This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Back To The Dome! Burroughs Overpowers Monett, Will Advance To State Championship Game For Third Straight Year

Three late touchdowns lifts Bombers to 28-6 win in hard-fought state semifinal matchup against Monett.

Since the moment the final horn sounded in last year’s heartbreaking Show-Me Bowl loss to Logan-Rogersville, the John Burroughs football team has been focused on getting back to the Edward Jones Dome, to redeem themselves by finally winning the state championship they’ve dreamed of since they were little boys.

And thanks to a brilliant, shut-’em-down performance by the defense, and another all-world effort by running back Ezekiel Elliott, the Bombers are going back to the state championship game for the third straight year, following a hard-fought 28-6 victory over host Monett High on Saturday.

Monett boasts one of the best defenses in the state. So good in fact, they’ve been dubbed “The Purple Haze” by fans and opponents.

Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And for most of Saturday’s MSHSAA Class 3 semifinal showdown, “The Purple Haze” managed to keep Burroughs in check.

But the Bombers, buoyed by Elliott’s 242 rushing yards on 27 carries, were able to pull away in the fourth quarter, following a pair of sensational touchdown runs by JBS‘ touchdown machine.

Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Elliott broke free for a 31-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, which along with teammate Rushil Sheth’s PAT, gave Burroughs a 7-0 lead. 

But that was all he could get in the first half, as Monett swarmed him on nearly every play, and demanded the Bombers find another way to win.

Fortunately, the Burroughs defense was just as good as “The Purple Haze”, and maybe even bit better, as it held the Monett offense to less than 150 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers.

The Cubs got their only score in the game’s final moments, after Frerotte had pulled Burroughs’ starters and put his backups and JV players in the game.

The Ohio State University-bound Elliott broke the game open early in the fourth quarter, with a 23-yard jaunt up the left sideline that gave his club a two-score lead.

Then after a Monett turnover, Elliott slipped in from 9 yards out to give Burroughs a near-insurmountable 21-0 lead.

Quarterback Nick Duncan put the final nail in the Cubs’ coffin, with 3:17 left in the game, on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Foye Oluokun that made it 28-0 Bombers.

The top-ranked team in Missouri Class 3 will take on No. 2-ranked Maryville (MO) in Friday’s Show-Me Bowl championship game.

The Spoofhounds defeated California (MO) 42-7 to advance to their first state title game appearance since winning it all in Class 2 in 2009.

Kickoff for Friday’s championship game is slated for 1 p.m., and will be broadcast over-the-air on FOX Sports Midwest, and online at MSHSAA.TV. 

Score by Quarters ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 -- Final
John Burroughs ...... 0 ... 7 ... 0 ... 21 -- 28
Monett .................... 0 ... 0 ... 0 .... 6 -- 6

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
No scoring.

2nd Quarter
JBS - Ezekiel Elliott 31 yd run (Rushil Sheth kick) -- 8:08 ......................... 7-0

3rd Quarter
No scoring.

4th Quarter
JBS - Ezekiel Elliott 23 yd run (Rushil Sheth kick) -- 8:17 ........................ 14-0
JBS - Ezekiel Elliott 9 yd run (Rushil Sheth kick) -- 6:44 ........................... 21-0
JBS - Foye Oloukun 10 yd pass from Nick Duncan (Rushil Sheth kick) -- 3:19 .......... 28-0
Monett - Aaron Hall 9 yd run (PAT failed) -- :42 ...................................... 28-6

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Ladue-Frontenac