3, District 5 Tournament.
A win gives them a Nov. 8 match-up with either No. 2 Mt. Vernon or No. 7 Buffalo.
The championship game will be played on Nov. 15 against either No. 1 Strafford, No. 4 Cuba or No. 5 St. James.
Against Thayer, the Bobcats had the momentum early after blocking a Brayden Haughey punt to start a drive on the Panthers’ 34.
Fortunately, two plays later, Braydon Curtiss recovered a fumble to get the ball back.
Mountain Grove’s next offensive drive was extended when Aiden Estep connected with Kale Gardner, who made a stretched out fingertip catch for a 23-yard gain.
The Panthers marched the ball inside the 10 before a sack and a holding call preceded three straight incomplete passes.
With the turnover on downs, the Bobcats started the drive on their own 18. They would march 82 yards on 11 plays and scored on a 10-yard touchdown run. A bloop extra-point kick put Thayer in the lead 7-0.
Two plays later, the Bobcats got the ball back when a pass went off a receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Thayer inside Mountain Grove territory.
The Panthers’ defense stepped up as they forced a turnover on downs when the Bobcats could not convert a 4th-and-7.
Mountain Grove would have their next drive end in a punt in spite of Destin Unger’s 12-yard carry and a 13-yard gain from Cooper Hoerning.
Estep would get sacked for an 11-yard loss and the Panthers recovered their own fumble, leading to a punt.
The Panthers’ defense then forced a three-and-out.
Eli Golden would add a late 15-yard carry, but it was followed by a hail mary attempt being intercepted, taking the game into halftime with Thayer up 7-0.
Mountain Grove had 22 yards passing and 83 on the ground for 105 total yards of offense in the first two quarters. Thayer had all 84 of their offensive yards  come on the ground.
With the hopes of starting the second half with a momentum gaining drive, those hopes were dashed early when Estep’s pass was intercepted and returned to Mountain Grove’s 22.
That’s when the defense came up with the play of the game as it appeared that Unger punched lose a ball away from a Thayer ball carrier who seemed headed in for a 12-yard touchdown run. The ball was recovered in the end zone, giving Mountain Grove’s offense back the ball on their own 20.
Three plays later, Estep scored with a 72-yard touchdown run. Haughey’s extra-point kick tied the game at 7-7.
Unger then intercepted a pass on the Bobcats’ third play on their next drive and returned it around 25 yards and took the ball to Thayer’s 2.
He would eventually score on a three-yard touchdown run. Haughey’s kick was blocked, keeping the score at 13-7.
Thayer did try some trickery on their next drive with a fake punt. A holding brought the ball back and helped Mountain Grove start a drive on their own 41.
The Panthers took over the game as they put together a 59-yard scoring drive. Curtiss had a 28-yard carry that was followed six plays later with Estep connecting with Haughey, who made a sliding grab in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion kept the score at 19-7.
Mountain Grove’s defense forced another three-and-out to help the offense start another scoring drive near midfield.
Estep picked up a 15-yard run and Unger added a 12-yard carry. Curtiss picked up 23 yards two plays before Estep had a one-yard touchdown run. Haughey’s kick gave the Panthers a 26-7 lead.
Slade Rodgers added a late sack for a two-yard loss as time ticked away for the Bobcats.
Mountain Grove’s defense held Thayer to just 38 yards of total offense in the final two quarters. They had 122 yards, all coming on the ground in the loss.
The Panthers’ offense finished with 34 yards in the air and 282 yards on the ground for 316 total yards. Estep tallied 16 carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns. He also finished with just three completions for 34 yards and one touchdown.
Curtiss had 13 carries for 88 yards; Unger had eight carries for 42 yards; Hoerning had three runs for 19 yards; and Haughey had the one catch for 12 yards and one touchdown.