The two Houston Middle School football teams were each defeated Thursday in home games against Mountain Grove, as the 7th-grade Tigers lost 6-0 and the 8th-grader fell 20-6.
The 7th-grade game lasted 2 quarters due to roster numbers.
One of the highlights of the contest for Houston was when Landon Parish forced a fumble that was recovered by Connor Stallcup.
“The end results weren’t what we expected,” said HMS head coach Rodney Preheim said, “but the kids played hard the whole time. I’m proud of this group and very excited about what the rest of football season has in store for them.”
In the 8th-grade game, Mountain Grove opened the scoring with a big rushing touchdown and a 2-point conversion.
Houston closed the gap to 8-6 on a 79-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kash Abney to tight end Gaige Martin (a 2-point conversion attempt failed).
The visiting Panthers scored again with a quarterback scramble just before halftime, and led 14-6 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Tigers’ defense produced a defensive stop to put the team in position to try to tie the score. But a few plays later, Mountain Grove went on top 20-6 with an interception return for a touchdown.
Parish and Wyatt Revelle each forced fumbles in the contest, with Stallcup recovering both. Martin caused a rushed pass that was intercepted by River Rowland, and several Houston players recorded tackles-for-losses.
“We had several chances to match Grove, but we just gave up too many big plays,” Preheim said. “We were two big plays from it being an 8-6 ball game. A few missed assignments and we were in the game.”
Houston’s 8th-graders lost to Grove 56-0 last year as 7th-graders.
“This year, the results were 10 times better,” Preheim said. “Even in defeat, these kids played till the last whistle. We unfortunately lost, but we were right there the whole game.”
The two HMS squads travel to Ava next Thursday (Sept. 18).
The Bears play an offense similar to Mountain Grove’s.
“We’ll get a chance to see the same offense against Ava next week,” Preheim said. “We’ll get back to practice this upcoming week and tweak a few things and get ready for Ava.”
