CHERRY TWP — As each week passes, Moniteau looks more and more like a legitimate contender for the KSAC title.

The Warriors used a balanced offensive attack to repel Keystone 34-21 Friday night.

Moniteau gained 246 total yards, with 127 coming through the air and 119 coming on the ground.

"Every week it seems we get a little better," said Moniteau coach Steve Wilson. "Hopefully we are peaking at the right time."

The catalyst for the Moniteau passing attack Friday was sophomore quarterback Tyler Armagost, who threw for three touchdowns while hitting on six of 11 passes.

"(Armagost) just has such great poise in the pocket, especially under pressure," said Wilson.

Moniteau opened the scoring early when Adam Cousins made a 1-yard plunge into the end zone at the 8:38 mark to give Moniteau a 7-0 advantage.

A key play on the Moniteau 62-yard scoring march was a 34 yard pass from Armagost to Josh Loos that put the Warriors at the Keystone 20-yard line.

Loos caught three passes for 105 yards.

Keystone answered on the ensuing possession when Ben Black threw a 56- yard scoring strike to Mike Switzer that cut the Moniteau lead to 7-6.

Black threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

On the Panthers' next offensive series, Cousins picked off Black's third-down pass at midfield and returned it 46 yards to the Keystone 5-yard line.

Three plays later, Armagost found a wide-open Aaron Randall in the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Moniteau added another score with 11:26 left in the second quarter when Cruz Eshenbaugh hauled in a 19-yard pass from Armagost that gave the Warriors a 21-6 advantage.

Eshenbaugh caught three passes for 53 yards.

Josh Loos, the senior wide receiver-quarterback-running back caught a pass from Armagost just beyond a Keystone defender and outraced the Panthers secondary for a 45-yard scoring play.

Moniteau had a chance to extend its lead in the third quarter when Loos caught another pass from Armagost and raced 55 yards for the apparent score.

However, the play was nullified when the Warriors were guilty of an illegal man downfield penalty.

The Panthers were able to reduce the Moniteau lead with 48 seconds gone in the fourth-quarter when Black threw a pass to Kyle Rhoads at the Moniteau 2-yard line and the junior wide receiver plowed into the end zone to make the Moniteau lead 13 points.

The Warriors extinguished the Keystone threat by answering on the ensuing possession when Cousins broke through the Panthers defense for a five-yard scoring run.

Cousins ran for 98 yards on 23 carries and the two scores.

Moniteau's defense held Keystone to minus 24 yards on the ground and recorded six sacks.

In two weeks, Moniteau has a showdown looming with arch-rival Karns City that should go a long way toward deciding the KSAC regular season title.