2B | The Marshfield Mail | October 24, 2012 SportS

Class 4, DistriCt 4 PlayoffsWebb City

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Mail photo by Clint MitchellJunior logan findley turns up field after hauling in a short reception dur-ing last friday’s 35-34 loss to Catholic. findley ended the night with nine catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

Blue Jays have nothing to lose in first-round matchup with Carthage

Defending champs poised for playoff run

by Clint Mitchellclintm@marshfieldmail.com

Marshfield head coach Nick Codutti knows his team has drawn a tough opening-round matchup in the Class 4, Dis-trict 4 bracket. Thanks to the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s new playoff format, however, reg-ular season records are now a moot point, and Codutti summed up his team’s chanc-es with three words: Nothing to lose.

That’s how he feels about his No. 6 seed Blue Jays as they prepare to travel to take on pe-rennial powerhouse Carthage in the first round of playoffs on Thursday.

“We’ve been telling the

kids that they have nothing to lose,” Codutti reiterated. “If we lose, we go home, but if we win, we keep playing. There’s nothing to lose. Leave it all on the field.”

Marshfield comes into the game following a heartbreak-ing 35-34 loss at Springfield Catholic last Friday, in which the Blue Jays twice overcame double-digit deficits. Follow-ing a 20-yard touchdown pass from Blayne Armstrong to Lo-gan Findley with just 12 sec-onds left to play, the Jays lined up for a two-point conver-sion for the win. But the Irish stuffed the play, leaving the Blue Jays with another game Codutti said his team “let slip away.”

see Jays, Page 4B

by Clint Mitchellclintm@marshfieldmail.com

Heading into the postseason in 2011, Logan-Rogersville was considered the heavy favorite to wear the Class 3 crown. This sea-son, however, things are going to be different. If the Wildcats are to make a run at defending their title, they’ll do so as underdogs — darkhorses amongst a talented field.

The Wildcats ended their regu-lar season on a high note, taking down Buffalo on the road last Friday, 40-7. That gave the Wild-cats a season-ending point total of 31.52 in the Class 3, District 3 standings, a full four points high-er than sixth-seeded Ava.

Despite finishing behind the Wildcats in the final standings, Ava, which beat Rogersville 14-12 Aug. 31, was able to appeal its fi-nal seed, thanks to a new wrinkle in the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s new play-off format. The head-to-head ad-vantage favored the Bears, and Ava was able to leapfrog Rogers-ville to claim the fifth seed.

But, as Wildcats’ head coach Doug Smith said, at this point in the season, “none of that matters.”

Instead of facing the No. 4 seed Eldon, Rogersville will now travel to take on third-seeded Salem in the first round of the Class 3, Dis-trict 3 “tournament,” which signi-fies the beginning of the postsea-son. From here on, it’s win or go home, and that suits Smith and the Wildcats just fine.

Salem enters the district con-test on the heels of a 41-21 win over Class 1 Cabool (0-9). The win ended the Tigers’ three-game skid, which included losses to Willow Springs (32-0), Mountain Grove (48-7) and Mountain View Liberty (33-20).

Rogersville has twice met Sa-lem in the past eight years, and things have not gone so well. The Wildcats have been outscored by the Tigers 62-21 in the series, losing 44-7 in 2006 and 18-14 in 2007.

“They’re a team we haven’t

played for a long time,” said Smith of Salem. “On film, they re-mind me of the old Salem teams. They’re really physical.”

The Tigers (6-3) have not made the playoffs since 2009, when they lost 14-13 in the opening round to Fulton. And despite the three-game losing streak to its South Central Association mates, Smith knows Salem is a potent squad.

“Offensively, they’re an option team, and the quarterback is the guy who ignites that,” Smith said. “He’ll be a major focus guy.”

The Tigers haven’t had trouble scoring this season, averaging nearly 30 points per game. But with a defense that’s averaged giving up 20 points per game, the Salem offense has faced plenty of pressure this year.

“They show a lot of forma-tions,” Smith said. “They go from wishbone to one-back. Most of their stuff is just focused on run-ning inside and outside veer, and a little bit of midline option, too.”

see Rog, Page 3B

Neighbor News photo by Paul Campbellsenior quarterback Evan Gruener fires a pass downfield in a 40-7 win over Buffalo last friday. Gruener was injured in the win, and head coach Doug smith said he is day-to-day heading into this week’s matchup at salem.