Football Preview: West Plains Wolves vs. Clint Lions
The West Plains Wolves will take on the Clint Lions at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. One thing working in West Plains' favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last five matches.
West Plains is headed into the game after thoroughly thrashing Hereford: they outscored them in every quarter. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that West Plains blew Hereford out of the water with a 45-14 final score. The Wolves might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matchups by 22 points or more this season.
SLADE RUSSELL and REID MACON were among the main playmakers for West Plains as the former rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown while picking up 11.5 yards per carry and the latter threw for 264 yards and four touchdowns while completing 84.2% of his passes. The dominant performance gave RUSSELL a new career-high in rushing yards. The team also got some help courtesy of BOSTON LADD, who picked up 66 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
West Plains was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 233 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 158 rushing yards in five consecutive contests.
West Plains didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off four passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of KANE WHITE-TINSLEY and WILL GRISHAM.
Meanwhile, Clint strolled past Irvin with points to spare on Friday, taking the game 29-13. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Lions.
Clint's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Jose Arvizu led the charge by rushing for 100 yards on only 12 carries, while also catching a touchdown. Erick Martinez was another key player, rushing for 103 yards and a touchdown.
West Plains' victory bumped their record up to 7-3. As for Clint, their win bumped their record up to 4-6.
Thursday's match might be decided in the on the ground. West Plains has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 175 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Clint struggles in that department as they've been averaging 287.8. It's looking like Thursday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Everything came up roses for West Plains against Clint in their previous matchup back in November of 2023, as the team secured a 41-14 victory. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Clint's Brock N Boutwell, who rushed for 89 yards on only eight carries, and also threw for 27 yards and a touchdown. Now that he won't be playing on Thursday, will it be easier for West Plains to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
