West Plains' season ends with area round loss to Hirschi
CHILDRESS – Canyon West Plains entered Thursday’s Class 4A Division II area round contest with an offense that had been on fire in its last eight games.
Hirschi already had the Wolves offense on ice well before the cold front arrived midway through the fourth quarter in a dominating 42-17 victory. Hirschi (9-2) advances to meet Glen Rose at 3 p.m. next Friday in Mineral Wells.
West Plains (7-5) offense averaged 42 points per game over its last eight games before meeting the Huskies. Wolves freshman quarterback Reid Macon completed 18-of-19 passes in a 56-7 win over Pecos in the bi-district round last week.
Thursday was a different story against the Huskies defense. Macon was on the run most of the night with pressure from the defensive line and couldn’t find an open receiver when he did have time.
“We prepared for them to throw the ball a little bit more and use some quick screens to spread us out,” Hirschi coach Lawrence Johnson said. “I’m proud of our defense. We had a good week of practice, and we’ve grown a lot this year. We’re watching more film with these guys, and I’m super proud of our defense.”
“We’re not everybody else. We weren’t about to let them come in here and put up 50 (points),” Hirschi’s Bryan Wagonner said.
The Huskies often play a press man defense against the wide receivers. However, Thursday night, Hirschi’s secondary dropped into a zone that provided an umbrella coverage that confused the Wolves’ freshman quarterback.
“We didn’t add anything new to the defense,” Johnson said. “Credit our d-line for getting pressure and making him uncomfortable, and throwing the ball before he was ready. Our cover guys did a good job keeping their receivers in front of us.”
“We did a good job tackling tonight,” Hirschi’s A’Marion Peterson added. “When we try to arm tackle, we have problems. We’ve been working on cleaning that up, and I’m proud of our defense tonight.”
West Plains was given an opportunity to cash in on a Hirschi turnover inside the 10-yard line trailing 7-3 near the end of the first quarter. However, the Wolves could not find the end zone, settling for a 20-yard field goal from Joseph Estrada.
Hirschi’s ensuing drive took only one play to make West Plains regret its decision to kick a field goal. Terrius Causey took over as quarterback and fired a pass to Wagonner, who took the ball 69 yards for a 14-3 lead. The Huskies scored the next 28 points in the contest.
“I had a straight arrow (route) on that play,” Wagonner said. “My teammate had a good block, and I did what I do - I went to the end zone.”
“We needed him on that play, and he needed it for his confidence,” Johnson said. “He’s dropped a few recently, but that kid’s got college written all over him. That catch shows some of what he brings to the table.”
The lone touchdown of the third quarter was an opportunity for Peterson to add to his highlight reel. The senior caught a check down pass from Jimmell McFalls at West Plains 45-yard line and had one blocker and two defenders in front of him. The blocker did his job against one defender, and Peterson hurdled the second defender before racing the final 35 yards for a touchdown.
“When I hurdle a defender, I try to look in their eyes and see what they’re about to do,” Peterson said. “When their eyes bulge, I know they’re about to give it their all for a tackle, so I hurdle over them.”
Hirschi’s supporting cast played a considerable role in the Huskies victory Thursday, and Johnson knows it will take a complete team effort to achieve their goals this season.
“It’s complimentary football,” Johnson said. “We can’t do it without those two dudes (Peterson and Jamarion Carroll) - they’re good football players, but it takes a full team to win these games. Our coaching staff has a vested interest in these kids, and they played their tails off tonight. We need that again next week.”
Hirschi 42, Canyon West Plains 17
Hirschi 14 14 7 7 -42
West Plains 3 0 0 14 -17
FIRST QUARTER
H – Jimmell McFalls 1 run (Elias Barron kick), 4:17
WP – FG, Joseph Estrada 20, 0:19
H – Bryan Wagonner 69 pass from Terrius Causey (Barron kick), 0:06
SECOND QUARTER
H – A’Maurion Peterson 32 run (Barron kick), 3:33
H – Jordan Petty 26 pass from Jimmell McFalls (Barron kick), 0:18
THIRD QUARTER
H – Peterson 48 pass from McFalls (Barron kick), 1:54
FOURTH QUARTER
WP – Jordi Hernandez 7 run (Estrada kick), 6:36
H – Jamarion Carroll 63 pass from Causey (Barron kick), 4:19
WP – Hernandez 1 run (Estrada kick), 1:50
TEAM STATS
First downs: (H) 20; (WP) 18
Rushing: (H) 34-153; (WP) 34-166
Passing: (H) 13-22-0—310; (WP) 15-34-0—108
Punts: (H) 3-36.3; (WP) 6-26
Fumbles: (H) 3-1; (WP) 2-0
Penalties: (H) 5-46; (WP) 12-40
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – (Hirschi) A’Marion Peterson 22-158, Demone Contee 4-11, Jimmell McFalls 3-5, Jamarion Carroll 1-4, Jordan Petty 1-2, Team 1-(-12), Terrius Causey 2-(-15). (West Plains) Jordi Hernandez 26-156, King Tallant 4-11, Reid Macon 4-(-1).
PASSING – (Hirschi) Causey 3-7-0 — 169, McFalls 10-15-0 — 141. (West Plains) Macon 15-34-0 — 108.
RECEIVING – (Hirschi) Carroll 5-132, Bryan Wagonner 1-69, Peterson 2-59, Petty 3-36, Isaiah Anderson 2-14. (West Plains) Tallant 3-26, Hernandez 5-18, Trae Ferril 3-15, Jedd Phillips 1-11, Boston Ladd 1-11, Crockett Henry 1-10.
RECORDS – Hirschi 9-2, West Plains 7-5
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Plains' season ends with area round loss to Hirschi
