Eldon, Springfield Catholic to meet in district football semifinal

Tanner Meyers of Eldon returns an interception during last Friday night's home game against Buffalo.
Tanner Meyers of Eldon returns an interception during last Friday night's home game against Buffalo.

ELDON, Mo. - The two semifinal football games of the Class 3 District 3 Tournament will certainly offer a contrast in styles tonight.

Want to see the balls flying in the air? Go to St. James and watch the high-flying top-seed St. James Tigers (8-2) take on fourth-seeded defending district champion Owensville (7-3), a game which features two of mid-Missouri's top passing quarterbacks.

And for those who like a more traditional, smash-mouth type of confrontation, Eldon is the place to be, where the second-seeded host Mustangs (9-1) will ground it out against third-seeded Springfield Catholic (8-2).

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Eldon.

In first-round District 3 games last week, Eldon walloped seventh-seeded Buffalo 72-33; Catholic stopped sixth-seeded Osage 33-21; St. James crushed eighth-seeded Sullivan 49-7, and Owensville clipped fifth-seeded Logan-Rogersville 34-28.

"There is a lot of offense left in our district," said Eldon head coach Shannon Jolley. "Any four of the remaining teams could win the district championship. Either game could go either way."

The Catholic Fighting Irish had a six-game winning streak snapped by Reeds Spring in its regular-season finale two weeks ago, which dropped them from No. 1 to No. 3 in the district seedings.

The run-first Irish are averaging 307.5 yards and 29.2 points per game. In the district first-round game against School of the Osage, the Irish rushed for 336 yards.

Triggering the Catholic option game is junior quarterback Tyson Riley, who is proficient in the read-option. Riley has rushed for 990 yards on 147 carries (6.7 yards-per-carry) and scored 18 touchdowns while passing for 447 yards (52 percent) and five TDs.

The Irish have a stable of other productive backs as well, including junior Heath Southwick with 395 rushing yards (5.9-per-carry), junior Nick Crites 370 yards (5.6), senior Hunter Puckett 322 yards (3.8) and senior Jacob Straus 237 yards (5.9).

Senior wideout Lincoln Jones is Catholic's main receiving target with 16 catches for 296 yards and five TDs.

But the strength of the Catholic squad has been its defense.

The Irish are allowing a stingy 11.9 points. Six times this season the Irish have limited opponents to single digits in points scored.

Senior lineman Drew Davis and Riley, a safety, are the team's leaders in tackles, with Riley and Puckett pacing the defense with four interceptions each.

As a team the Irish have picked off 15 passes.

Against Osage last week, the Irish limited a strong Indian offensive attack to 74 rushing yards and forced three turnovers.

"They might be one of the most talented teams we've faced this year," Jolley said of Catholic. "They're extremely well-coached and we anticipate our most physical game of the year. A lot of people talk about their quarterback, but we've also got a lot of respect for their running backs and slotbacks. They're balanced and they've got a nice group up front.

"Defensively I think we match up just about even. They play smart defense. I think it will be a great high school football game."

The stout Irish run defense will get a stiff test against the Mustang wing-T offense which has produced an average of a whopping 50.5 points per game.

Eldon, winners of six straight, is led by senior running back Isaiah Merida, who has rushed for 1,369 yards (8.7 yards-per-carry) and 18 touchdowns. Also for the Mustangs, junior fullback Isaiah Parsons has rushed for 1,088 yards (5.6) and 20 touchdowns, junior quarterback Dawson Brandt 678 yards and 10 TDs, senior wingback Trenton Dillon 397 yards (14.7) and senior running back Jordan Metz 260 yards (5.0).

Brandt has had particular success in the play-action passing game, having completed 23-of-51 passes for 685 yards 14 TDs and just three interceptions.

Merida has seven catches for 209 yards and four TDs, senior tight end Cole Walker seven catches for 130 yards and three TDs and senior wideout Austin Pipes four catches for 122 yards and three TDs.

Jolley said his team needs to clean up its game from last week's performance.

"At times we played well," Jolley said. "We struggled with our composure a little bit. There was an abnormal amount of penalties on both sides, and that can disrupt the flow of the game."

The Mustangs are healthier this week with Dillon, also a linebacker, and sophomore lineman Jon Schoenfeld back at full-speed.

"Dillon will be back," Jolley said. "We're back at full-strength. We're not 100 percent, but we're close."