By Jim Fryar
Globe Sports Writer
—
The challenge was obvious from the opening snap.
West Plains lined up its defense to stop the Joplin running game Friday night.
“They put nine people in the box,” said Doug Buckmaster, Joplin coach. “It was imperative that we throw the ball over their heads and make some plays.”
The Eagles were overeager early, missing connections on three long pass attempts. But then junior quarterback Aaron Frost and his receivers settled into a rhythm and Joplin started cruising to a comfortable 42-6 Ozark Conference football victory at Junge Field.
Frost passed for four touchdowns, all in the first half. He completed 11 of 17 attempts for 287 yards. Junior Dayton Whitehead had six catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns.
It was a tradeoff of statistics for production. Sophomore back Chris Payton-Barba, who had 107 yards rushing in the season opener against Glendale, managed just six yards in the first half against West Plains. But with a 35-6 lead in the bank, no one on the Joplin sideline seemed to mind too much.
“They were putting a lot of people on the line of scrimmage,” said Alex Woolard, a three-year starter on the offensive line for the Eagles. “So we wanted to throw it over their heads and that’s what happened.”
Was it frustrating, not being able to run-block after a successful performance last week?
“Not really,” Woolard said. “We got a lot of points tonight. And when you’re putting points on the board, it’s kind of nice.”
Joplin backed off the passing attack after intermission, ran the ball and the clock and sent everyone home early. The Eagles finished with a 412-121 advantage in total offense.
Payton-Barba had a big third quarter and finished the game with 15 carries for 106 yards. Freshman Quantal Brown made his varsity debut with a 50-yard run late in the game.
“We prepared for them all week and the offensive line definitely did a better job than they did last week,” Woolard said. “I have a feeling everyone is going to grade out real nice.”
West Plains quarterback Sam Womack completed 8 of 19 passes for 87 yards and the Zizzers (0-2) rushed 27 times for just 34 total yards.
The Eagle’s offensive outburst took one possession to develop. Frost had a long pass dropped on the opening play of the game. Payton-Barba was thrown for a 2-yard loss and then a fumbled snap set up a punt.
On the next possession, a short bubble screen to Whitehead turned into a 50-yard touchdown play and Keegan Tinney followed with the first of his six conversion kicks. The next time the Eagles got the ball, a wide-open Jozef Lukey caught a pass in the right flat and rolled 41 yards to make it 14-0.
A bad pitch and a sack forced Joplin’s second punt early in the second quarter, on a possession which started with a 51-yard Frost-to-Whitehead completion.
Frost hit Whitehead with scoring passes covering 12 and 13 yards and junior safety Cameron Rector had a 33-yard interception return for a score in the second quarter.
The lone West Plains scoring drive went 65 yards and took nearly six minutes late in the second quarter. The drive featured 35 yards in penalties against the Eagles and was capped by Womack’s 1-yard plunge with 1:19 remaining before halftime.
But Payton-Barba’s 39-yard kickoff return set up a four-play, 47-yard touchdown drive, capped by the 12-yarder to Whitehead at 0:42.
“We had a few penalties that hurt us, some defensive penalties that we have to clean up,” Buckmaster said. “We need to eliminate a few mistakes and those penalties. I think we’re going in the right direction.”
The Eagles play their first road game of the season next Friday at Springfield Hillcrest.
