Cascade traveled to Southmont High School to take on the Mounties for Sectional 37 Semifinal between 6-4 Cascade and 5-5 Southmont. The last sectional match-up between the two schools was back in 2021 when Southmont dropped Cascade 21-7. It was a dog fight until the end that saw two key players for the Cadets go down with injuries early on in the game. Southmont won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Cascade would return the opening kickoff and take up 6 minutes off the clock on their way to a 15 play 63 yard drive that ended in a SO Dayton Mink 3 yard touchdown run. However, on just the second play of the game from scrimmage, Cadets leading rusher, SO Toby Savini, went down with a leg injury and would not return to the game and would end up being a huge blow to the explosive Cascade offense. Cascade took a 7-0 lead with 6:11 seconds in the 1st quarter. On the next three possessions, Southmont and Cascade would trade three and outs and after the second straight by the Cascade defense, Southmont would kick a booming punt down at the Cadets 2 yard line. Starting the second half, SO Dayton Mink would take the first play from scrimmage 33 yards to get the Cadets offense going on the drive. SR Damien Appleby and SO Dayton Mink would carry the load on offense, threatened again after crossing midfield. Cascade would take the ball 18 plays down to the Southmont 30 yard line taking 9 minutes off the clock, but would be forced into a 3rd and long. After a incomplete pass on 3rd down, SR Chase Schnarr would jog out for a 47 yard field goal attempt that would fall just short. However, with NFHS rules, since the ball landed in the end zone, the ball would be placed at the 20 yard line as a touchback. Unfortunately, on this drive, Cascade would lose their second leading rusher SR Damien Appleby to an injury and he would also not return to the game. With 3 minutes to go in the first half, Southmont would take over 80 yards from the end zone, but would begin the trek. Southmont would use the pass to drive down the field. Cascade’s defense forced the Mounties to a 4th and 9 at midfield, but Southmont’s quarterback would stay calm under pressure and scramble for 18 yards to keep the drive going. On the next play from scrimmage, Mounties quarterback would fake play action and find a wind open receiver in the corner of the end zone to take the momentum going into half time. It was a big turning point in the game, as Cascade controlled the clock in the first half, but the Mounties would get the ball in the 2nd half to start. With Cascade’s top two running backs out and both being two-way starters some players would need to step up and make some plays. On the opening possession of the second half, Cascade would force the Mounties to a quick 3rd and 11, but Mounties quarterback would loft a fade route down the Southmont sideline for 31 yards to keep the drive alive. Southmont drove 13 plays 77 yards in 7 minutes to take a 14-7 lead and score 14 unanswered points. Cascade would answer with a huge drive of their own going 15 plays 55 yards taking 7 minutes off the clock with SO Brady Trebley finding the end zone from one yard out. With 10 minutes left in the game, it was likely Cascade would get one more chance at the ball with how the second half had gone. Southmont would drive 10 plays threatening to score taking 5 minutes off the clock, but on a 4th down throw attempt SO JT Roshong would get the pass break up and give the ball back to Cascade with 3 minutes and 43 seconds left to go in the game. With only throwing the ball twice all game, Cascade would elect to continue to run the ball through SO Dayton Mink. Cascade would drive 34 yards in 8 plays to run out the clock and force overtime. The Cadet offense would pick up two 4th downs on the drive instead of electing to kick to the Southmont offense. Going into overtime, Southmont would win the toss and elect to play defense first which means Cascade would get 4 plays to score from 10 yards out. The Cadets only needed 1 play with SO Dayton Mink finding the end zone of the first play from scrimmage and SR Chase Schnarr would get the extra point to give the Cadets a 21-14 lead. On the Southmont offensive possession, Cascade would force the Mounties to a 3rd and 6, but a missed assignment in the secondary left a Mountie receiver wide open for the touchdown. Cascade led 21-20, but Southmont elected to go for the win with a two point try. From three yards out, Southmont handed it to the left side, FR Lucas Farmer came up and stuck the Mountie running back 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage, but the 220lbs running back kept his legs churning and after 2 more Cascade defenders come up to hit him, he would fall into the end zone and that would be the game with Southmont topping the Cadets 22-21. In the end the impact of the injuries seemed to play a big roll in the loss with SO Toby Savini having 1,500 all purpose yards 18 touchdowns and 50+ tackles and SR Damien Appleby having 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. Both players were three way players and had a big impact on all phases of the football game. Tons of youth stepped up for the Cadets and this group fought and clawed all night to give themselves at victory, but game up 3 yards short. Cascade fell to 6-5 on the season and Southmont pushed their record to 6-5 and advanced to play Linton Stockton in the Sectional Championship next Friday. Thank you to the 2023 Senior Class with the impact that they have had on this program over the last four years. The class won a total of 18 games in their career and found themselves in the Sectional Semifinals 3 out of the 4 seasons. Scoring Summary 1st Quarter C: Dayton Mink 3 Yard Run (Schnarr Kick) 7-0 2nd Quarter S: 8 Yard Touchdown Pass (Kick) 7-7 3rd Quarter S: 3 Yard Run (Kick) 14-7 4th Quarter C: Brady Trebley 1 Yard Run (Schnarr Kick) 14-14 Overtime C: Dayton Mink 10 Yard Run (Schnarr Kick) 21-14 S: 3 Yard Touchdown Pass (2 Point Good) 21-22 Game Summary Total Plays C: 62 S: 44 Total Offense C: 223 S: 196 Passing Yards C: 12 S: 104 Rushing Yards C: 211 S: 93 First Downs C: 16 S: 10 Third Down C: 6-14 S: 4-10 Fourth Down C: 7-7 S: 2-3 Turnovers C: 0 S: 0 Penalties C: 4-25 S: 2-17 Offensive Stats Passing Brady Trebley 1-2 12 Yards Rushing Dayton Mink 30-149 Yards 2 TDs Damien Appleby 12-51 Yards Brady Trebley 7-6 1 TD Defensive Stats Tackles Lucas Farmer 9 Tackles JT Roshong 9 Tackles Jackson Cornelius 7 Tackles Jacob Potts 7 Tackles Special Teams Kickoffs Chase Schnarr 3-124 Yards Punts Kaiden Hodges 1-24 Yards Kickoff Returns Tyler Hege 3-82 Yards