Tigers move on to District 5 semis at Mountain Grove

From the start of the season the Salem Tigers were wanting to get in the position they currently find themselves in.

And to go any further, they’re going to have to figure out a way to get past a very familiar rival.

Fourth-seeded Salem advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Class 3 District 5 playoffs by defeating fifth-seeded Buffalo 20-14 Friday, Oct. 31 in first-round action at Schuchardt Stadium.

In the other District 5 first-round games, third-seeded St. James stopped sixth-seeded Strafford 29-7 Thursday, Oct. 30 in St. James while second-seeded Clever shut out seventh-seeded Pleasant Hope 48-0 Friday, Oct. 31 at Clever.

In semifinal action Friday, Nov. 7, Salem (4-6) plays at top-seeded SCA foe Mountain Grove (8-1) while St. James (4-6) travels to Clever (8-2).

The district championship game is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14 at the location of the highest seed.

Salem’s four victories are the most in a season for the Tigers since the 2020 campaign.

The Tigers have now put their best two games of the season back-to-back.

“We’ve really peaked at the right time,” said Salem head coach Neal Myers. “I think we’re playing our best on both sides of the ball.”

Of course, the Tigers will have to turn it up yet another notch to get past the Mountain Grove Panthers, undefeated SCA champions this year who were ranked No. 3 in the most recent Missouri Media Class 3 state poll.

When the two teams met in the regular season Oct. 10 in Salem, Mountain Grove beat the Tigers 30-6.

“We know them well,” Myers said. “We run the same, exact offense. We’ll see the flexbone option. And on defense we’ll probably see a five-man front. For their offense, it all starts with (senior quarterback) Aden Estep. He’s a heck of a quarterback and a heck of a leader. They’re pretty loaded. (Running back Damien) Lafranchise is a good player and their fullback, (Braydon) Curtiss, is the heart and soul of it. And their defense flies around.”

Mountain Grove is averaging 43.4 points per game while allowing 15.9 points.

Curtiss leads the multi-pronged Panther ground game with 1,012 rushing yards (6.4 yards-per-carry) and 10 touchdowns while junior running back Eli Golden and run for 913 yards (12.3) and 13 touchdowns; Estep 822 yards (10.1) and 11 TDs, and Lafranchise, a sophomore, 463 yards (9.3) and six TDs.

Overall Mountain Grove has rushed for a whopping 3,760 yards and 46 touchdowns, averaging 8.6 yards per carry.

Estep has thrown for 263 yards (29.2 yards per completion) with nine TDs and one interception. Six different Panther receivers have scored at least one TD.

Senior linebacker Aydon Barbe leads the Panther defense with 61 tackles while senior end Jacob Crosco and junior Mason Rodgers each have 44 tackles and Golden, a defensive back, 31 tackles and four interceptions.

Oct. 31 - Salem 20, Buffalo 14: Like he did the previous week in the regular-season finale, junior running back Sylis DuBois made the difference for the Tigers.

DuBois scored the game’s first two touchdowns to give Salem a lead it would keep.

After a scoreless first quarter, DuBois capped a Tiger drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 7:50 remaining in the second quarter. The PAT kick failed, and that would be the only first-half scoring.

DuBois would break away for a 39-yard touchdown run late in the third period. Again the PAT failed and it was 12-0 entering the final quarter.

The Buffalo Bison, which finished the season with a 2-8 record, made a run in the fourth period. Junior quarterback Isaiah Young scored on an eight-yard keeper TD a minute into the final quarter. The PAT kick failed.

However, Salem junior running back Brody Ray gave the Tigers some breathing room with a three-yard touchdown run. Ray then ran in the two-point conversion with 5:10 remaining for what proved to be the game’s game-winning points.

Buffalo again closed to within one score when Young fired a 13-yard TD pass to freshman wideout Noah Daniels. Young then ran in the two-point conversion with 2:29 left to make it a six-point game.

On the ensuing kickoff Buffalo booted an on-side kick, which Salem’s Alton May recovered. The Tigers would convert a pair of first downs and were able to run out the clock.

“We had more penalties than what we’ve seen,” Myers said. “Overall I thought our defense came out and played really well. They have an offense that can be explosive and we were able to hold them down. And our offensive line made the holes we needed.”

DuBois rushed for 126 yards on 15 carries while Ray ran for 103 yards on 16 attempts and May 60 yards on six carries. Salem finished with 347 yards of total offense and 17 first downs - all on the ground.

DuBois now needs 70 rushing yards against Mountain Grove this week to reach 1,000 for the season.

Oct. 31 at Salem

Salem 20, Buffalo 14

The score by periods:

Buffalo 0 0 0 14-14

Salem 0 6 6 8-20

The scoring plays:

Salem: DuBois three-yard run, kick fails (7:50).

Salem: DuBois 39-yard run, kick fails (1:36).

Buffalo: Young eight-yard run, kick fails (11:00).

Salem: Ray three-yard run, Ray runs in conversion (5:10).

Buffalo: Daniels 13-yard pass from Young, Young runs in conversion (2:29).