KNOX — Friday night's football game between Moniteau and Keystone was supposed to be an aerial showdown between quarterbacks Tyler Armagost and Ben Black, and whoever had the ball last would win.

It didn't quite work out that way as Moniteau used a bruising rushing attack and a stifling defense to dominate Keystone in a 28-0 victory.

"I knew we were capable of playing like that; we just hadn't shown it yet," said Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell. "The kids came out and executed it just how I drew it up."

Sophomore running back James Shope led the Warriors ground game with 205 yards on 28 carries.

The game looked like it was going to be a shootout when Tyler Armagost plunged into the end zone from the 1-yard line after only a minute and 45 seconds had passed.

The Warriors had marched 80 yards in just four plays.

The key play of the drive was a 73-yard run by Shope, who was pushed out-of-bounds at the Keystone 4.

However, both teams traded punts for the rest of the period and Moniteau had a slim 7-0 lead.

The Warriors defense held Keystone to minus-2 total yards in the opening quarter.

Midway through the second quarter, the Panthers mounted a drive that started at their own 10-yard line and reached the Warriors' 47.

But the drive stalled and Keystone was forced to punt. It was the only time in the first half that Keystone crossed midfield.

Moniteau answered with a drive of its own that took the Warriors to the Keystone 31.

But with eight seconds left in the half, Armagost was intercepted by Kyle Rhoads at the 20-yard line.

The Moniteau defense held Keystone to 42 total yards in the first half.

Moniteau scored on its opening possession of the second half when Armagost ran a 10-yard option keeper through the Keystone defense.

Armagost put the Warriors in scoring position on the drive by connecting with Dakota Campbell for a 39-yard gain.

The completion and a 5-yard facemask penalty against the Panthers gave Moniteau the ball at the Keystone 23.

Late in the third quarter, Moniteau's special teams unit pinned the Panthers deep in their own territory when Austin Hogsett downed a Mitch Czech punt at the 4.

Four plays later, Reed was intercepted by Campbell at the Panthers' 28-yard line, and Campbell returned the ball to the 2-yard line.

Shope plowed into the end zone one play later.

The score gave the Warriors a commanding 21-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Moniteau's final score was set up by Josh Loos's third interception of the night, which gave the Warriors the ball at the Keystone 29.

Four plays later, Shope ran 18 yards for the touchdown.

Both teams' air attacks were nonfactors.

Armagost passed for only 60 yards on five completions and had two interceptions.

"We've been pretty balanced and everybody thinks we throw the ball all over the field," said Campbell. "But if you look at the stats, we're about 60-40 pass to run."

Keystone's starting quarterback Black was removed from the game after the first series due to an undisclosed injury.

When asked if this had an impact on the outcome of the game, Keystone coach Jason Nellis responded, "Without question.

"Having your second-team quarterback just isn't the same as having your starter in there, and we just couldn't generate any offense," he added.