Football Preview: Willard Tigers vs. Joplin Eagles
The Willard Tigers will venture away from home to face off against the Joplin Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Willard is coming into the contest on a four-game losing streak.
It was a proper cat-fight when Willard challenged Webb City on Friday. Willard was dealt a 41-6 loss at the hands of Webb City. While losing is never fun, the Tigers can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 139th, while the Cardinals are ranked 47th).
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Joplin, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They were the clear victor by a 35-14 margin over Neosho on Friday. Considering the Eagles have won three matches by more than 20 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Toryn Jones was his usual excellent self, rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 106 rushing yards per game.
Joplin wouldn't let Neosho keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Joplin can thank Jumond Burrell and Andrew Snider for forcing both of them. Snider is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least five every time he's taken the field this season.
Willard's defeat dropped their record down to 2-5. As for Joplin, they now have a winning record of 4-3.
Things could have been worse for Willard, but things could have been a whole lot better as they took a 28-14 loss to Joplin in their previous matchup back in August of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jones, who rushed for 125 yards and three touchdowns. Now that Willard knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
