West Plains routs Perryton to clinch share of 2-4A Division II title

Everything came together perfectly for a West Plains program that’s jumped leaps and bounds in only its second year of existence.

From only six seniors a year ago to sending off 28 seniors in style on Thursday night was just the start.

The Wolves attacked Perryton from the get-go in a District 2-4A Division II clash at Happy State Bank Stadium that led to a lopsided 72-6 victory stamping West Plains back in the Class 4A Division II playoffs for a second straight year while clinching for now a share of the district title. The first ever this young Wolves’ record books.

“It’s special,” said head coach Adam Cummings, who was hired to lead this program on Jan. 7, 2022. “The fact that we get to play in a stadium like this is amazing especially the history. For the seniors to step on this field as a team I feel they made a statement.”

The Wolves (8-1 overall, 3-0 in 2-4A Division II) will face Borger in two weeks for a chance at the outright league championship. Perryton (2-6, 1-1) is still in the hunt for a postseason spot despite the loss.

West Plains didn’t waste a second putting away Perryton starting on the opening play of the game when Layton Barrow intercepted a double reverse pass near midfield. A few plays later, the Wolves were on the board when quarterback Reid Macon floated a screen pass to Jordi Hernandez, who scampered to paydirt from 19-yards out giving West Plains a 7-0 lead just over a minute into the contest.

West Plains kept that momentum rolling the rest of the half scoring on every possession thanks to the screen game that left the Ranger defense scratching their head. On the Wolves third possession, Macon once again delivered a screen to Kyron Wooten who sprinted down the sideline for a 55-yard score making it 17-0.

In the second quarter, Macon put one on a rope to Jenson Phillips for a 58-yard touchdown strike then it was the Hernandez show. Hernandez was a huge reason the Wolves took a 45-0 advantage into halftime.

The speedy senior playing in his final regular season home game left it all on the field. Hernandez found huge running lanes behind a physical offensive line the entire first half rushing for 126 of his game-high 142 yards in the opening two quarters punching in two scores before adding a third rushing TD in the second half to give him four on the night.

“We knew they were going to come out and play man coverage,” Cummings said. “We thought we might be able to take advantage of some things because of that. We executed very well. We’re playing well right now and we’re still getting better. There still things to clean up but that means we have room to improve.”

Macon was on point as the sophomore continues to get better each and every week. The gunslinger was in full control of a West Plains offense that totaled 580 yards, 385 of those by halftime, with Macon piling up 285 yards through the air with five touchdown passes to five different receivers.

The Wolves defense did their part on this special night. West Plains locked down the Rangers the entire way allowing only 157 yards, 54 through the first two quarters, and forced five turnovers with three interceptions coming from Barrow, Kane White-Tinsley and Tryston Hernandez. The Wolves even forced and recovered two fumbles.

To complete the trifecta, talented senior kicker Joseph Estrada showed off his big leg. Estrada was 8-of-9 on extra point attempts and drilled a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter with plenty of room to spare that put West Plains up 10-0. It was Estrada’s third 46-yard field goal of the year.