The Monroe City Panthers lost 28-7 to the Mark Twain Tigers last Friday in Center. The Panthers were unable to overcome the loss of two of their top players, one due to a player ejection, and another limited due to injury.

The loss dropped Monroe City to 5-4 and eliminated the Panthers from playoff contention. Mark Twain improved to 6-3 and will play South Shelby next week for the District title. Mark Twain and South Shelby will both be in the playoffs.
After Monroe City’s first drive stalled, Austin Reynolds kicked a booming punt to the Twain 21-yard line, where the Tigers took over. Twain drove down the field for a first-and-goal at the 10. On fourth-and-goal from the 5, Skyler Jameson threw a touchdown pass to put Twain ahead 6-0 with 3:44 to go in the first quarter. The two-point conversion try failed.

The Panthers answered on the following possession with a 65-yard touchdown drive. Joe Chinn’s 35-yard run was the big play. Reynolds capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sneak. Jordan Holland’s extra point put Monroe City up 7-6 with 56.9 seconds left in the first quarter.
As the opening quarter drew to a close, a heavy mist began to fall on the cold, windy night. Twain converted a third-and-9 situation with a long run on the last play of the first quarter. After the play, there were some pushes and verbal exchanges between players on opposing teams. The officials called offsetting personal fouls and then ejected Holland, the Panthers’ leading rusher, citing a player out of control.
“Our kids needed to collect their composure and act like young men,” coach Tony DeGrave said. “But there are alternatives to kicking a player out of the game. As coaches we could’ve cleaned that up.”
DeGrave said Monroe City is appealing the game to the state. According to state rules, a player ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike conduct is not eligible to play in the next game.
On the first play of the second quarter, Twain fumbled and Monroe City recovered. The Panthers had to punt, however, and the Tigers took over with good field position at the Monroe City 38-yard line. Twain drove down the field and scored on a 10-yard touchdown run by Steven Phillips. This time the Tigers converted their two-point try to go up 14-7 with 7:12 to go in the second quarter.
Late in the quarter, Monroe City fumbled at its own 15-yard line, putting its defense in a tight spot. A Twain first down made it first-and-goal at the 5. The Panther defense dug in and kept the Tigers out of the end zone for four plays, including a Twain halfback pass that was broken up by Kyle Van Nostrand on fourth down with one second left in the half.
Both teams had to punt on their opening drives of the second half. On Twain’s second drive of the half, the Tigers ran a sweep to the sideline near midfield. Reynolds was hurt on the play while defending the run. Though he gamely continued to play for much of the rest of the game, he was hobbled. Reynolds suffered a torn meniscus in the game, and it is unknown whether he will play in the season finale at Palmyra.
The Twain drive was again halted inside the 10 on another nice goal line stand by the Panthers. Chinn led the Panthers with nine tackles in the game. C.J. Haden had six and Randy Sparkman had five.
“They buckled down,” DeGrave said of his defense. “They held their own there.”
However, Monroe City was unable to pick up a first down after starting inside their own 5 and kicked a very short punt, giving Twain the ball at the 6-yard line. After two stuffed runs, Twain finally scored on a one-yard touchdown run by Jameson on the first play of the fourth quarter. The two-point try failed, making it a 20-7 Twain lead.
Reynolds threw an interception on the following drive. The defense held Twain, and coach DeGrave brought in freshman Blake Rodgers at quarterback, in part due to Reynolds’ injury and in part to see if Rodgers could spark the offense. The Panthers were unable to pick up a first down.
Late in the game, with Reynolds back in at quarterback, he threw an interception that was returned back for a touchdown. Twain converted the two-point try to make the score 28-7, the final.
Reynolds completed six of 11 passes for 66 yards and two interceptions. Reynolds had 15 rushing yards and Holland had 14 yards, both on four carries. Chinn led the rushing attack with 45 yards on seven carries, and he also caught 2 passes. Van Nostrand led the receivers with three catches for 52 yards.
Monroe City finishes its season on Thursday at Palmyra (2-7) in another installment of one of the area’s fiercest rivalries. In addition to playing for the Mayors’ Cup, Monroe City will be looking to achieve back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the 2001-02 seasons.
Last year, Monroe City defeated Palmyra 14-7 when quarterback Shawn Maloney, despite serious knee injuries, came off the bench to lead his team back from a 7-0 deficit. Maloney completed all 11 of his passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns. This year’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday at Palmyra.