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FOOTBALL: West Plains knocks off Carl Junction in Class 4 District 5 title game

By:
SoMo Sports staff reports

WEST PLAINS, Mo. — Carl Junction rallied back from a 14-point deficit in the second half before West Plains pulled away to a 41-26 win in the Class 4 District 5 title game on Friday.

The Bulldogs took the lead with the first touchdown before the Zizzers responded with three unanswered scores, ultimately taking a 28-14 advantage into the intermission. Carl Junction scored twice unanswered out of the locker room to cut the lead to 28-26, but West Plains used a Bulldog turnover to score twice inside 90 seconds of game action in the fourth quarter to build an insurmountable lead on the way to the win.

The Bulldogs, who turned it over four times in the loss, end the season with a 6-6 record. West Plains improved to 10-1 and will face Helias Catholic in the quarterfinals.

Carl Junction took the opening possession but was bitten by the turnover early, as Alex Baker was picked off on the second play from scrimmage. The Bulldogs’ defense returned the favor on their first possession when Blake Poorman picked off West Plains QB Dagen Kenslow and returned it deep into Zizzers’ territory.

A 17-yard completion from Baker to Drew Patterson gave the Bulldogs a first down with a goal-to-go situation. After three unsuccessful attempts inside the 5-yard line, running back Brady Sims found paydirt from 4 yards out to the left pylon to give Carl Junction a 7-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first. 

West Plains responded with a nearly seven-minute drive that ended with Connor Lair punching it in from 3 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 58 seconds left in the first quarter. 

After a Bulldog three-and-out, the Zizzers took their first lead of the game when Kenslow found Lair over the middle on third down for a 40-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 10:33 left in the first half. 

Carl Junction drove into West Plains territory on the ensuing drive before Baker was picked off for a second time in the first half, but again the Bulldog defense answered with a turnover of their own, forcing Titus Seley into a fumble.

The Bulldogs followed with a turnover on downs, and after a 38-yard run by Kenslow— reversing the field on the long gain — the Zizzers took a 21-7 lead over Carl Junction after Seley crossed the goal line from a yard out with 4:16 left in the first half.

It looked as if the Bulldogs were going to be forced into a three-and-out punt on their next possession, but a roughing-the-punter penalty on West Plains gave Carl Junction new life. On the ensuing play, Baker found Drew Patterson on a deep route for a 65-yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to 21-14 with 1:44 left in the first half. 

West Plains needed just 1:33 to find the scoreboard again, with Seley the benefit of a hook-and-ladder lateral off the completion from Kenslow for a 34-yard touchdown with seven seconds on the clock to send the Zizzers into the intermission with a 28-14 lead over Carl Junction.

Carl Junction found the scoreboard first in the second half when Baker found Drew Beyer over the middle on play-action for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:50 left in the third quarter, with the point-after kick no good, to trim West Plains’ lead to 28-20. 

After forcing a punt, the Bulldogs used a 13-yard pass from Baker to Kyler Perry and a 10-yard pass from Baker to Noah Southern to set up a 1-yard rushing score from Sims. The two-point conversion was no good, cutting West Plains’ lead to 28-26 with 9:58 in regulation. 

The Zizzers pushed their lead back to two possessions following a 3-yard touchdown run from Seley. Baker was intercepted on the following CJ drive, which turned into a 13-yard touchdown for Seley on the next West Plains’ possession to boost the lead to 41-26 with less than seven minutes in regulation, swinging the momentum for good.

 

SCORING SUMMARY

Carl Junction 7 7 6 6 — 26

West Plains 7 21 0 13 — 41

 

FIRST QUARTER

CJHS—Brady Sims 4 run ( kick)

WPHS—Connor Lair 3 run ( kick)

 

SECOND QUARTER

WPHS—Lair 40 pass from Dagen Kenslow ( kick)

CJHS—Drew Patterson 65 pass from Alex Baker ( kick)

WPHS—Titus Seley 34 pass from Kenslow ( kick)

 

THIRD QUARTER

CJHS—Drew Beyer 11 pass from Baker (kick fail)

 

FOURTH QUARTER

CJHS—Sims 1 run (two-point fail)

WPHS—Seley 5 run (kick)

WPHS—Seley 13 run (two-point fail)

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