The West Plains Zizzers football team secured a 41-12 victory over the Poplar Bluff Mules on Friday at Zizzer Stadium, extending its winning streak to three in a row.
"Overall it was a great win,”said Zizzers Head Coach Brock Kenaga. "They were a quality team and it kept the winning streak going."
Kenaga said it was known that the Mules were going to be a very fast and skilled team and praised his players for rising to the challenge. "Our defensive backs played well and kept them in check,” he said, adding that given the team’s injuries, “we had a lot of guys step up and play well.”
Poplar Bluff scored first on a 10-yard touchdown by the Mules’ Colt Clifford. A blocked extra-point kick left their lead at 6-0.
The Zizzers answered just 16 seconds later when Jacob Moore caught a 52-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Miller. The extra-point kick by Reed Cobb was good, giving West Plains a 7-6 lead they would not let go of.
West Plains began to pull away In the second quarter, highlighted by a 1-yard touchdown run from Warren Lawson. In the third quarter, West Plains' Jackson Taylor scored on a 56-yard pass from Miller. And after Mules answered two minutes later with a 91-yard interception return by Kaden Johnson, West Plains closed out the game with two more touchdowns: an 18-yard pass from Miller to Moore, and a 15-yard run by Taylor.
Kenaga highlighted Lawson, a senior, who "played extremely well both on offense and defense.” He also praised the efforts of the players who stepped up due to injuries to Aden Judd and Dominic Hale during the Sept. 26 win over Logan-Rogersville.
Looking ahead, the focus remains on improving each week. "We are focusing on consistency,” said Kenaga. "We have to keep improving on our run game and stopping the run. That’s what wins during the playoffs."
The coach also had a message for the fans: "We just want to thank our fans for all their support," Kenaga said. "Being at home with them is a huge advantage for us."
