BROOKVILLE — Football history was made Friday night, in a special way, using special teams.

Moniteau's Adam Cousins returned the opening kickoff 83 yards for a touchdown, converted all five of his PAT attempts and the Warriors stopped three two-point conversion attempts by Brookville in posting a 35-25 District 9 Class AA playoff victory.

The game marked the first playoff victory in the history of Moniteau's football program.

"Huge, this is absolutely huge," Warrior senior tight end Ryan Protzman said. "This is the biggest win of my life."

Moniteau (5-5) will have a rematch with Karns City (7-2) — the Gremlins posting a 10-0 win at Moniteau three weeks ago — next weekend.

"That's all I've been thinking about," senior running back Matt Schandelmeier said of a Karns City rematch. "I was hoping we'd get one more shot at them."

They did — and they had to earn it.

Following Cousins' kick return to open Friday's game, the Warriors regained possession when Brookville's Tyler Ross mishandled a pitchout and Moniteau's Josh Loos recovered at the Raiders 13-yard line.

Two plays later, Schandelmeier scored on a 4-yard run and the visitors had a 14-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

"Getting that early lead took a lot of the pressure off us," Cousins said.

But the Warriors barely held on to that advantage. Brookville (4-6) capped a 12-play, 71-yard drive with Korey Brownlee tossing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Ross on a fourth-and-12 play, cutting the gap to 14-7.

The Raiders drove 75 yards on seven plays on their next possession as Max Kutz scored on a 2-yard run with 9:02 left in the half.

Brookville decided to go for two points on the conversion, but Schandelmeier stopped running back Joe Galbraith short of the goal line.

"We know it's a gamble going for two," Brookville coach Chris Dworek said. "But it was early in the game, we had momentum and a chance to take the lead.

"We had a blocking breakdown. If we score there, who knows what happens?"

Moniteau coach Steve Wilson agreed.

"It was a big stop on our part," Wilson said. "Even though they scored a touchdown, we got the momentum back."

Brookville took possession at its own 3-yard line following a punt midway through the second quarter. When Protzman and Justin Castello nailed Kutz for a yard loss on third-and-6, the Raiders had to punt from their end zone.

Moniteau gained possession at the Brookville 26 and scored in four plays. Schandelmeier cashed in from the 1-yard line and it was 21-13 at halftime.

"This game illustrated the importance of special teams," Dworek said. "That's how you get field position. They got it and we didn't.

"It's not about yardage. It's about scoring points, and that's a lot easier with a short field."

The Raiders lost despite outgaining Moniteau in total offense, 303 yards to 165.

Brookville completed its third scoring drive of more than 70 yards on the first possession of the third quarter. Brownlee's 27-yard scoring pass to Ross on fourth-and-9 capped a nine-play, 74-yard march that pulled the Raiders within 21-19.

"My hat's off to them for driving downfield on us like that," Wilson said. "We have to shore up some pass defense. … Giving up those passes on fourth-and-long is something we'll address."

Brookville went for two points again — and was stopped again.

The Warriors answered this Brookville score with one of their own, as Schandelmeier's 2-yard run capped a 13-play, 51-yard drive.

Kohlmeyer completed an 8-yard pass to Loos on a fourth-and-6 play from the Raiders 25 to keep the possession alive.

"We don't throw the ball much, but we completed a big one there," Wilson said.

Brookville didn't threaten again until the outcome was decided. Protzman intercepted a pass at the Raiders 24, setting up Kohlmeyer's 7-yard TD run with 2:05 remaining.

The score gave Moniteau a 35-19 lead.

"I saw their kid running a slant pattern, so I slid over there," linebacker Protzman said. "I just wanted to get a hand on the ball and knock it down. When it deflected into the air, I grabbed it.

"I still didn't think the game was over. Those guys (Brookville) are a tricky team."

The Raiders took just 53 seconds to go 60 yards for the game's final points as Kutz scored on a 7-yard run with 1:12 remaining.

Moniteau's Clayton Drnek covered the onside kick and the game was over.

"This is a major step for this program," Wilson said. "Hopefully, we can feed off it and keep it going."

Notes: Kutz had 21 carries and 129 yards for Brookville. … Schandelmeier led Moniteau with 88 yards rushing and two TDs. He now has 16 touchdowns on the season. … Brownlee's touchdown passes to Ross were the only two passes he completed in the first three quarters.