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By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
CAMDENTON – In the end, after the handshake line, 6-foot-7 senior tackle Jaylon James and senior corner back Jason Lopez did one of those body high-fives.
Which was fitting. James represented an offensive line that plowed the way for 410 yards rushing, and Lopez’s 73-yard, second-quarter interception return sent the West Plains Zizzers on their way.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and we came ready,” James said after the Zizzers beat the Camdenton Lakers 53-21 in a battle of Ozark Conference unbeatens Friday night at Bob Shore Stadium.
West Plains quarterback Dagan Kenslow rushed for 193 yards on 21 carries, scoring two touchdowns, and running back Connor Lair galloped for 177 yards on 13 carries – and scored four TDs.
In essence, it was vintage West Plains, whose offenses in the past decade have played old-school football, complete with big guys up front.
An NCAA Division I recruit, James is the feature on an O-line that includes fellow seniors Gabe Dietrich, Cole Easley and Blake Reid with junior center Magnus Sanders. In fact, they played all the way to the final snap. Their work helped West Plains overcame 127 yards in first-half penalties.
“They’re a real strength of our team, and they don’t get enough respect with what they’re able to do,” West Plains coach Matt Perkins said. “We come back with everybody from a year ago, and they walked in the first day of June and knew the scheme really well.”
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The Zizzers (4-0) took the opening series 71 yards in 11 plays, capped by Heston Miller’s 2-yard TD run. Lair had a 49-yard run on the series’ third play.
The next TD drive covered 75 yards in eight places, with Lair’s 2-yard run ending it. Miller’s 18-yard run kick-started it.
Two plays later, Lopez came up big with the interception on a sideline pass, and it was 21-0 West Plains with 8:47 left before halftime.
“There were two receivers, and I just split that,” Lopez said. “They like to run that bubble/slant concept, and they like to throw that screen. I saw it on the previous play.”
The Zizzers were hardly threatened from there. After Camdenton pulled to within 34-21 with 9:10 left in the game, Kenslow broke off a 79-yard TD run.
“That big line? It definitely makes it easy for us. It’s one of those things, when you get the ball in your hands, you know what time it is — it’s a house call,” Kenslow said. “It’s definitely a statement for us (tonight). It shows what we can do.”
Call it a frustrating night for the Lakers (3-1), who were missing starting junior linebacker Wiley Powers due to an injury and, offensively, got thwarted whenever in the Zizzers’ territory.
Landon Thomas, a senior lineman, did score three rushing touchdowns for Camdenton, but those (4, 1 and 1 yards) came with the Lakers playing catch-up.
Besides the interception return, four first-half Lakers drives stalled at the West Plains’ 36-, 25-, 40- and 18-yard lines.
Bear Shore, a junior quarterback, was 22-of-41 passing for 140 yards, but the Zizzers’ defense forced him to be uncomfortable all night.
“No. 1, they’re a good ballclub, and they played hard. Kind of on a mission,” Camdenton coach Jeff Shore said. “I don’t feel like I called a real good game, and we’re a little young and inexperienced. They had a good scheme against us. They varied it up, and we had a couple of things that we thought had set up. They seemed to be in the right place at the right time.”
For West Plains, about the only blemish was the number of penalty yards. Holding calls and late hits on defense accounted for most of the first-half mess. To the Zizzers, if they clean those up, who knows where the season will take them.
Friday was West Plains’ seventh win in the last nine meetings against the Lakers.
“Our kids are traditionally high energy, high motor and kind of play with a chip on their shoulder. I probably (fired) them up too much in the locker room today,” Perkins said. “But as long as they keep things under control, I want them playing with that edge.”
