NEW BETHLEHEM — The Moniteau football team's turnovers and penalties dampened any hope of staying in a 38-22 non-conference loss Friday at Redbank Valley.

The Warriors (3-5) finished with 12 penalties. Most were on the defense, but a few came at inopportune times on offense.

Moniteau quarterback Derek Boben scrambled in the pocket and delivered the ball to wide receiver Dalton Anderson for what seemed a 70-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, but the score was nulled by a holding call.

On the Warriors next drive, still in the second quarter, Moniteau found themselves in the red zone, inching closer to the goal line with each play, but they were forced back by another holding penalty.

Warriors coach Wade Vogan said his team's lack of discipline was a factor in their loss, which he has been trying to address. He said they also lacked focus, despite the amount of preparation they put in at practice.

“That's the difference of the ball game,” Vogan said. “You can't get penalized (95) yards and expect to come out with a win.”

Moniteau also turned the ball over on strong drives, losing one fumble and two interceptions.

The Warriors typically stick with their running game, but threw the ball 26 times.

At first, the change to a pass-heavy offense seemed to work. In the second quarter, Moniteau scored its first touchdown on a 35-yard catch by Anderson on a pass from Boben with 10:32 remaining.

Boben also threw for a second touchdown in the fourth quarter, a 15-yard pass to wide receiver Nick Pflugh, with 9 minutes remaining.

“Derek is a good quarterback. He can throw the ball, and we have some good athletes too that can catch the ball,” Vogan said.

With the extra passes, Boben ended the night with 149 yards, completing 8-of-26 passes.

But the pressure from the Bulldogs defense also forced him to throw two interceptions.

Vogan said it's tough to refocus, but Boben did well trying to get back on track in the fourth quarter.

“(I told him) to keep his head,” Vogan said. “But I told him to focus and be the quarterback that we know he can be.”

Vogan said the opportunity to throw presented itself, so he used it to his advantage.

“Once we spread them out, we realized we could start passing on them, and that's why we kept with the passing,” Vogan said.

Coach Ed Wasilowski said he couldn't believe that Moniteau was relying on its passing game, after watching previous games on film.

“I thought they were just gonna' run it,” Wasilowski said. “We prepared for the run.”

Even after adjustments were made, Wasilowski was stunned by their persistence with passing the ball.

“I was just shocked that they tried to throw it,” Wasilowski said. “I tip my hat to coach Vogan. He made a nice adjustment, and caught us a little bit off-guard.”

Wasilowski said Moniteau's gameplan was the reason they were able to stay in the game in the first half, but he began to see the Warriors' defense making similar mistakes to his own in calling for man-to-man defense.

Redbank Valley (6-2) took a chance with 40 seconds left in the second half, trying to eliminate the threat of a comeback. After picking off a Boben pass, the Bulldogs took the ball over at their own 5-yard line.

“I said, 'Hey let's take a shot,” Wasilowski said “if we get something, we get something.”

The Bulldogs marched up the field quickly and finished the drive with a touchdown on a 20-yard pass from quarterback Connor Shoemaker to wide receiver Wyatt Hetrick with 8 seconds remaining.

The touchdown gave Redbank Valley a 29-9 at halftime.