INDUSTRY — Ultimately, it wasn't the arm of Tyler Armagost, the hands of Josh Loos or even the shifty legs of James Shope.

It was the defense that secured a win for the Moniteau HighSchool football team.

The Warriors stuffed Western Beaver on a fourth-down play in the second half and turned the Golden Beavers away on a dramatic goal-line stand late in the game for a 22-14 road victory on an unusually hot and humid Saturday afternoon in October.

"We leaned on the kids in the second half," said Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell. "We challenged them. How bad do you want this season?"

Apparently, pretty badly.

In a game that meant little in the grand scheme of things — Moniteau is a Class AA District 9 team and Western Beaver is a Class A WPIAL team — the Warriors showed their coach some major moxie in the second half.

Trailing 14-8 at the break, Moniteau yielded a mere 54 yards in the final two quarters and zero points.

Moniteau (5-1) thwarted a 4th-and-1 play by Western Beaver in Warriors' territory in the third quarter, then kept the Golden Beavers out of the end zone on four cracks from inside the Moniteau 5 with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

"I'm pleased with how the defense played today," Campbell said. "They played their heart out. Early in the season we were in a big shuffle trying to get guys where we wanted them, and it hurt us. We weren't as good as we normally are. We've been progressively getting better each week."

That left the offense, led by Armagost and super sophomore Shope, to do its thing.

Armagost scored on a quarterback sneak late in the third period to give the Warriors a 15-14 lead, then found Loos in the corner of the end zone for an 18-yard score for an eight-point advantage.

Shope also showed his worth, gobbling up 125 yards on 21 carries out of Moniteau's shotgun, spread attack.

"He's a perfect fit for what we do," Campbell said of Shope, who has now gained 731 yards on only 82 attempts this season. "With the way we block it, and the way he runs, he's perfect."

Shope gained many of his yards by making the first, second and sometimes third tackler miss with his elusiveness.

Still, Moniteau left yards and points on the field.

The Warriors had three turnovers, including two interceptions thrown by Armagost.

"We didn't execute some things in the first half that we should have. Not just the kids either, the coaching staff, too," Campbell said. "We're a young team and a young coaching staff. We're still learning."

Western Beaver scored first on a 2-yard run by Cody Eror. The Golden Beavers senior rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries.

Moniteau responded when Dakota Campbell caught a pass from Armagost on a stop route, made a defensive back miss, and split the secondary for a 25-yard score.

Western Beaver (5-1) took back the lead on a 15-yard scoring run by Eror to lead 14-8 at the half.

Moniteau went to a no-huddle attack for most of the second half, leaving much of the play-calling in the hands of Armagost.

"He can check to whatever he sees,"Jeff Campbell said of Armagost. "He can audible to anything. He's a smart kid and he's capable of reading a defense. I don't question him."

Moniteau 22, Western Beaver 14

Moniteau 8 0 7 7—22Western Beaver 8 6 0 0—14M WB10 First Downs 1236-174 Rushes-Yards 38-14868 Passing Yards 496-12-2 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 4-13-1242 Total Yards 1973-1 Fumbles/Lost 4-16-45 Penalties-Yards 5-31

First QuarterWB — Cody Eror 2 run (Eror run), 4:55

Second QuarterM — Dakota Campbell 25 pass from Tyler Armagost (Armagost run), 9:31WB — Eror 15 run (pass failed), 2:32

Third QuarterM — Tyler Armagost 1 run (Campbell kick), 1:21

Fourth QuarterM — Josh Loos 18 pass from Armagost (Campbell kick), 8:17

Individual Statistics

Passing: Moniteau, Tyler Armagost 6-12-68-2. Western Beaver, Morgan Rice 4-13-49-1.

Rushing: Moniteau, James Shope 21-125, Tyler Armagost 13-49, Dakota Campbell 2-0. Western Beaver, Cody Eror 19-85, Zach Cavalier 9-37, Morgan Rice 5-18, Sean Stiffey 3-9, Team 1-(-1).

Receiving: Moniteau, Josh Loos 2-23, Dakota Campbell 1-25, Austin Hogset 1-11, Mitch Czech 1-7, James Shope 1-2. Western Beaver, Kyle Stadnik 1-37, Hunter Creel 1-12, Zach Cavalier 1-7, Sean Stiffey 1-(-7).