Last Friday, the Stockton Tigers traveled to Ash Grove to take on the Pirates in Game 3 of the 2026 football season. It was a nice evening for football, especially after suffering through two very hot nights on the previous two Friday nights. Ash Grove entered the contest unbeaten while the Tigers stood at 1-1. It was an entertaining first half with Stockton grabbing a 9-8 lead going into the break but the proverbial wheels came off the bus in the second half as Ash Grove skated to a 29-9 victory in the Southwest Conference opener for both teams.
In the first quarter, defense ruled until Ash Grove finally found paydirt with 3:15 remaining in the period. A successful two point conversion gave Ash Grove an early 8-0 lead.
In the second quarter, the Tigers drove to the 14 but gave the ball over to Ash Grove on downs. After a sack/fumble forced the Pirates back to the Tigers’ 5 yard line, another sack in the end zone gave Stockton two points on the safety and possession of the ball after a free kick. The Tigers again drove deep before stalling at the 7 yard line, turning the ball over on downs again. As the period was coming to a close, Ash Grove was backed up to the Stockton 16 yard line with under a minute remaining in the half. Ash Grove got greedy and an errant pass, intercepted by Stockton’s Justin Anderson, was returned for a touchdown with just 11 seconds remaining. A successful extra point kick gave the Tigers the lead going into the half at 9-8.
In the third quarter, Ash Grove drove the length of the field. A wild pass in the corner of the end zone appeared to be intercepted by Jase Norman of the Tigers but officials ruled an Ash Grove touchdown. With 5:54 remaining in the quarter, Ash Grove held a 16-9 lead.
On the next possession, a Tigers pass was intercepted but a stout defense kept Ash Grove out of the end zone as the quarter ended with Ash Grove still holding the 16-9 lead.
In the final stanza, the Tigers could not gain any momentum as a fumble, two interceptions, and a turnover on downs doomed any Tigers comeback. Ash Grove added two more scores to take the 29-9 victory. Turnovers were the difference as the teams were nearly identical statistically. Ash Grove tallied 273 yards of offense while Stockton had 242 total yards. Ash Grove had 116 yards rushing and 157 yards passing while the Tigers had 72 yards on the ground and 170 through the air. Cannon Brown was 12 for 25 throwing while the Tigers ran the ball by committee with Justin Anderson leading the pack with 35 yards on 12 carries. Ty Hanson had 7 catches for 68 yards. Henry Abercrombie led the defense with 5 tackles and 10 assists. Stockton had four turnovers and three turnovers on downs while Ash Grove turned the ball over only one time.
This Friday, the Tigers host Marionville, with both teams looking for their second victory of the season and their first Southwest Conference win. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.
