Warrensburg football shuts down Clinton to cap unbeaten MRVC West slate

Published 6:07 am Saturday, October 24, 2026

WARRENSBURG — It’s a sequence Warrensburg football has been working on for the last several weeks.

On the first play from scrimmage, junior quarterback Camden Mannering threw the ball to Dominik Maham for a 61-yard score, giving the Tigers the first of eight touchdowns in a 58-0 win over Clinton on Friday, Oct. 23, at the Warrensburg Activities Complex.

The win capped the Tigers’ unbeaten MRVC West season.

“We talked about that this week, taking a shot on the first play,” Warrensburg head coach Chris Cavanah said. “I thought we could get behind them. It was a great throw, a great catch.”

The pass arrived off the play action, where it initially appeared Mannering handed the ball off to junior running back Hunter Michel.

Instead, Mannering held on and chucked it into the air from Burg’s own 28-yard line, landing in Maham’s hands at the Clinton (3-6, 0-6 MRVC West) 30. Maham had open field in front of Clinton senior Connor Bramell, continuing into the end zone.

“It felt good,” Mannering said. “We knew we were going to do that. We set that play for about eight weeks, I think. We were in the same place, same motion, same everything. We just knew we had to execute … Anytime you start with a touchdown on the first play, it gets some momentum going for sure.”

The Tigers (8-1, 6-0 MRVC West) posted three touchdowns in the opening 12 minutes. By halftime, ‘Burg led 45-0.

The only time Clinton came within reach of scoring early came late in the first quarter, when the Cardinals missed a 35-yard field goal attempt with ‘Burg up 14-0.

“Anytime you can keep zero on the board for four quarters, that’s a big deal,” Cavanah said. “Our defense played great.”

‘Burg answered with an 80-yard drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown run, making it 22-0 with 1:38 left in the first quarter.

From there, ‘Burg added scores via a 7-yard touchdown pass from Mannering to junior Dorian Maham, a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown by freshman Jackson Spangler and a 2-yard pass from Mannering to senior Theo McCracken.

‘Burg went 4-of-5 from 2-point tries in the first half. The sixth touchdown of the game, the pass to McCracken, was followed by a PAT from senior kicker Taytum Browder. Browder was kicking for the second consecutive week. He also made a PAT following a 2-yard touchdown run from sophomore Mason Sullins to open the second half.

“It was a complete team win there,” Cavanah said. “I’m proud of the guys for their focus this week. The guys came out for an exclamation point on the conference season.”

Warrensburg ran the ball for 243 yards, anchored by 13 carries for 102 yards from Sullins and 11 carries for 100 yards from Michel.

Mannering also ran twice for 24 yards and a touchdown – arriving from one yard out in the first quarter.

In the air, Mannering completed 16-of-21 yards for 270 yards and three touchdowns. Dorian Maham had eight catches for 149 yards and a touchdown; Dominik Maham had four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown and McCracken had three catches for 11 yards and a touchdown.

“It’s very nice to have them,” Mannering said of the Maham brothers. “We’re all from Texas, so it’s kind of a little thing. Obviously, I can’t really do it without the O-line and the coaches. [The O-line] has been a really big part. I can’t complete any passes without them blocking me. I get them doughnuts every Friday to try and get them right.”

This is the first time the Tigers have gone unbeaten in MRVC West play.

In 2024, they shared a conference title with Pleasant Hill – the only team to beat them in the regular season.

“It’s never easy to win a conference championship,” Cavanah said. “We play in such a tough league. But that’s two out of three for us. And it’s the first outright we’ve had in this conference.”

Warrensburg moves on to host Knob Noster in the opening round of the Class 4 District 5 quarterfinal round Friday, Oct. 30.

The first round will also feature Osage hosting Marshall and Mexico hosting Kirksville. Moberly, which beat Warrensburg 24-22 on Sept. 18, will have a bye.

‘Burg enters the postseason seeking to pave its way to the program’s third consecutive district championship game.

“I just told them that that’s two of our three goals on the season,” Cavanah said. “The biggest one was to win a district championship, which starts next week.”

OTHER JOHNSON COUNTY RESULTS

Crest Ridge (4-5, 2-1 WCMO) 14, Windsor (4-5, 1-2 WCMO) 6

Holden (3-6, 2-3 MRVC East) 35, Knob Noster (1-8, 1-4 MRVC East) 27

CLASS 4 DISTRICT 5 (WARRENSBURG NO. 2, KNOB NOSTER NO. 7)

Moberly (8-1) 42, Mexico (3-6) 0

Osage (3-6) 42, Southern Boone (7-2) 35

Macon (7-2) 14, Kirksville (2-6) 8

Smith-Cotton (4-5) 46, Marshall (1-8) 0

CLASS 2 DISTRICT 6 (HOLDEN NO. 5)

Hogan Prep (4-4) vs Lone Jack (2-6, 0-3 WCMO), 1 p.m. Saturday

Butler (6-3) 32, El Dorado Springs (2-7) 19

KIPP KC (4-5) 23, Northeast KC (2-7) 15

Carrollton (8-1, 4-1 MRVC East) 44, Lafayette County (4-5, 3-2 MRVC East) 30

Richmond (7-2, 5-0 MRVC East) 48, Lexington (0-9, 0-5 MRVC East) 6

CLASS 1 DISTRICT 5 (CREST RIDGE NO. 4)

Carrollton (8-1, 4-1 MRVC East) 44, Lafayette County (4-5, 3-2 MRVC East) 30

Cole Camp (6-3, 3–0 WCMO) 17, Adrian (4-5) 14

Versailles (6-3) 19, Sherwood (4-5) 12

Lawson (6-3) 47, North Platte (4-5) 0

Joe Andrews can be reached at 660-747-8123.