There may not be a more inopportune time this year for the Houston football team to be shorthanded.

The Tigers were without a handful of starters against the top team in the conference and one of the best in the state. The result was a 43-0 defeat Friday night to No. 4 Ava in front of a large 2017 homecoming crowd.

“I don’t know if we’re snake-bitten or cursed,” HHS coach Eric Sloan said. “There are freak things going on. We were basically out of running backs and down to the last quarterback available on the roster. It’s taking its toll on us.”

The Tigers put together an impressive first half against the undefeated Bears. Despite playing without leading tackler Paydon Dixon, they forced puts on three of five possessions.

But the Ava offense got going in the second half.

The Bears (6-0, 4-0 South Central Association) scored 56 seconds into the third quarter for the first of four second-half scores.

“Without several key guys, I thought in the first half we played very well,” Sloan said. “We started to wear down in the second half and it got out of hand a little bit.”

Without Dixon –– who has rotated between quarterback and running back –– as well as starting lineman Dawson Koch, the Tigers struggled offensively. They managed just 1.6 per play and were out-gained 409-68.

{{tncms-inline alignment=”right” content=”<p><strong>Week 6 scores</strong></p> <p>Ava 43, Houston 0</p> <p>Liberty 42, Mountain Grove 20</p> <p>Salem 20, Willow Springs 0</p> <p>Thayer 41, Cabool 0</p> <p><strong>Week 7 games</strong></p> <p>Houston at Willow Springs</p> <p>Mountain Grove at Salem</p> <p>Thayer at Ava</p> <p>Liberty at Cabool</p>” id=”48f7d382-cb21-4796-8e62-8a1c445789cd” style-type=”bio” title=”SCA SCORES” type=”relcontent” width=”half”}}

HHS senior Gavin Alston led the team with seven carries for 36 yards. Quarterback Dakota Burchett was 5-of-13 passing for 24 yards and an interception.

Ava quarterback Caleb Johnson completed 3 of 6 passes for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Conner Moran led the Bears with nine carries for 98 yards.

Sloan is hopeful Dixon, who injured his knee in practice the previous day, will return for Friday’s game at Willow Springs. Koch was set for further evaluation this week on his knee. Lane Revelle, a starting defensive lineman, missed the game with a concussion and is not expected to return soon.

“We’re pretty young in several spots,” Sloan said. “We continue to see more freshmen out there. That’s great for the future, but it’s tough when you play the fourth-ranked team.”

Ava took an early advantage when Johnson hit Stephen Copeland streaking down the middle of the field for a 42-yard score midway through the first half.

The HHS defense, with two freshmen starters, forced punts on the Bears’ next two possessions before Moran raced 31 yards for a score early in the second.

The Tigers ended the half by forcing Ava to punt for a third time.

“We were pretty stingy up front and rallied to the ball,” Sloan said.

Johnson ignited the second-half spurt by returning the kickoff 77 yards to the Houston 12-yard line. Quincey McDonald scored two plays later as Ava went ahead 20-0.

The Bears’ defense forced a safety and got an 84-yard pass from Johnson to Joey Swofford to lead 28-0 entering the fourth quarter.

Houston had one possession on Ava’s side of the field –– a recovered fumble on the 38-yard line that went backwards with a 15-yard penalty and ended with a punt.

“We are banged up at the skill positions,” Sloan said. “That’s tough when you are constantly rotating guys and have young guys who are playing positions they typically don’t.”

“We’ll continue to work on us.”

BOX SCORE

Friday’s game

AVA 43, HOUSTON 0

Ava   6   8   14   15   –   43

Houston   0   0   0   0   –   0

First Quarter

AVA –– Copeland 42 pass from Johnson (pass failed), 7:09.

Second Quarter

AVA –– Moran 31 run (Johnson run), 8:25.

Third Quarter

AVA –– McDonald 9 run (kick failed), 11:04.

AVA –– Safety, 5:33.

AVA –– Swofford 84 pass from Johnson (pass failed), 3:35.

Fourth Quarter

AVA –– Myers 2 run (Balassone pass from Johnson), 11:57.

AVA –– Myers 39 run (Johnson kick), 6:58.

––––––

                  AVA         HOU

First downs   9      5

Total yards   409      68

Rushes-yards   40-273  30-44

Passing   136 24

Punt returns   0   5

Kickoff returns   99   114

Comp-att-int   3-6-0   5-13-1

Sacked-yards lost   0-0   3-18

Punts   3-43.2   8-37.8

Fumbles-lost   1-1   1-1

Penalties-yards   11-95   5-41

––––––

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING –– Ava, Moran 9-98, McDonald 11-56, Copeland 9-52, Myers 4-50, Johnson 7-17. Houston, Alston 7-36, Richardson 8-20, Liles 1-2, Sawyer 1-1, Hutcheson 1-0, Cichon 2-(minus 2), Franklin 1-(minus 3), Burchett 9-(minus 10).

PASSING –– Ava, Johnson 3-6-0 136. Houston, Burchett 5-13-1 24.

RECEIVING –– Ava, Swofford 1-84, Copeland 2-52. Houston, Lane 1-13, Clayton 2-12, Sawyer 1-3, Richardson 1-(minus 4).

Week 6 scores

Ava 43, Houston 0

Liberty 42, Mountain Grove 20

Salem 20, Willow Springs 0

Thayer 41, Cabool 0

Week 7 games

Houston at Willow Springs

Mountain Grove at Salem

Thayer at Ava

Liberty at Cabool