CHERRY TWP — Every time Moniteau clawed and scratched its way back into its home opener Friday night, Sharpsville countered — quickly.

An 85-yard kickoff return and 65-yard touchdown run sank the Warriors as Sharpsville pulled away late for a 35-12 victory at Moniteau High School.

Moniteau started the game by reaching the Blue Devils 31-yard line, but after the drive stalled, the ensuing possession set the tone for the evening.

After gaining consecutive first downs, Sharpsville fed the ball to its junior standout Tyler Wansack. He wasted no time bursting through a hole and outrunning the secondary 45 yards for the first score of the evening.

“He’s our horse,” Sharpsville coach Paul Piccirilli said. “With him, our offense goes. Without him, we’ll struggle.”

But the Warriors fought back, holding the Blue Devils on their following possession and putting together a drive of their own, led by junior quarterback Cody Skiver in his first varsity start.

Skiver hit Dustin Geagan for a 10-yard gain to move into Sharpsville territory, and he took care of the rest himself on a 35-yard touchdown scamper.

However, the celebration was short-lived.

After missing the extra point, Moniteau kicked off deep to Sharpsville’s Tyrin Peavy. It only took him 12 seconds to race untouched 85 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to eight.

“No one expected us to be down just 14-6 at the half, and realistically we could have been up,” Warriors coach Cecil Blauser said.

Moniteau continued to battle after falling behind 21-6 late in the third, and Skiver provided the spark again.

This time he found Geagan down the sideline for a 36-yard gain, and then Skiver broke three tackles and seemingly ran about 50 yards to score from 5 yards away midway through the fourth quarter.

His elusiveness brought the Warriors within striking distance, but it was déjà vu for Moniteau.

A kick out of bounds gave Sharpsville the ball at their own 35, and it took Wansack only one play to put the game out of reach.

The junior ran through a giant hole in the line and found himself one-on-one with a safety in the secondary. Instead of trying to slide around the defender, Wansack lowered his shoulder and ran right through the lone Warrior with a chance to prevent a touchdown.

“We don’t have a large amount of numbers and sometimes they’re able to sub a few more guys,” Blauser said. “But I think the kids will rebound.”

Wansack finished the game with 165 yards on the ground, leading all rushers, while Skiver led Moniteau with 78 yards rushing.

Blauser said he would like to get Geagan, the Warriors’ senior standout, more involved in the offense in the coming weeks and he has complete faith his team will only grow stronger as the season advances.

“I think it will come, I really do,” he said. “They’re a small group, but they’ve banded together. ... They’re a good group of kids and we just have to keep battling away.”