By Justin Skiba

KNOX – Dan Reed's 11-yard touchdown pass to Brett Zuck in the corner of the end zone lifted the Keystone Panthers to a 27-24 overtime victory over the Moniteau Warriors Friday night at Keystone.

“The guys found ways to make things happen,” Keystone head coach Jason Nellis said. “They were able to make some plays.”

Moniteau (3-3 overall, 3-3 KSAC) had the ball first in overtime.  After failing to score on its first three plays, Tony Miller came in and booted a 28-yard field goal to put the Warriors up 24-21.

Keystone (4-2 overall, 4-2 KSAC) did not waste any time with its possession in the extra frame.  After a 1-yard loss on its first play, Reed found Zuck in the corner of the end zone for the game winner.

It is Keystone's first win over Moniteau in seven years.  The last Panthers victory came in 2002 when Keystone defeated Moniteau 14-7 in West Sunbury.

Keystone overcame a 21-7 deficit to force overtime when Reed hooked up with Ben Marchand from 45 yards out to knot the game at 21 with 3:19 left in regulation.

Both teams had opportunities late in regulation but neither could capitalize which set up the overtime heroics.

“We had adversity a lot of different times,” Nellis said. “We had two fumbles inside the five and a touchdown called back. But, obviously, we played well enough to win the game.” 

Moniteau led twice in the first half including 14-7 at halftime.

The Warriors opened the scoring on their first possession of the second quarter when Kyle Armagost hooked up with Zack Wheeler on a 19-yard pass to give Moniteau a 6-0 lead.

Keystone responded on its next possession driving 84 yards on nine plays capped off by a 37-yard touchdown pass from Reed to Lexan Montana to give the Panthers a 7-6 lead.

Keystone's lead was short lived, as Moniteau marched right back down the field in four plays. Armagost found a wide open Austin Hogsett on a 47-yard touchdown pass giving the Warriors the 14-7 lead with 1:20 left in the first half.

The second half started out good for Keystone, as it moved down to Moniteau's 36-yard line, and Reed then completed a pass to Zuck down at the 1-yard line. But Zuck fumbled the ball into the end zone, and Moniteau recovered for a touchback.

The Warriors then extended their lead to 14 late in the third quarter when they capitalized on another Keystone fumble. James Shope rumbled into the end zone from four yards out with 3:20 left in the quarter to make it 21-7 Moniteau. The score capped off an 8-play, 67-yard drive.

Keystone responded just over a minute later when Reed found a streaking Zuck down the sidelines on a 64-yard touchdown which pulled the Panthers within seven.

Reed led Keystone with 256 yards and four touchdowns.  He also rushed for 30 yards on 14 carries and had an interception on defense. Zuck caught six passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

Moniteau was lead by Kyle Armagost who threw for 248 yards on 10 completions. Shope added 96 yards rushing and 67 receiving.

Keystone travels to C-L next week while Moniteau travels to Brookville.

KEYSTONE 27, MONITEAU 24

Keystone   0     7     7    7   6  - 27

Moniteau   0    14    7    0   3  -  24

Second Quarter

M - Zach Wheeler 19 pass from Armagost (kick blocked), 7:31

K - Lexan Montana 37 pass from Dan Reed (Ziegler kick),   3:07

M - Austin Hogsett 47 pass from Armagost (Armagost to Wheeler), 1:30

Third Quarter

M - James Shope 4 run (Miller kick), 3:20

K - Brett Zuck 64 pass from Reed (Ziegler kick), 2:29

Fourth Quarter

K - Ben Marchand 45 pass from Reed (Ziegler kick), 3:19

Overtime

M - Miller 28 field goal

K - Brett Zuck 11 pass from Reed

TEAM STATISTICS                                     

Moniteau                    Keystone

First Downs                14                                16

Rushes – Yards           37-115                         32-122

Passing Yards             248                              256

Comp-Att-Int              10-17-1                        11-23-0 

Total Yards                 363                              368

Penalties-Yards           5-50                             4-30 

Fumbles – Lost           4-2                               3-2

Punts-Avg.                  3-37.7                          6-33.3                           

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Moniteau: David Campbell 1-1, James Shope 22-96, Kyle Armagost 14-18; Keystone: Zack Smith 17-86, Dan Reed 14-30, Kyle Bailey 1-6

Passing - Moniteau: Kyle Armagost 10 for 17, 248 yards, 2TD, 1 INT; Keystone: Dan Reed 11 for 23 for 256 yards, 4 TD 

Receiving - Moniteau:  Tony Campbell 3-94, Victor Santoyo 1-11, Zach Wheeler 2-29, Austin Hogsett 1-47, James Shope 3-67; Keystone: Brett Zuck 6-140, Ben Marchand 2-54, Zach Smith 1-12, Lexan Montana 1-37, BJ Seyler 1-13    

Interceptions – Keystone: Montana, Reed.