On Friday October 24th, the 6-2 West Plains Zizzers visited the 5-3 Carl Junction Bulldogs. The Zizzers kicked off to start the game and after each team punted once, Carl Junction started the scoring with a touchdown run by JoJo Ballard to go up 7-0.
Each team would punt again to end the first quarter before West Plains got on the board with a touchdown pass from Ethan Miller to Jacob Moore. The missed extra point kept the score at 7-6 in the Bulldogs favor. Carl Junction moved down the field and made a 23 yard field goal to extend the lead to 4 before Warren Lawson caught a touchdown for West Plains to take a 14-10 lead. The second quarter scoring continued with a Carl Junction touchdown pass and a West Plains field goal at the end of the half to make the halftime score 17-17.
West Plains looked to take the lead with the first possession of the second half, but Carl Junction forced a punt before driving down to take a 24-17 lead after a 15-yard touchdown pass. The back-and-forth scoring continued with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jackson Taylor and a successful 2-point conversion to give the Zizzers a 25-24 lead to end the third quarter.
West Plains forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, but they did not capitalize on the turnover when the Bulldogs forced a turnover on downs. Carl Junction marched down and quickly scored after a 42-yard touchdown run by Marcus Lopez-Durman. The unsuccessful conversion limited the lead to 5 with the scoreboard reading 30-25 in Carl Junction’s favor. West Plains then responded with a deep touchdown pass from Ethan Miller to Wyatt due to retake the lead 31-30 after an unsuccessful conversion. The West Plains defense stood tall and stopped the Carl Junction offense. The Zizzers drove down and scored with another Jackson Taylor 1-yard run and a missed extra point to make the score 37-30 with one minute remaining. The last gasp effort for the Carl Junction offense fell short and the Zizzers escaped with a 37-30 win.
West Plains finished the regular season 7-2 and Carl Junction finished 5-4 going into district play.
