C-L'S STREAK IS OVER; MONITEAU TOPPLES LIONS ENDING 34-GAME WIN STREAK

Oct. 29, 2004

By Chris Rossetti

STRATTANVILLE – The streak is over.

Clarion-Limestone’s state-leading 34-game win streak is history. The Lions (8-1 overall, 7-1 KSAC), minus starting quarterback Hayden Johnston who is lost for the season with a torn spleen, lost to Moniteau 21-7 Friday night at Clarion-Limestone. The win broke a 4-game losing streak for the Warriors (5-4, 4-3), and it means that the Lions, the two-time defending District 9 Class A champions, will be the No. 2 seed in the playoffs instead of the No. 1 seed.

"They are a good football team," Moniteau head coach Steve Wilson said. "It certainly feels good for us going into the (Class AA) playoffs like that. We thought we matched-up well with them."

The loss, which was C-L’s first in the regular season since a 25-7 defeat by Karns City Aug. 31, 2001, 1,155 days before, was made even worse because the Lions looked like a shadow of themselves without Johnston, who had accounted for nearly 70 percent of the team’s yards this year. C-L was held to just 212 total yards of offense 166 yards below its season average. This against a team that had allowed 300 yards to Clarion last week

Meanwhile, for the second straight week the Lions once vaunted defense was driven through by a team’s running attack. Last week Redbank Valley amassed 294 yards on the ground against C-L and this week it was Moniteau's turn to run wild with the Warriors churning out 258 yards on the ground. The Moniteau line was so dominant at times that the Warrior backs weren’t being hit until they were four or five yards down field.

"Our line stepped up tonight," Wilson said. "We were able to run the ball. That’s our game. We told our kids they had to do it for four quarters. That is what they did tonight."

Despite the dominance, Moniteau needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull away from C-L.

Matt Schandelmeier’s 11-yard run with 10:45 left in the game broke a 7-7 tie, and then Schandelmeier added a 2-yard run with 42 seconds left to seal the victory. Schandelmeier finished the night with 30 carries for 142 yards, it is the seventh straight week and eighth time in nine weeks he has broken 100 yards. He now has 1,018 yards on the season.

Scat back Adam Cousins was a nice compliment to the powerful Schandelmeier running 15 times for 82 yards

"We had a couple of games were we went up against big, tough defensive lines," Wilson said. "We struggled just to go with Matt all the time. We had to mix in the speed back. Tonight we felt we matched up with their line. We just kept riding the horse."

The Moniteau defense, meanwhile, kept C-L bottled up the entire second half. C-L crossed the 50-yard line just twice in the half while managing just 97 yards in the half. The two Lion trips into Warrior territory were to the 46 and 41 yards lines with the deepest coming on the last play of the game.

C-L quarterback Scott Davis, making his first-ever start, looked good running the ball finishing with 19 carries for 120 yards but struggled throwing the football going 5-for-16 for 70 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions. Davis seemed to have happy feet in the pocket and looked to run the football more than throw it at times.

"Hayden was out, and I thought that was big impact for them," Wilson said. "But I felt Davis stepped up and played well tonight. He took some hits and kept coming. I have to take my hat off to that little kid. He is going to be a good ball player."

Moniteau got the game’s first touchdown scoring on a 3-yard Garth Kohlmeyer run with 7:35 left in the first half.

C-L tied the game on a 24-yard pass from Davis to Erik White, in one of the few plays that resembled the Lions of old.

Moniteau was its own worst enemy in the first half with two drives, including a 16-play drive to open the game, stalling because of penalties and another one being stopped by an interception.

C-L, though, had its share of mental mistakes. The Lions were forced to call a time-out on the first play after a change of possession and on their extra point attempt. C-L seemed to be having trouble getting people lined up correctly, especially in the first half, and the Lions committed eight penalties for 99 yards. Although, it was obvious from the reaction on the C-L sideline that the coaching staff and players thought Moniteau’s coaches were helping to get some of the calls with the calls coming from the far sideline.

C-L returns to action either next week or in two weeks in the District 9 Class A playoffs, while Moniteau returns to action either next week or in two weeks in the District 9 Class AA playoffs. Both teams must wait and see how many teams enter the playoffs before knowing when they will play. C-L is guaranteed at least one home playoff game, while Moniteau could have a home playoff game if it plays next week.

MONITEAU 21, CLARION-LIMESTONE 7

Score by Quarter

M – 0 7 0 14 – 21

CL – 0 7 0 0 – 7

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

M – Garth Kohlmeyer 3 run (Adam Cousins kick), 7:35

CL – Erik White 24 pass from Scott Davis (Brent Rhoades kick), 1:37

Fourth Quarter

M – Matt Schandelmeier 11 run (Cousins kick), 10:45

M – Schandelmeier 2 run (Cousins kick), :42

TEAM STATISTICS

M CL

First Downs 14 9

Rushes-Yards 58-258 32-142

Passing Yards 17 70

Passing: Comp-Att-Int 3-6-1 5-16-3

Total Yards 275 212

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-0

Penalties-Yards 3-38 8-99

Punts-Avg. 3-34.3 4-29.0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Moniteau: Matt Schandelmeier 30-142, Adam Cousins 15-82, Brent Spawn 4-15, Garth Kohlmeyer 8-13, Chris Cooper 1-6. Clarion-Limestone: Scott Davis 19-120, Trevor Williams 1-(-3), Erik White 6-10, David Brooks 5-16, Neil Reynolds 1-(-1).

Passing – Moniteau: Garth Kohlmeyer 3-for-6, 17 yards, 1 interception. Clarion-Limestone: Scott Davis 5-for-16, 70 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 interceptions.

Receiving – Moniteau: Eric Hilliard 2-12, Greg Kepple 1-5. Clarion-Limestone: David Brooks 1-11, Kaleb Klosky 1-9, Erik White 2-45, Brent Rhoades 1-5.

Interceptions – Moniteau: Greg Kepple 2, Josh Loos. Clarion-Limestone: Erik White.