'Hounds come up a point short

The 'Hounds pulled even with Cass-Midway on junior Aaron Schlatweiler's 4-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter.
(Chris Allen/Democrat-News)

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From the opening kickoff to a last-second field goal attempt, the stiff, chilly wind was not on the Greyhounds' side when at their backs during a 13-12 loss at Cass-Midway in a MSHSAA Class 1 Regional.

The night before Sweet Springs had elected to receive the ball when thunderstorms arrived, and looked forward to doing it again when the kick fluttered in the wind to the right and bounded to the 'Hounds' 38-yard line with a Midway player on top of it.

Five plays later, senior Shane Henry ran in from 9 yards out as the Vikings capitalized on the break.

"You can't give a good team short fields," noted Sweet Springs head coach Tim Smith.

On their second possession, the Greyhounds moved steadily downfield -- keyed by back-to-back 20-yard runs by seniors Tyler Rennison and senior Blake Vogelsmeier -- into striking distance, scoring on junior Aaron Schlatweiler's 4-yard blast off right tackle.

"We did a nice job of responding," Smith said. "We felt we could run the ball on them, especially up the middle."

Midway, of course, felt much the same way, for many of the 12 plays it used to go 80 yards -- twice converting on fourth down -- to take a 13-6 lead on senior Sam Riggs' 1-yard plunge and extra-point kick.

"We missed tackles," Smith said. "We had kids there to make plays, but they didn't break down and drive through them."

Sweet Springs got the ball in Vikings' territory on senior Ryan Armstrong's interception and return to the 38, but couldn't cash in.

The 'Hounds forced Midway to punt on its first three possessions of the second half, and then narrowed the deficit to a point when junior Tyler Armstrong sprinted 50 yards on a toss-sweep to open field on the right side.

"We knew what kind of speed he had," Smith described the talent which blossomed late in the season for the novice from Malta Bend. "It was just turning it into football instincts, and he's picked that up quickly."

The 'Hounds appeared to have set up their fourth stop of the half with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. On second down and 18 yards to go, Sweet Springs' defense trapped Henry for a 3-yard loss, but a personal foul flag flew and the 15 yard mark-off put the Vikings to keep their drive alive on Riggs' 10-yard run on fourth down.

"I don't understand that call," Smith said. "That was a backbreaker."

Ultimately, the 'Hounds' were pushed to their 4-yard line, but they held on an incomplete pass -- Midway's only toss into the wind of the series.

Sweet Springs had 96 yards to go and only 1:28 to get there, without any timeouts. And it nearly accomplished it, without a complete pass. On the first play, Schlatweiler reeled off a 31-yard dash, then on fourth down and 8 yards to go Armstrong ripped off a 22-yard gain -- followed by a 17-yarder that reached the 20.

The 'Hounds were out of time, though, so with only 4.6 seconds remaining they lined by for a 37-yard field goal attempt by senior Jacob Navarro -- the breeze-aided boot knuckling five feet under the goalposts at the horn.

"Those long runs were kind of teasing, and gave us a shot at a field goal," Smith said. "Maybe five more yards and we win the thing."

Henry carried the ball 29 times for 159 yards to lead the Vikings (7-4), who will be on the road Monday for a sectional tilt at second-ranked Tipton -- which beat Sweet Springs for the District 8 title, 31-7, in Week 9.

The Greyhounds (6-5) ran for 299 yards, 102 by Armstrong, and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2000. Sweet Springs also lost a one-point contest then, 15-14 to Westran in the sectional round, just as it was beaten by a single point in its lone state championship game, a 13-12 tilt against Rock Port in 1985.

One may not be the 'Hounds' lucky number, but they could among No. 1s for effort.

"They gave me everything I could possible ask for," Smith declared. "They battled every game."