Farmington Sports Roundup
CROSS COUNTRY
Ryan Parson won the Farmington Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, finishing over 30 seconds before the rest of the field of 62 runners in the boys varsity race.
Parson sped out to the early and led the pack from start to finish with only second-place Rudy McClellan of Notre Dame being able to stay within visual sight of Parson. Parson, a junior, won the race with a time of 16:09.88. McClellan placed second at 16.45.44.
Sophomore Matthew McElrath placed third for the Knights at 17:03.67, and Evan Reeves came in fourth at 17:12.20 as Farmington had five of its runners place in the top 10. Adam Griffith came in eighth, Jacob Oyler placed 10th, Farmington’s sixth runner Gage DeBlois placed 18th.
The Knights placed first as a team with 20 points with Zalma taking second with 69, just one point ahead of Poplar Bluff. Arcadia Valley came in fourth with 88 points.
In the girls’ division, Parkway Central placed first as a team with 27 points followed by Cape-Notre Dame with 37, and Farmington with 73. Arcadia Valley took seventh out of the nine full teams entered.
Sophomore Kim Ramos led the Knights in the girls’ race as she placed 10th with a time of 20:23.46. The Knights placed all six of their runners in the top 21. Freshman Brooklyn Hunt came in 13teenth, just two hundredths of a second before Sophi Thurman as the two teammates raced full speed down the final stretch. Camryn Will finished in 18th, Lainey Sanders was 20th, and Moira Kurtz placed 21st.
Boys Individual Results (MAAA only):
Farmington – 1. Ryan Parson 16:09.88, 3. Matthew McElrath 17:03.67, 4. Evan Reeves 17:12.20, 8. Adam Griffith 17:29.20, 10. Jacob Oyler 17:34.36, 18. Gage DeBlois 18:29.50.
Girls Individual Results (MAAA only)
Farmington – 10. Kim Ramos 20:23.46, 13. Brooklyn Hunt 21:28.55, 14. Sophi Thurston 21:28.57, 18. Camryn Will 21:48.48, 20. Lainey Sanders 21:56.64, 21. Moira Kurtz 22:01.30.
SOCCER
Already enjoying the greatest regular season in boys’ soccer program history, Farmington particularly hoped to punctuate it with a goal from senior reserve Cole Sutton.
While that endeavor ultimately fell short on Saturday afternoon, the Knights were comfortably cruising to their 20th victory after seven seniors were honored in a pregame ceremony.
Freshman Bryce Sancegraw and sophomore Cameron Friend each scored twice, and Farmington rolled past Saxony Lutheran 9-0 after producing 26 shots.
Andres Castro added a goal and three assists while seniors Matt Eaton and Tyler Scales also tallied for the Knights (20-1-2), who will enter the postseason as the third-ranked Class 3 squad in the state.
Senior keeper John Bader corralled a long pass in a collision on his only test while playing 50 minutes in goal. Back-up Chad Silvey made three saves to complete the shutout.
Sancegraw pierced a wide open net in his first moment of possession upon entering the game as a chip skipped past charging Saxony keeper Jacob Stueve in the ninth minute.
Castro made it 2-0 with a quick release from 11 yards after taking a feed from Alex England. He was later stopped by Stueve after beating two defenders in the box, and also misfired on a bicycle kick.
Farmington earned seven corner kicks overall, and outshot the Crusaders 13-0 during a smooth first half while backed by a persistent breeze.
A pair of successful crosses padded the lead. Sancegraw set up Tristan Stotler for an easy finish in front, and Eaton notched his second assist on an extra pass to a cutting Friend down the left side.
Freshman Tyler Herzog ripped an initial shot off the left post, but calmly buried the resulting carom on a volley at the 31-minute mark. The Knights carried that 5-0 advantage into the break.
Saxony Lutheran (8-14) mustered its first shot on a long free kick by Dustin Lorenz in the 57th minute. Silver punched another dangerous ball away, and Lorenz barely cleared the crossbar with a rising drive late in the contest.
Eaton powered a 26-yard shot through Stueve’s hands less than three minutes into the second half, and was stopped on another good chance while entering the right side of the penalty area.
Castro would execute two short passes for assists when Scales and Sancegraw scored 40 seconds apart. Sancegraw made it 8-0 on a give-and-go that began with a sideline throw.
Friend got his second and the game’s final goal with open space after Sutton settled a ball and located him in the 63rd minute.
Sutton nearly ended things moments later when shooting wide following a Saxony giveaway. He was also stopped on a free kick down the stretch.
Knights junior Brandon Winder also rolled the ball past the left post after being sprung by a diagonal ball from Friend.
Farmington attempted to attack from the right corner in the opening moments, but a pair of crosses were blocked away by defensive back Benjamin Daniel.
The Knights are idle until district action starts Oct. 27 against Cape Central in Poplar Bluff. They have allowed just seven goals during a current 16-match win streak.
FOOTBALL
After spending a large portion of the second half on the football field, the Farmington defense brought pressure and delivered a final stop against Central on Friday night.
The Knights surged ahead with a late scoring drive after being denied on a previous opportunity, and defeated the Rebels 25-21 in the regular-season finale at Haile Memorial Stadium.
Senior quarterback Brandt Busenbark completed 11-of-24 passes for 208 yards, and used his feet to extend and punctuate the winning march for Farmington (4-5).
His two broken tackles moved the chains on a 14-yard run, and his 3-yard keeper found the end zone with 2:56 to play. Busenbark then dived for the left pylon for an unexpected 2-point conversion when the subsequent extra-point snap was low.
A 16-yard screen pass to Brayden Krause kept the Knights moving. Offensive lineman Chase Fischbeck recovered a Busenbark fumble inside the Central 10 before the Knights punched in the winning score.
Central (7-2) picked up one first down while going no-huddle with one timeout remaining, but William Siebert and Devin Savage pressured a final incomplete pass by Jake Bridges to seal the outcome.
The Knights avenged a 39-3 thumping last season in a 2-game series of former MAAA Conference rivals that will not be continued
Senior Drew Harlow netted 165 yards on 17 carries overall, and gave the Rebels their first lead at 21-17 by racing 74 yards down the left sideline with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Farmington threatened to answer after Cody Friedmeyer took a reverse handoff on fourth down and hit Tappan Westbrook for a 28-yard gain. A long discussion ensued between officials and the Central coaches, who wanted a penalty for an illegal man downfield to no avail.
Bridges would keep Farmington out of the endzone seconds later by intercepting a high pass that was tipped.
Central trailed 14-7 at halftime after Farmington had run nearly twice as many offensive plays, but solid work on the ground turned the momentum.
The Rebels put together a 58-yard drive that covered nine plays and included a pass interference call. Harlow barreled across from 2 yards out for his first of two TD runs to tie the game.
Donovan Howard returned the next kickoff 63 yards, however, and Krause drilled a 33-yard field goal for a 17-14 Farmington edge that evaporated less than a minute later.
Krause finished with a team-high four receptions for 76 yards, and Brayden Moon added three catches as seven different Knights were targeted in the passing attack.
Bridges was 4-of-11 passing for 76 yards, and connected with Matt Richardson on a 50-yard deep strike early on. He was intercepted later by Logan Dotson.
Farmington opened the contest with a bang as Busenbark found Dotson down the right side for a play that also netted 50 yards.
The Knights converted a 4th-and-2 while lined up for a field goal, as Krause scooped the poor snap and found Ian Bernard, setting up a short Busenbark touchdown run.
Central prevented Krause from scrambling after he was unable to handle another snap on a punt, and Bridges made two outstanding cuts on the next play for a 25-yard run that made it 7-7.
Busenbark connected with Krause on a 12-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter, and tough run defense from both teams kept the resulting 14-7 score steady through intermission.
Editor’s Note: Farmington Sports Roundup is comprised of stories from Donn Adamson and Matt King of the Daily Journal sports department
