CHERRY TWP — The Moniteau football team wanted to quickly wash away the memory of two bad losses.

Senior quarterback Cody Skiver gave them the start they needed Friday night.

On the first play against Brookville at home, Skiver went 40 yards untouched for a touchdown in a 38-15 KSAC Large School Division win.

The Warriors had lost their two previous games to Clarion and Karns City by a combined score of 104-27.

Skiver, who also returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter along with a 14-yard rushing touchdown in the third, gained 105 rushing yards on 18 attempts.

Moniteau senior running Josh McBride was also able to rack up triple digits on the ground for the Warriors (5-2, 2-1), finishing with 101 yards and a score.

“It feels great to get a win like this on homecoming,” McBride said. “We got our butts handed to us these last two weeks and it feels great to back on track.”

Brookville knew the Warriors planned to run. The Raiders (1-6) just couldn't stop them.

“Just because you know the rush is coming, it doesn't mean you're going to be able to stop it,” Brookville coach Chris Dworek said. “We didn't do a good job at all at tackling. We tried to do some extra stuff during the week to improve our tackling and it just didn't work.”

The Warriors were also able to implement a new passing system, as junior Derek Boben shared snaps behind center with Skiver.

Boben threw for 46 yards, and scrambled for a 4-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

“We started off with a 40-yard run and I'm a running type of guy so it was good to establish the run early,” Warrior head coach Wade Vogan said. “We're changing a culture here. Getting a win and getting them to believe in each other is key.”

Raiders sophomore quarterback Seth Ray completed three passes for 45 yards, but was replaced late in the second half by senior Bobby McGranor.

McGranor completed six passes for 62 yards, including two late fourth quarter touchdowns to juniors Wyatt Shaffer and Logan Thrush.

Unlike the Warriors, Brookville was unable to establish a running game. On 21 rushing attempts, the Raiders were unable to break even, ending the game with negative-18 yards.

“We had a couple stops on defense but we couldn't get any spark on offense and that was really frustrating.” Dworek said.

The win was enough for the Warriors to clinch a playoff spot, but McBride knows what his team needs to do to keep the momentum going.

“Saint Marys is a big game because they're ahead of us in the division,” McBride said. “I know this win clinched our playoff spot but we still have three weeks ahead of us and we have to keep charging forward.”