ARMAGOST LEADS MONITEAU INTO D9 CLASS AA TITLE GAME 

Junior throws for 297 yards and 2 scores as Warriors break 4-game slide

MONITEAU 38, BROOKVILLE 12

Nov. 17, 2007 at Brookville High School (D9 Class AA Semifinals)

By Steve Smail
For D9sports.com

BROOKVILLE - Moniteau took advantage of an extra week between games to put together a solid all-around effort in a 38-12 defeat of Brookville in the District 9 Class AA semifinals Saturday afternoon at Brookville High School. 

“We went back to basics, and this two weeks was a blessing for us,” Moniteau head coach Jeff Campbell said. “The kids seemed a bit confused by things we were doing. So we went back to running some basic stuff, and this was the result.”

For Brookville (7-4), the second seed, it was more home-playoff disappointment. The Raiders dropped to 2-5 in home district playoff games and haven’t won in the postseason at home since 1999.

"I thought we were ready to play today,” Brookville head coach Chris Dworek said. “But Moniteau made some big plays and jumped on us quick. We had a few chances to make some plays, but we didn't and things just snowballed. We picked it up a little in the second half, but we just couldn't break through.

“We moved the ball a bit and had a short field a few times, but we couldn't take advantage of those chances. We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers at crucial times.”

Moniteau (6-5), the third seed, controlled both sides of the football.

On offense, the Warriors amassed 429 yards of total offense including a 297-yard, two- touchdown performance from junior quarterback Tyler Armagost. Armagost added 68 yards rushing and three more touchdowns. 

The Warrior defense did its part as well forcing six Brookville turnovers including five interceptions.

"Defensively we came out and played like I knew we could," Campbell said. 

Moniteau struck quickly after receiving the opening kickoff when Armagost connected with Clayton Casper on a 71- yard pass play to set the Warriors up at the Brookville 4- yard line. Three plays later Armagost scored from two yards out. Armagost hit Aaron Randle on the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with 11:08 to play in the first.

"That first play was huge for us," Campbell said. "Offensively we had some sputters and spurts, but we moved the ball for the most part especially in the first half. Defensively we were just stout throughout the whole game."

Late in the first quarter Moniteau recovered a fumble on the 46 yard line. Four plays later Armagost scampered 23 yards up the middle for a touchdown. Armagost hit Josh McFadden on the two point conversion for a 16-0 lead after one.

Moniteau added to its lead early in the second quarter when the Warriors drove 59 yards on eight plays capped off by a 1-yard run from Armagost at the 9-minute mark of the second quarter. Armagost added the two-point conversion for a 24-0 lead.

Brookville scored their first touchdown with 6:18 to play in the first half on a 10-yard pass from Shane Heschke to Alex Kerr capping off a 9-play, 71-yard drive. Kerr also caught a 38-yard pass on the first play of the drive. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score 24-6.

Moniteau answered with an 11-play, 75-yard drive which ended on a 40-yard pass from Armagost to Josh Loos on a fourth-and-30 play after the Warriors were backed up on a sack and a 15-yard penalty. The two point conversion failed leaving the score 30-6 at halftime.

“We were able to make big plays today,” Campbell said. “We tell Tyler if he seeds something to go for it, and on that fourth down he was able to come through.

“This is the playoffs, so you have to fight for everything, and you can’t hold back because if you lose you’re done. That was our attitude toward this week.”

Armagost hit James Shope on a 15-yard pass with 9:16 to play in the game, and Shope also added the two-point conversion for a 38-6 lead.

Ethan Harmon closed out the scoring with a 3-yard run for Brookville with 27 seconds remaining.

“People think we backed our way into the playoffs and maybe we didn't belong, but I felt all along we deserved to be here,” Campbell said. “We played the toughest strength of schedule of any Double A team. We played Sharon, Western Beaver and St. Marys for our non-conference opponents. I'm very proud of how our kids came out and played today, and we had something to prove.”

Dakota Campbell caught six passes for 98 yards for Moniteau, Casper had two catches for 90 yards, and Loos added two receptions for 78 yards. Shope rushed nine times for 33 yards.

Shane Heschke completed 7-of-24 passes for 106 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. Kerr caught four passes for 66 yards.

Joe Galbraith was held to just 49 yards on 14 carries for the Raiders. Harmon led the Raiders with 69 yards on five attempts, and Heschke added 27 yards on 11 attempts.

"Momentum is pretty powerful in football and today we had trouble gaining any momentum for our side," said Dworek.

MONITEAU 38, BROOKVILLE 12

Score By Quarters

Moniteau                   16                   14                   0          8 – 38

Brookville                  0                     6                     0          6 – 12

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

M - Tyler Armagost 2 run (Armagost pass to Casper), 11:08

M - Tyler Armagost 23 run (Armagost pass to McFadden), 1:49  

Second Quarter

M - Tyler Armagost 1 run (Armagost run), 9:00

B - Alex Kerr 10 pass from Shane Heschke (pass failed), 6:18

M - Josh Loos 40 pass from Tyler Armagost (run failed), 1:55

Fourth Quarter

M - James Shope 15 pass from Tyler Armagost (Shope run), 9:16

B - Ethan Harmon 3 run (kick failed), :27

                                                M                   B

First Downs                            12                   11

Rushes-Yards                          33-132             38-179

Passing Yards                         297                 106

Passes: Comp-Att-Int             15-34-0            7-26-5

Total Yardage                        429                 285

Punts-Average                                    5-30.2              3-32.0

Fumbles-lost                            0-0                   2-1

Penalties-Yards                       6-48                 5-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Moniteau: Tyler Armagost 19-68, Dakota Campbell 5-31, James Shope 9-33. Brookville” Joe Galbraith 14-49, Alex Kerr 1-12, Shane Heschke 11-27, Hank Truman 1-8, D.J. Dennison 2-7, Kyle Galbraith 3-9, Ethan Harmon 5-69, Garret Weaver 1- -2.

Passing – Moniteau: Tyler Armagost 15-for-34 297 yards, 2 TD, 0 Int. Brookville: Shane Heschke 7-for-24 106 yards, 1 TD, 4 Int. Joe Galbraith 0-for-1, Alex Kerr 0-for-1 1 Int.

Receiving – Moniteau: Josh Loos 2-78, John McFadden 4-17, Dakota Campbell 6-98, Clayton Casper 2-90, James Shope 1-14. Brookville: Alex Kerr 4-66, A.J. Moore 1-42, Joe Galbraith 1- -3, Rocky Pease 1-1.

Interceptions – Moniteau 5 (Jacob Boy, Josh Loos, James Shope, Tyler Armagost, Jim Thompson)