By Angie Brushwood (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Willard, MO – The Joplin Eagles made their debut to the COC with a sound victory over the Willard Tigers, 41-18. The Eagles pulled away in the second half by scoring four touchdowns.
The game was up for grabs in the first half, with the Tigers holding back the Eagles’ attempts at running away with an easy win.
The Eagles scored on the game’s first possession on a 72-yard drive that was wrapped up by a 5-yard carry by running back Isaiah Davis (jr.). After a field goal by junior Garrett Landis, the Eagles led 7-0.
Two possessions later, the Eagles’ Zach Westmoreland shocked the Tigers with a 79-yard touchdown reception. He was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Tigers’ Tallon Heimbach. Willard’s defense would come up big by recovering a fumble on the next play to keep Joplin out of the endzone.
The Tigers got on their home scoreboard early in the second quarter with a 10-yard carry by Garrett Rice. With an extra point made good, the Tigers tied the Eagles 7-all.
The Eagles would take a 14-7 lead into the half before the big second half.
The Eagles quarterback Blake Tash (jr.) said of his team, “We came out a little sluggish but it’s the first game of the year. The good thing is we scored 41 points and we still have a ton of room to improve.
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I couldn’t do it without my team. They work their butts off in practice every day. They get open so that I can deliver those passes.”
Head coach Curtis Jasper saw the competitive side of Eagles show itself in the second half.
“I thought we did a good job responding in the second half,” said Jasper. “I think we knew we didn’t play well in the first half, and we played very lethargically. We came back out in the second half and played a lot more our style.”
The Eagles’ proved their mettle as a COC contender in the third, following a fumble recovery by Parker Erickson at the Willard 5-yard line. Davis made sure the Eagles did not squander the opportunity, completing a 20-yard carry for a touchdown, 20-7.
Later in the third, Davis slipped through the Willard defense for a 5-yard carry to goal, completing a 56-yard drive. The Eagles led 27-7 after the extra point.
The Tigers worked their way up the field late in the third but had to settle for a field goal by Eli Aye. The Tigers trailed 27-10 going into the final quarter.
The Eagles’ middle linebacker Luke Kuehnel (sr.) enjoyed showing what the Eagles defense could do.
“We made plays when they were ours to make and ate blocks when they were ours to eat,” said Kuehnel. “Like the offense, I’m feeling great about this. This is a big win against a good team.
Willard is nothing to shy away from. They were 7 and 5 last year. They’ve got a big runningback.
But we held our own against them. Normally they’ll just march it up and down the field on other teams, but we held our own, and I think that bodes well for the rest of the year.”
Zach Westmoreland would pad Joplin’s lead with a 52-yard run to make it 34-10.
Willard answered by driving 80 yards and finish with a two-yard touchdown run by Rice. Willard went for two to make it 34-18. Joplin would score again with under a minute to go to make it 41-18.
Willard had many new varisty players on Friday, but the players showed several positive things to coach Brock Roweton.
“It’s just like any other first game. There were lots of good things and there were lots of things we need to work on,” said Roweton. “I thought we did a great job early battling. But we caused the separation and panicked just a smidge. But there’s a lot of first time starters on offense, and I felt like we panicked just a little bit. When you play good people with good athletes, you can’t give them that many opportunities inside their fifty.”
In next Friday’s first home game, the Eagles will face COC power Webb City. Coach Jasper is ready to get to work.
“Obviously we’ve prepared for Willard all week, so now that this game is over with we’ll go home and start working on Webb City,” said Jasper. “Webb City has got tradition and they’re very well coached. Coach Roderique is a hall of fame coach, and he’s tremendous, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. We know we need to get a lot of stuff done in practice this week.”
The Tigers will face Ozark next Friday. Roweton plans to build on what the Tigers learned from this loss.
“In the COC, every week you’re playing somebody who’s really good. Next week is Ozark, and that will be nothing different. It’s just strap up and play again. We will fix some things from tonight and hopefully be ready to roll on Friday.”
Joplin:
Isaiah Davis – 3 touchdowns
Jake Flowers – 1 touchdown
Zech Stayton – 1 touchdown
Zach Westmoreland – 1 touchdown
Willard:
Garrett Rice – 2 touchdowns
Eli Aye – 1 field goal
1 2 3 4¬
Willard 0 7 3 0
Joplin 7 7 13 14
