Monroe City pounds ground to beat weather and Westran in Class 1 district semifinals

MONROE CITY, Mo. — The Monroe City football team can outrun almost anything or anyone.

That includes the weather.

With the start of the Class 1 District 6 semifinal against fourth-seeded Westran moved up 90 minutes in order to avoid impending storms, the top-seeded Panthers ran roughshod before the first raindrops fell, churning out 434 yards on the ground in a 58-18 victory at Lankford Field.

Monroe City (11-0) led 28-6 at halftime and averaged 10.9 yards per carry in setting up a district title showdown with second-seeded South Shelby next Friday night.

The Cardinals beat sixth-seeded Highland 42-0, improving to 8-3 overall. Kendal Hammond rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries, while Trey Countryman completed 6 of 7 passes for 75 yards and one touchdown. Cameron Wiseman finished with 84 yards rushing and a touchdown and 44 yards receiving and another TD.

The Panthers beat the Cardinals 46-8 in Clarence Cannon Conference play in Week 4 of the regular season.

Ceaton Pennewell led the Monroe City rushing attack Friday night with 170 yards on 16 carries, while Waylon DeGrave had 126 yards on seven carries. Cam Jones added 79 yards on six carries.

DeGrave and Jones each scored twice in the first half in building a 28-0 lead. DeGrave opened the game with a 21-yard touchdown run with Jones following with a 48-yard TD scamper. Jones had a 5-yard touchdown before DeGrave caught a 13-yard scoring pass from Reece Buhlig.

Pennewell scored twice in the second half on runs of 93 and 5 yards. DeGrave also had a 67-yard touchdown run.