New-McIntyre connections powers Tigers’ statement win
WESLEY MILLER/TIMES-TRIBUNE
Worth County senior Grant McIntyre scores a touchdown on Friday night in Albany.
ALBANY, Mo. — Senior tight end Grant McIntyre threw up his arm in the middle of the field, signaling for the ball from his quarterback, senior Tyler New. New obliges his pass catcher’s request and connects with him for a 39-yard touchdown.
While the scoring combination put Worth County football in front of Albany 44-6 with 6:36 to go in the first half, it was far from the first between the two seniors. It’s a connection they’ve worked on for years. It’s a connection that continued to grow as New found McIntyre for three touchdown passes in the Tigers’ 66-12 win over the Warriors Friday night. And, for McIntyre, it’s exactly how he’d have it.
“It just helps to have a guy back there that you trust and know he’s gonna get the job done when we need it,” McIntrye said.
New got the job on multiple occasions with a variety of ways. He threw five touchdowns, ran in two more and scored on a punt return to put Worth County up 38-6 with 6:52 remaining in the second quarter.
Along with his three touchdown passes to McIntyre, New connected with freshman tight end Bo Collins for a 39-yard score and with sophomore running back Lucas Frisch on a 55-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Junior running back Landon Wilmes also joined in on the scoring frenzy with a 39-yard touchdown run.
Frisch’s touchdown with 46 seconds left until halftime proved to be enough as the game ended after just one half of play.
Coach Jon Adwell said assistant coach Les New focused on trying to put the opposing defenses in certain formations to see where the Tigers can attack.
“Coach New does a great job,” Adwell said. “He got a mismatch and then just kind of kept exposing it.”
The clash between the two District 4 teams was also a battle between two squads ranked in the top six in the state — Worth County at No. 3 and Albany at No. 6. For McIntyre and company, though, it was also a chance at revenge.
A season ago, the Warriors edged out a 36-34 win over the Tigers. McIntyre said they did play well enough then, but they still feel like they could’ve won last year’s contest.
“I think tonight we really had a lot of redemption — it was good,” McIntyre said.
While Worth County earned the 54-point triumph on the road, it wasn’t always easy for the Tigers. Albany quarterback Chase Cline found fellow junior wideout Kyle Emerson over the middle of the field for a 52-yard touchdown with 5:09 to go in the first quarter. On the ensuing drive by Worth County, Warriors’ junior defensive lineman Seth Miller recovered a fumble on the Tigers’ 30-yard line, and momentum was seemingly on Albany’s side.
Even when the score was close, Adwell said he continued to see fight from his players and that’s exactly what he’s been waiting to see.
“That’s the step we needed to take to move forward,” Adwell said. “I mean, you know, we got a young group, and we’ve got a lot of young players, and that’s what we need to see. We need to see our kids, you know, when they got someone kinda back on their heels, they just gotta go in for the throat and finish things. I’ve gotten to see these young guys take that next step forward.”
