PCM routs Davis County, wraps up district title

MONROE — Greg Bonnett took over as Prairie City-Monroe football coach in 2011. In that season, the Mustangs went undefeated during the regular season and won the district title.

Five years later, Bonnett is back on top of the mountain.

Seventh-ranked PCM wrapped up the Class 2A District 6 title Friday night following another blowout victory. This time, the Mustangs dominated Davis County, 50-8.

PCM won its seventh straight game and improved to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in district play. Davis County, also named the Mustangs, dropped to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in district play.

The other playoff berth from the district was claimed by Central Lee, which defeated Centerville 38-28 on Friday. PCM defeated Central Lee 42-0 on Sept. 23.

“This is my first district title, and it feels great,” PCM offensive lineman Ethan Thomas said. “There’s really not a better feeling out there. It’s a good way to go out.”

Thomas was part of an offensive line unit that created big holes to run through in the first half. Sophomore Wes Cummings rushed for 111 yards and a TD on nine carries, while junior Noah Anderson gained 90 yards and a score on two carries.

The host Mustangs led 50-0 at halftime.

The starters on both sides of the ball did not play a snap in the second half.

“The lines on both sides of the ball are playing at a very high level,” Bonnett said. “Make no mistake about it, they are the most important thing to this team. You win games in the trenches, and those guys have played well all season long.”

The defensive line, led by James Snodgrass, Clayton Welch, Leevi Telfer and Luke Greiner, created havoc in the backfield.

Davis County gained only 24 yards and recorded two first downs in the first two quarters.

The visiting Mustangs scored a TD and got a safety on the Mustang backups in the third quarter.

The only other team to score points on PCM during district play this season was Albia. PCM won that game 52-6. The Mustangs have outscored their six district foes 298-14.

“I was disenchanted with our kickoff team. I will say that,” Bonnett said. “We gave them too many short fields in the second half. There were some guys missing tackles that really shouldn’t be missing tackles. They have played enough now that they should be better than that. I am not too upset that we got scored on, but that seems to be what everyone is talking about.”

PCM scored on seven of its eight possessions in the first half. The only possession that didn’t result in points was the opening drive. On that drive, the Mustangs got into the red zone but stalled when they got called for back-to-back penalties and quarterback Sheldon Speers was sacked on third down.

Cummings reached the end zone twice on the drive but both runs were called back because of penalties.

“If we had one thing to improve on, and the guys were all in agreement, it would be not scoring on the first drive and the penalties. Those went hand-in-hand on that first drive, too. I’m not sure how we fix those penalties. The misalignment we can fix, but they are not personal foul penalties. They are hustle penalties and holding calls are going to get called.”

Speers threw for 138 yards and two TDs on only six pass completions. Greiner and sophomore Preston Van Wyk both had touchdown receptions.

PCM got on the board with 5:21 left in the first quarter when Speers hooked up with Van Wyk on a 60-yard touchdown pass play. Van Wyk ran a go route down the far side of the field and sprinted past several Davis County defenders on his way to the end zone.

Van Wyk is one of the players whose role was expanded when senior Noah Clark went down with an injury in Week 6. The Mustangs also have gotten a boost from Anderson and sophomore Jarron Trausch.

“With the absence of Noah Clark, it’s nice to see that the other guys are able to make plays when the defense takes Greiner away,” Bonnett said. “That was one of the fears we had when Noah went down. We weren’t sure we had a second pistol in our hand, but we have several guys who are stepping up.”

Speers made it 14-0 on PCM’s next possession when he plunged forward for a 1-yard TD sneak. Speers hooked up with Greiner for a 24-yard score on the next drive, and a Welch catch on the two-point conversion made it 22-0.

Cummings reached the end zone on a 46-yard run to open the scoring in the second quarter. Speers added another touchdown run on the next drive, this time scoring from 4 yards out.

“The fact that we are two-dimensional is the biggest key for the offense,” Speers said. “If you want to double (Greiner), then I’ll turn around and hand it off, and we’ll run it up the middle. Having this offensive line is a big part of it, too. They are just a bunch of boss hogs up there.”

Anderson added to PCM’s lead with an 80-yard touchdown run with 3:35 to go in the first half. Anderson hit the hole in the middle of the line, bounced outside and then broke a tackle down the sideline on his way to paydirt.

Snodgrass, an offensive and defensive lineman by trade, got the ball on PCM’s next possession and scored from 13 yards out. He took the ball from Cummings on a counter and went into the end zone untouched.

The Mustangs outgained their visitors 349-24 in the first half. PCM had three one-play scoring drives, and two other drives were only two plays.

“We are a good, tight knit group that has bonded really well together,” Thomas said of PCM’s offensive line. “The coaches put together a great gameplan for the team, too.”

PCM can wrap up an undefeated district season with a home win over Clarke in the regular season finale on Friday. The Mustangs also host a first-round playoff game on Oct. 28.

Davis County 0-0-8-0—8

Prairie City-Monroe 22-28-0-0—50

PCM — Van Wyk 60 pass from Speers (Kuecker kick)

PCM — Speers 1 run (Kuecker kick)

PCM — Greiner 24 pass from Speers (Speers pass to Welch)

PCM — Cummings 54 run (Kuecker kick)

PCM — Speers 3 run (Kuecker kick)

PCM — Anderson 80 run (Kuecker kick)

PCM — Snodgrass 13 run (Kuecker kick)

DC — Houf 1 run (run failed)

DC — Safety