A Promising West Plains Season Ends in Heartbreak vs Stephenville

As we headed into Friday, Amarillo and Canyon were down to just one high school left to fight for the coveted state title in the football playoffs. Those hopes hinged on how West Plains would do in their matchup against an excellent Stephenville team.

Keep in mind, Stephenville had just knocked out one of the remaining hopes for the area when they handled Randall High the week prior, so the good news for the Wolves was they could chat with the Raiders coaches and have some first-hand insight on them.

First Half Fireworks

As the game got underway, West Plains looked like a team on a mission. The Wolves put up the first score of the game on a rushing TD with nine minutes to go in the first quarter. Stephenville would answer that TD just a couple of minutes later. After that, West Plains took control of the half.

They would add their second score of the game on another rushing TD with a minute left in the 1st quarter. The party continued for the Wolves after Boston Ladd ripped off an 80-yard rushing TD, putting West Plains up 21-7 early in the second quarter. That, however, would be where the tide shifted. Stephenville would connect for a passing TD to make the score 21-14. With under a minute left in the half, West Plains fumbled the ball, and Stephenville would recover it. They'd get in a field goal and head into halftime trailing West Plains by 4.

Second Half Disappointment

Every sport is a game of adjustments, and the second half proved Stephenville made the better adjustments. They came out of the locker room and absolutely steamrolled the Wolves. Now, to West Plains' credit, they did hold Stephenville off the scoreboard for the first nine minutes of the quarter, but a rushing TD with six minutes left in the third quarter would give Stephenville a lead they'd never relinquish.

West Plains found it tough to move the ball in the second half, and once Stephenville took the lead, they decimated the Wolves' defense en route to knocking West Plains out of the playoffs with a 41-21 victory. The Wolves ended their season allowing 34 unanswered points to Stephenville and now head into the offseason looking for answers as they retool for next season. A great run by West Plains, but AISD and CISD will not be bringing home the title this season.