West Plains is preparing for their first district matchup of the season on Friday. They will be playing at home against the Canyon Eagles at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in West Plains' favor is that they have posted at least 31 points every time they've taken the field this season.
On Friday, West Plains was within striking distance but couldn't close the gap as they fell 41-35 to Liberty Christian. The loss was the Wolves' first of the season.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in REID MACON and Quinn Murphy. Murphy had a solid game and threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, MACON was balling out in the loss, rushing for 113 yards and four TDs, while also throwing for 163 yards while completing 75% of his passes.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Canyon). They simply couldn't be stopped last Friday as they easily beat Piedra Vista 49-7. The victory was all the more spectacular given the Eagles' disadvantage in MaxPreps' football rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 354th in Texas, while the Panthers are ranked 11th in New Mexico).
West Plains better keep an eye on Bayler Schilling. He was instrumental in Canyon's win, picking up 103 receiving yards and one score.
Canyon was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 328 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in October of 2024.
Canyon's defense made their presence known, laying out the QB three times. The team can thank three different players for their defensive prowess: Da'Keydrion Ford, Zacchaeus Garcia, and Caden Cavanaugh, who each picked up one sack apiece.
Canyon pushed their record up to 4-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 13.7 points on average over those games. As for West Plains, their defeat was their first of the season and also makes their record 4-1.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground. West Plains has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 277.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Canyon struggles in that department as they've been averaging 243 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's contest turns into a tough fight on the ground.
West Plains strolled past Canyon when the teams last played back in October of 2024 by a score of 42-28. Will the Wolves repeat their success, or do the Eagles have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
