West Plain's Zizzers stole a thunder-shortened show Thursday afternoon in the Ozark Conference 7-on-7 tournament at Kickapoo High School.
The Zizzers finished the seven-team tournament 4-0, the only perfect group on a day that also saw Kickapoo, Parkview, Rolla, Camdenton, Joplin and Lebanon compete under 95 degree heat.
"We'll take 4-0 all day long," West Plains head coach Steve Ary said.
West Plains finished last week's Parkview 7-on-7 4-2, falling in the quarterfinals to Neosho.
"The one thing I'm seeing is that we have a real good competitive spirit," Ary said. "We won't go out and be intimidated. A lot of these guys haven't had a lot of success. They've been in the shadows watching that last good bunch role through, and it's their time to step up."
Landry Randolph looked comfortable at quarterback for the Zizzers, a promising sign for the junior, who will be stepping into a role that includes leading a team that just graduated what was arguably its best class in school history.
"He did a real nice job for us out here tonight," Ary said. "He's going to get a lot of time this year. He's split reps most of the summer and he's really hungry. We've had a lot of competitive situations like that this summer, and it's good for us."
West Plains is coming off a 10-2 season and a trip to the Class 4 – District 5 finals, where they fell to Webb City.
"One thing that bunch gave us was confidence," Ary said. "I don't think there's anybody on the field right now that's not playing with confidence. We just want to compete with everybody. I don't know that this tournament helps us a lot offensively or defensively, but it helps our competitive spirit and our confidence."
One team West Plains didn't get to face was Kickapoo. The Chiefs won the Ozarks Conference over the Zizzers last season.
"You always want to play Kickapoo," Ary said. "That's the measuring stick right there. You just want those guys every chance you get."
The Chiefs finished the day 3-1.
