Pep talk spurs Mavericks past Summers County
James Monroe (37) vs. Summers County (14)
Written: Sep 13, 2014
By DAN STILLWELL
for the Daily Telegraph
HINTON — Maybe James Monroe needed a little pep talk.
Playing sluggishly, and leading Summers County just 7-6 at halftime, Mavericks head coach John Mustain had a few, select words for his team during the break.
“We got a little up in their faces,” Mustain said. “We seem to wait until the second half to get going. We did that against Greenbrier East (a loss two weeks ago). The second half they were a completely different team.”
The Mavericks definitely got the message.
With senior quarterback Reed McNeer a steady presence in the backfield — and in the end zone — James Monroe reeled off 30 unanswered points to claim a 37-14 victory over the Bobcats.
The win evened the Mavericks’ record at 1-1, while Summers fell to 0-3.
“Things haven’t been the greatest for us the last three or four years,” Mustain said. “I told them after the Greenbrier East game that the next thing they had to do was learn how to win. We did a lot of positive things, but we didn’t finish.”
That wasn’t a problem Friday, as McNeer led the Mavericks to touchdowns on four of their first five drives in the second half. He finished the game with 124 yards and one touchdown through the air, and ran for 28 yards and three scores.
“Reed has the tools. He runs well and he has a good, strong arm,” Mustain said. “He threw it around tonight. We had several kids with catches.”
Summers had scored first, on a 10-yard run by workhorse back Dillon Smith midway through the second period.
McNeer answered with a 15-yard run, and Seth Havens gave the Mavs the lead with his point-after kick.
A 3-yard run by McNeer, and a 27-yard field goal by Havens put the momentum firmly in James Monroe’s possession, and the offense snowballed in the fourth.
Havens, a fine receiver as well as kicker, caught a 30-yard TD pass from McNeer to open the deluge. Evan Beasley followed with a 31-yard run on a counter for a score, and McNeer capped it off with a 7-yard burst.
“I’m extremely disappointed. I thought we came out in the second half with a fair amount of intensity, but we had some injuries that set us back,” Summers coach Nate Tanner said. “We let down after that. James Monroe is a physical team.`”
While McNeer and others drew the scoring accolade for James Monroe, freshman running back Grant Mohler was a force, running for 93 yards on 12 carries. Logan Hunnicutt, a senior halfback, added 46 yards on 10 carries.
“Hopefully this win can get us over the edge,” Mustain said.
James Monroe returns to action Friday with a game at PikeView.
Summers, which plays at Wyoming East next Friday, tacked on one for pride with 1:24 to play when Tucker Lilly caught a 47-yard touchdown aerial from Nate Grimmett.
“We have to do some soul-searching this weekend. We have to find a way to motivate the kids,” Tanner said. “It’s hard to start out 0-3, but sometimes you’re not as bad as you think. I need to get them to bounce back.”
Sophomore quarterback Grimmett, starting in place of injured junior Matt Ryan, completed 5 of 16 passes for 133 yards. Smith gained 45 yards on 17 carries.
— E-mail: dstillwell@
register-herald.com
At Garten Field
James Monroe (1-1)............0 7 9 21 -- 37
Summers Co. (0-3)..............0 6 0 8 -- 14
Second Quarter
SC: Dillon Smith 10 run (Kick failed), 5:23
JM: Reese McNeer 15 run (Seth Havens kick), 3:18
Third Quarter
JM: McNeer 3 run (Kick failed), 5:48
JM: FG Havens 27, 3:44
Fourth Quarter
JM: Havens 30 pass from McNeer (Havens kick), 11:03
JM: Evan Beasley 31 run (Havens kick), 7:26
JM: McNeer 7 run (Havens kick), 4:36
SC: Tucker Lilly 47 pass from Nate Grimmett (Grimmett rush), 1:24
———
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — JM McNeer 13-28, Grant Mohler 12-93, Logan Hunnicutt 10-46, Matthew Elmore 1-15, Evan Beasley 2-54, Havens 2-30, Lance Wilson 1-1, Connor Moore 2-(-10); SC Grimmett 7-7, Dillon Smith 17-45, Greg Shrewsbury 5-12, Ben Neal 1-0.
PASSING — JM McNeer 11-16-1, 124; SC Grimmett 5-16-1, 133.
RECEIVING — JM Mohler 1-11, Joshua Dransfield 3-17, Conner Boothe 1-6, Tyler Sams 1-8 Havens 1-5; SC Caleb Harrah 2-67, Andrew Richmond 2-19, Lilly 1-47.
TAKEAWAYS — JM Dransfield (int.) ; SC Richmond (int.), Josh Smith (fum. rec.)
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