Raiders Silence Thunder, Host Stanberry Next
By Troy Treasure
North Shelby rebounded from its Week 5 loss at North Andrew with a 56-6 home victory versus Keytesville-Northwestern (Mendon) Friday, Oct. 2.
Carson Orr ran for 106 yards and a touchdown while catching two TD passes from Cale Stoneburner against the winless Thunder. Stoneburner added a TD run of his own.
The 5-1 Raiders led 32-0 after one quarter; 48-0 at halftime.
Playing on a short field most of the game, NS rushed for 243 yards.
“I just wanted us take care of ourselves. That’s all I’m looking for any week,” head coach Seth Bass said. “We had a few moments where I don’t think our energy was great which I kind of expected on a night like this but, fundamentally, we weren’t bad.”
Keytesville-Northwestern is in its first year of football.
“We were over-matched. We’re over-matched every week, but we didn’t quit,” Thunder head coach Kevin Gundy said.
K-N dressed 13 players against the Raiders.
A 1974 graduate of Scotland County and member of the Tigers’ inaugural 1970 football team, Gundy came out of coaching retirement to lead the Thunder. He was previously head coach at Gallatin, Cameron, Fort Osage (Independence), Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College and Quincy University.
Gundy indicated his athletes have embraced being in the school’s new weight room and learning different strengthening techniques.
“It’s a bunch of basketball players,” he said. “We had good attendance in our summer program.”
NS moved back up to third in the state-wide eight-man media poll released Monday. Stanberry (4-1) dropped from No. 4 to seventh after its 36-6 loss to North Andrew last week.
The Raiders are scheduled to host Stanberry Friday.
North Shelby won last year’s meeting 22-16 in northwest Missouri, a game in which the Panthers scored all of their points late in the fourth quarter.
Stoneburner indicated the opportunity to play another state-ranked team in 14 days is a motivational tool.
“Yes, 100 percent. We know we should have played better against North Andrew and it’s not that we played bad. It hurt losing a game like that,” Stoneburner said.
“It’s a mind-set. We need to win-out,” he added. “Stanberry’s a really good team and so was North Andrew. We could definitely take out some of that frustration if we win this game, like we should. It would feel amazing for our team.”
Through six games, Stoneburner has rushed for 455 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“My O-line, they’ve been great all year,” Stoneburner said. “They give great first pushes then climb up to the ‘backers. Normally, I’ve only got to beat one guy because they are on the ‘backers. They do amazing.”
Stoneburner has thrown for an additional 393 yards and nine TDs.
Stanberry is led by quarterback Austin Schwebach.
“I think that kid mirrors Cale in running the offense. He knows what coach (Shane) Hilton expects of him,” Bass said. “He’s a good leader and has a good feel for what the offense is trying to do.
“They are kind of a clone offensively of what North Andrew does,” Bass continued. “I think we’ll be able to dig in and fix the mistakes we made. Stanberry would be a key win for us going forward.”
While crediting NA, Bass felt, from a North Shelby perspective, the game was an aberration.
“It really wasn’t bad. We had some breaks go against us and we couldn’t get the breaks to go back,” he said. “I don’t think we got out-physicaled whatsoever.
“A couple of coaches and I talked about it and they said the same I did: if we play them 10 times, it’s probably 5-5,” Bass added.
NOTES: The Missouri State High School Activities Association announced last week the 2020 state championship game will be held in Chillicothe at Bob Fairchild Field-Jerry Litton Memorial Stadium … the game orginally was scheduled to be played at Faurot Field in Columbia … North Andrew (6-0) moved up to No. 1 in this week’s poll after two-time defending state champion Mound City was upset by Tarkio-Fairfax 34-6. Southwest Livingston (5-1) is second … following North Shelby are Drexel (6-0) and Mound City (5-1). Rounding out the Top-10 are East Atchison (3-1), Stanberry, SHNS (4-1), Archie (5-1) and Pattonsburg (4-2).
