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By KARY BOOHER, Springfield, MO – When the old-school offense looks like a well-oiled machine – complete with pulling guards and tackles – what’s it like blocking for West Plains senior Keegan Hoopes?
“It’s kind of an honor,” senior tackle Ryan Jones. “He’s probably one of the best running backs this school has ever seen. Every time I got a flat back, I was wondering how far he got.”
Hoopes certainly got a lot of mileage Friday night. He rushed for a whopping career-high 351 yards on 45 carries and scored a record-setting seven touchdowns as the West Plains Zizzers beat the Parkview Vikings 57-32 at JFK Stadium.
On one hand, it was a meaningful victory that West Plains (3-5) needed for playoff positioning. On the other, it was an impressive night for an O-line of Ryan, Sebastian Agnew, Matt Harris, Daegan Sympson, Dugan Kelly as well as subs Dylan Scaggs and Jake Swope.
So, what was it like running behind that line?
“I love it,” Hoopes said. Asked what he sees, he replied, “The end zone.”
Hoopes did plenty of that in scoring on runs on 12, 10, 3, 26, 2, 7 and 2 yards. With the seven TDs, he broke two school records: single-game TDs (previous was five), and single-season TDs (he now has 32).
This on a night when two key defensive stops fueled West Plains (3-5), which is jockeying for a No. 5 seed in the district playoffs. The Zizzers could lock it down next Friday at home against Rolla in the regular-season finale, and then could face either Hillcrest or Bolivar in a postseason opener.
“It was a must-win for us,” West Plains coach Steve Ary said. “We’ve played a lot of people close and haven’t closed the deal. So it’s sweet tonight to close the deal.”
Parkview (2-6) proved stubborn against the Zizzers.
For one, after Hoopes’ first TD in the game’s opening minute, Blake Delacruz returned the ensuing kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown. Hoopes scored again on the next series, but the Vikings took their next drive to the West Plains 10 – only to see incomplete pass plays on third and fourth downs.
From there, West Plains marched 90 yards to the end zone, effectively making it a two-touchdown game the rest of the night. Hoopes had a 28-yard run on third-and-2 from the 44.
“We were saying, ‘We have to keep the lead,” Hoopes said of the huddle when the Zizzers took over at the 10. “That was the attitude. We had to keep the ball moving and not get down in the dumps.”
Two other big plays for West Plains – one just before, the other right after halftime – proved huge, too.
Parkview pulled within 28-20 with 43 seconds left before halftime, but Hoopes scored on the final play of the half – one play after a facemask penalty enabled West Plains to set up at the 2-yard line.
Lane Jett’s interception opened the second half for West Plains, which scored four plays later. It was 43-20 at that point.
“Their blocking scheme was good,” said Parkview senior linebacker Gavin Devic, a team captain. “Hoopes has the most rushing yards in the Ozark Conference, and he keeps moving his feet.”
He went on.
“Their receivers blocked for them, too,” Devic said. “They’re one of the smash-mouth football teams, just like Camdenton.”
For Parkview, touchdowns came from freshman Trevor Boice (6-yard TD), Delacruz (7 yards) and Aeion Hawkins (9 and 14 yards).
But it wasn’t enough on night full of Hoopes, who was thankful for the West Plains O-line.
“Every time I was in the end zone, I would turn around and they were right there picking me up,” Hoopes said. “It was pretty cool.”
