Railroad City News

Farwell- We’ve got to begin this week’s preview with a pronunciation lesson. Bucktail’s opponent in Moniteau on Friday and last season when we made the extra long trip to West Sunbury to stream the Bucks and Warriors, I was given a helpful lesson to help me say their name properly. It is said MON-EHH- TAW.

Both teams enter Friday winless. Bucktail is 0-2 and is coming off of an open date. The Warriors are 0-3 and fell last week to Lakeview, 28-20. Moniteau was shutout during their first two games, but finally reached the endzone against the Sailors and seen a late lead disappear. The Bucks haven’t been in action since dropping a 28-20 Region 4 game to Otto-Eldred in Farwell two weeks ago.

Key Players

For Bucktail it has to be Nick Dennis. Dennis was the Bucks’ sparkplug on defense and special teams against the Terrors. The Bucks will need to play better defense Friday night. JJ Ditty and Patrick Tarantella will be called upon to stop a Warriors’ offense that has all of the right tools to make some big plays against a Bucktail defense that has struggled against the run. Corbin Pentz is another Buck that could be a force at helping stop the Moniteau offense.

Teagan Stone has yet to have a big game offensively for Bucktail. If Pentz can find Stone, Angelo Tarantella and Aidan Ditty can really help Bucktail establish a strong passing game.

Moniteau quarterback Weston Cook has experience and can play the position well. Cook tossed a pair of touchdowns and 149 yards in last week’s loss at Lakeview. Liam Allison leads the Warriors on offense. He hauled in two grabs for 75 yards and a score. He also led Moniteau with 59 yards on 19 carries.

Fun Facts

This is only the second meeting between the schools. Moniteau won the first meeting in West Sunbury a season ago. The Warriors will make the 3 hour trip to Farwell in what will be their first ever trip to Farwell. West Sunbury is just a 30 minute trip from East Brady, where NFL Hall of Famer and Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelley is from.