CLARION — Kyle Armagost, Dustin Geagan and Ethan Pry are the kind of superstars that have helped Moniteau rack up wins this season.

But a strong defense with plenty of depth might be the biggest reason the Warriors are one win away from the first District 9 football championship in school history.

Moniteau lost two starters to injury, but the defense allowed just 9 yards of total offense and the Warriors cruised to a 40-0 victory over Sheffield in the District 9 Class AA semifinals Saturday at Clarion University.

David Campbell and Tyler DiMaria both had to leave the game early, but Moniteau didn't miss a beat. The Warriors piled up 446 yards of offense and completely shut down the Sheffield offense.

Joey Deal has been harassing quarterbacks all season long, and that trend continued Saturday. Deal had four sacks, bringing his season total to 25, which breaks the school record for sacks in a season.

“It feels great” said Deal of breaking the Moniteau record, “but it's other players, too, that help force the quarterback to my side.

“So, it's not just me, it's the whole team helping.”

The whole team is a good way to put it.

Seth Beatty and Dustin Best stepped in for the injured DiMaria and Campbell and the defense never slowed its relentless attack.

“Losing DiMaria was a huge, huge loss for us,” said Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell. “He plays SAM linebacker and he's a huge part of the defense. In our power sets, he goes down and plays nose tackle. He's so hard to block.

“When David Campbell went down, that's both of our fullbacks and two starters on defense,” Campbell added. “That's a tough loss. We had a sophomore Dustin Best come in and fill in for that and did a great job.

“(Beatty) knows the system and there was no doubt in mind that's who I wanted to go to whenever (DiMaria) went down. He came in and he played a real good game.”

Campbell credits the junior varsity coaching staff for making sure each and every player is prepared if they're called upon.

“It's kind of like what they say about the Penguins, running the same (system) in the minors and they can bring a guy up,” said Campbell, making a hockey analogy. “It's the same thing. We can throw anybody out there and as long as they stay disciplined, it's fine.”

While the defense was dominant, the Moniteau offense put on a show, too.

Kyle Armagost went 12 of 20 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns — both to Brayden McCorry — and added 103 rushing yards and a score on 16 carries.

“I'm more of a quarterback this year. I'm trying to read the defenses, find open receivers,” said Armagost. “My receivers are doing a great job getting open.”

That was evident on the very first play from scrimmage, when Armagost fired deep down the middle to Ethan Pry for a 52-yard gain.

“It was actually meant to hit the out, but I found the seam,” said Pry. “They didn't have any safeties and Kyle found me downfield.”

Along with being a big-play threat, Pry was also relied on as a possession receiver throughout the game. He finished with seven catches for 111 yards.

“I work hard every practice and I'm glad I can help the team out,” said Pry.

Dustin Geagan tallied 137 rushing yards and two TDs on just 13 carries. He also reeled in a 58-yard catch, although it turned into one of three Moniteau's lost fumbles on day.

“Mistakes ... we can't have that,” said Campbell. “We said in the locker room, ‘If we make those mistakes next week, we lose the game.'”

Moniteau (10-0) will play rival Karns City for the District 9 Class AA title at Clarion University on Friday at 7 p.m.

“It feels good to move on,” said Armagost, “but until we finish the season, make school history — it's going to feel a lot better.”

Geagan scored Moniteau's first touchdown from 1-yard out on the first drive of the game.

The Warriors padded their lead to 12-0 after Armagost hit McCorry on a 13-yard pass with 2:44 to go in the first.

Armagost pushed the advantage to 20-0 by halftime with a 1-yard run.

Sheffield (4-7) hung around until Moniteau scored three times in the final quarter on a 13-yard Armagost run, a 3-yard jaunt from Geagan and a 26-yard strike from Armagost to McCorry.

It was Sheffield's first taste of the playoffs in school history.

“I'm very proud of these guys. They're a very special group of kids,” said Sheffield coach Bryan Gould referring to his seniors. “We're obviously very sad to see them go, but they did achieve something no one ever has in getting the first playoff berth. They've laid the groundwork for future teams.”

Armagost was happy with the offensive numbers, but was even more pleased with the way Moniteau's inexperienced players stepped up.

“I love being with this group of kids. ... Seth Beatty works his butt off every day in practice. He deserved to be on that field,” Armagost said. “As long as our defense keeps going, it'll take us as far as we can.”

Moniteau 40, Sheffield 0Sheffield 0 0 0 0 — 0Moniteau 12 8 0 20 — 40S M5 First Downs 1335-(-26) Rushes-Yards 31-24235 Passing Yards 2236-16-0 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 12-20-09 Total Yards 4664-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-37-31 Penalties-Yards 4-40

First QuarterM — Dustin Geagan 1 run (kick failed), 10:28M — Brayden McCorry 13 pass from Kyle Armagost (pass failed), 2:44

Second QuarterM — Armagost 1 run (Joey Deal pass from Armagost), 8:02

Fourth QuarterM — Armagost 13 run (pass failed), 8:19M — Geagan 3 run (run failed), 5:19M — McCorry 26 pass from Armagost (Geagan run), 3:58

Individual StatisticsPassing: Sheffield, Ike Nearing 5-10-36-0, Shequan Wright 1-5-(-1)-0, Nick Bonavita 0-1-0-0. Moniteau, Kyle Armagost 12-20-223-0.

Rushing: Sheffield, Nick Bonavita 13-35, George Fitch 3-13, Kwante Johnson 1-(-5), Kalil Slaughter 5-(-11), Shequan Wright 2-(-14), Ike Nearing 11-(-44). Moniteau, Dustin Geagan 13-137, Kyle Armagost 16-103, Joey Deal 1-2, David Campbell 1-0.

Receiving: Sheffield, Shequan Wright 3-20, George Fitch 2-8, Nick Bonavita 1-7. Moniteau, Ethan Pry 7-111, Brayden McCorry 2-39, Dustin Geagan 1-58, Robert Brehm 1-10, Joey Deal 1-5.