Poplar Bluff grinds out win over Warriors

ARNOLD — The second half of the football season is underway, and the Poplar Bluff Mules traveled over to Arnold for an opportunity to capture their second consecutive win of the season.

Tough defense and solid execution into the endzone aided the Mules past the Fox Warriors 24-19, bringing their overall record to 3-3 on the season.

Head football Dave Sievers said the Mules were heading into this matchup with the same gameplan from the week prior, executing tackles and playing a complete game after the first half.

“We got the win tonight and that’s great but we must keep getting better,” Sievers said. “We did a lot of really good things tonight and it was a big win for us. I knew we control for most of the game, but it was just one of those games where I never really felt nervous about the outcome, but I just kept waiting for us to just take it. It took us a while, but we ultimately got it done and I give the kids all the credit because they kept fighting and we did what we needed to do when we needed to do it.”

This was the third meeting between the two for the last two seasons, with a chance of meeting again in the district playoffs.

The Warriors are 1-0 against district opponents this season after beating Mehlville 42-7 in week 1, and the Mules are also 1-0 with a 42-35 overtime win at Cape Central. After getting a shutout victory in their last game, the Mules came in with a lot of momentum to grab another win.

The game kicked off with a lot of energy and hard-hitting tackles, as both teams wanted to gain the upper hand. Though both teams came out with the same intensity, neither managed to make a play across the goal line in the first, but it would quickly pick up in the second.

The Mules caught life in the second quarter with a 55-yard touchdown pass on the connection from quarterback Jay Edmundson to Romeoh Wontor, who pulled down the catch and then outran the Warrior’s defender to the endzone.

With two minutes remaining on the clock, the Warriors would make enough plays to find their way past the goal line with a 13-yard run from Chandler Price to even the score 7-7. The Mules would quickly respond as Edmundson found Wontor for the second time as the duo connected for a five-yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead at halftime.

Stepping into the third quarter, the Warriors didn’t waste any time getting more points on the board as DJ Cox connected with Oliver Taylor for a 61-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 14-13 in the first seconds of the second half.

After a couple more plays, the Mules would hold a solid 17-13 lead heading into the final quarter as they looked to put the game away.

The Mules charged down to the goal line and capitalized with a touchdown by Edmundson with a nine-yard quarterback keeper to extend the lead 24-13. Though the Mules held a comfortable lead, the game would become interesting as the Warriors would connect again with Taylor for a 28-yard pass touchdown, bringing the score to 24-19. Despite the TD from Fox, the Mules would hold their composure and coast to another Mules victory.

Wontor was a man on a mission for the Mules as he collected 10 catches for 166 yards and had two touchdowns. Edmundson threw 21/27 on 268 yards with two touchdowns and one rushing touchdown on 82 yards to lead the Mules.

“This was really a great win,” Wontor said. “I loved the play calling from our coaches. It was a great team and we had some of our best scoring drives of the season. We really just executed our gameplan and it worked in our favor.”

With three game left in the regular season, Wontor said this win means a lot to the team and moving forward, it’s a clean slate as they get geared up for districts.

The Mules will hit the road again next Friday to take on Farmington.