Mount Vernon secures Big 8 East championship behind Dodson's big game at Reeds Spring

REEDS SPRING — Mount Vernon head coach Tom Cox surprised himself when he addressed his team at halftime. Down seven following uncharacteristic plays, the Mountaineers coach found himself calmly addressing his team in a game that would decide the Big 8 East championship.

"I told them that we had done some things that we shouldn't be doing," Cox said. "We didn't play well in that half. All I said is that they hadn't really stopped us and that we stopped ourselves."

Cox's peaceful halftime speech worked. The Mountaineers outscored the Wolves 28-6 in the second half en route to a 42-27 victory and the Big 8 East title to close out the 2023 regular season.

It was the last regular season game the two would play as conference foes before Reeds Spring moves to the Mid-Lakes Conference next season. The two are likely to meet again in the next few weeks during district play.

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"We wanted to send all of those schools that don't want to be in the Big 8 in style," Cox laughed. "I feel like we did tonight. That was a great team and a great victory for us."

It took the Mountaineers a little bit to get going but once they did, the Wolves could do very little to stop them.

Reeds Spring starting quarterback Blandy Burall tossed three first-half touchdowns to put the Mountaineers in a 21-14 hole at halftime. Mount Vernon turned the ball over via fumble during a promising drive and had two other drives killed because of high snaps over the quarterback's head for big losses.

After the Mountaineers calmed down at halftime, they relied upon the hard running from junior running back and linebacker Braden Dodson. The Wolves struggled to tackle as he rushed for 140 yards and five touchdowns with three scores coming in the second half.

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"Braden is an amazing player," Cox said. "One of those drives, we didn't block very well and he still picked up like seven yards per play and got first downs for us by himself. In the second half, guys finished their blocks and that made a big difference for us."

Mount Vernon's win avenged a Week 9 Big 8 East championship loss to the Wolves from a season ago. Last year, the Mountaineers went for two in overtime for the win and had their pass intercepted.

The Mountaineers made sure no such drama was needed Friday night. They hope it will carry over if the two meet again in the Class 3, District 6 semifinals. Big 8 West champion Seneca (9-0) will be the top seed in the district.

"It brings us confidence since we already beat them but we know we can't just brush it off like a free win," Dodson said. "We just have to work our tails off and practice this week."

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Dodson started watching Mount Vernon football from a young age. He idolized Will Boswell and was in attendance when the Mountaineers made the state championship game in 2017.

Dodson saw the Mountaineers near their highest of highs but then was a part of Mount Vernon's 1-10 team as a freshman in 2021. Two years later, he's been the best player on an 8-1 team that secured a conference championship.

"We had some really young guys and we knew each year that we'd gain more experience," Dodson said. "It feels really good finally having that year in which we won the conference and hopefully we win districts."

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Mount Vernon beats Reeds Spring for 2023 Big 8 East championship