Seneca High School proved from the beginning of the night that it isn’t just a ground-and-pound football offense that has to run the ball.
Quarterback Brodie Probert completed 4 of 7 pass attempts in the first half for 115 yards and had a long pass of 58 yards to Hunter Hanes to set up a scoring drive. The Indians wore the defense down with Probert and Roman Miller running the ball, but the team continuously hit for big pass gains all night on the way to a 42-7 win.
“They loaded the box on us. We knew that was coming. I think we’re averaging 470 on the ground,” Seneca head coach Cody Hilburn said. “We’ve gotta be able to do that, and we can. I’m proud of Brodie for making those throws, our protection was great and our receivers went and made some plays for us.”
Carl Junction High School (4-2) couldn’t get much going early on offense, as it had just one drive into Indian territory in the first half.
“It’s one of the best football teams in the state. … I don’t care what level we’re playing at, that’s one of the best in the state,” CJ head coach Todd Hafner said. “The reason being is they’re so strong, they’re physical, they’re tough, and we knew coming in we had to match it. I thought for three quarters we really did a good job. I thought eventually our defense kind of wore out.”
Seneca handed the Bulldogs a 54-7 loss last year in the revival of the old Big 8 Conference rivalry. The two teams had split their last six meetings prior to last year’s meeting. The Indians are now on a two-game streak.
Most of CJ’s inability to continue drives was because of Seneca’s defensive front stopping the run.
“We want to be a run-first team and a defense that can stop the run. That was a challenge. That’s a big offensive line and really good offensive line — one of the best we’ve seen,” Hilburn said. “We challenged our defensive line to make them one dimensional, and we did a pretty good job of stopping the run and turned them into more of a passing team.”
Probert ran 14 times for Seneca for 163 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Miller carried the ball 10 times for 59 yards and two scores. Blaze Graham caught two passes in the first two quarters that totaled 58 yards.
Probert did take off for an 85-yard run to open the Indians’ third drive of the game but had the ball punched out at the goal line by CJ’s JoJo Ballard, and the ball bounced out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Carl Junction missed an opportunity to strike during the third quarter while trailing 26-0. The Bulldogs got down to the 9-yard line of Seneca with about four minutes left in the period. That was the closest they’d been to pay dirt all game.
But the ensuing snap was at the feet of quarterback Mason Gilbert, and he couldn’t corral it as Seneca’s Jace Renfro flew into the backfield and dove on top of it.
Seneca (6-0) fumbled into the end zone as Miller coughed it up at the 2-yard line, and CJ recovered for a touchback.
After a couple of empty possessions — one from each team — CJ did get into the end zone. It did so on a two-minute, six-play drive that went 54 yards. Marcus Lopez-Durman ran it in from 10 yards out to make it 26-7.
But Seneca wrapped it up with a long rushing touchdown by Miller of 52 yards and then another score on a 45-yard pass over the top from Probert to Jude King for his first varsity touchdown. That score made it 40-7, and Probert made it 42-7 with a 2-point conversion run.
Hafner gave his overall thoughts on his team’s performance:
“I thought that was the most physical our defense has played all year. I thought we did a lot of good things offensively in the pass game. I don’t think we did a lot of good things in the run game.”
The coach noted that he is taking the blame for the run game. His game plan was to try to win the battle in between the tackles and get things going for Lopez-Durman, but that didn’t happen.
Seneca’s first four scores were on touchdown runs — three by Miller and one by Probert. In the first half, Miller had runs of 2 and 11 yards for touchdowns. Probert ran his in from 4 yards out. It was 18-0 at halftime. CJ blocked a point-after kick, and then Seneca failed on its two 2-point conversion tries.
Miller added a 31-yard run to make it 24-0. A 2-point conversion run by Miller made it 26-0. Seneca converted all three of its 2-point conversion tries in the second half.
CJ will look to rebound at Branson High School at 7 p.m. next Friday.
“We don’t have any choice. We can’t say, ‘Let’s wait and play this game in a couple weeks.’ We got beat up tonight. I don’t think anything’s season ending or anything like that.
“Obviously going back into the conference next week, and we’re going to play another team in Branson like the one we saw tonight. I think, if we show up and do the things like we did tonight, we’re going to be OK,” Hafner said.
Seneca goes to McDonald County High School (4-2) for a game that Hilburn says he circled as the toughest matchup his team had on the schedule.
“The Big 8’s just so tough. Going on the road in the Big 8, it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s tough and McDonald County is a tough place to play. We’ve been tested all year and I think that’s good for us,” Hilburn said. “This will be a huge test.”
