Mountain Grove is on a seven-game streak of home wins (dating back to last season), while Thayer is on a five-game streak of away wins: one of those streaks is about to end. The Panthers will welcome the Bobcats at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Mountain Grove is headed into the contest after thoroughly thrashing Houston: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Panthers blew the Tigers out of the water with a 46-13 final score. With the Panthers ahead 33-7 at the half, the matchup was all but over already.
Aden Estep
| 10/17/25 @ Houston | 4 |
| 10/10/25 @ Salem | 1 |
| 09/19/25 @ Willow Springs | 1 |
| 09/12/25 vs Ava | 2 |
| 08/29/25 @ Fair Grove | 1 |
| + 5 more games |
It was another big night for Aden Estep, who rushed for 237 yards and four TDs on only ten carries, and also threw for 25 yards and one touchdown. That's the most rushing touchdowns he has posted since back in October of 2024. Braydon Curtiss was another key player, rushing for 123 yards and one score while picking up 7.7 yards per carry.
They were just one part of a punishing run game: Mountain Grove was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 542 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've managed all season.
Mountain Grove didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Kaden Murphy and Estep.
Meanwhile, Thayer got themselves on the board against Willow Springs on Friday, but Willow Springs never followed suit. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat the Bears 69-0. Given the Bobcats' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 81st, while the Bears are ranked 230th) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Mountain Grove better keep an eye on Heath Combs. He was instrumental in Thayer's win, rushing for 202 yards and three TDs on only seven carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Thomas Poole, who rushed for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Thayer's win bumped their record up to 8-0. As for Mountain Grove, their victory bumped their record up to 7-1.
Mountain Grove strolled past Thayer in their previous meeting back in October of 2024 by a score of 26-7. Do the Panthers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bobcats turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
