West Plains edges dynasty Stephenville to reach Class 4A Division I state semifinals

MIDLAND – At this rate, the trophy case at West Plains High is going to run out of room, and soon.

Anyone who’s not taking the West Plains Wolves seriously simply hasn’t been paying attention, certainly not over the last four weeks.

In Friday’s Class 4A Division I region final at Astound Broadband Stadium, they sent notice to the rest of the state that they’re for real.

Facing Stephenville, one of the most successful programs in Texas high school football state history, West Plains, in only its third year of existence, didn’t blink once. After tying the game early in the fourth quarter, the Wolves pulled off the rarity of a successful onside kick, turned it into the go-ahead score and mounted a goal line stand to come away with a 42-35 victory.

Next up for West Plains (11-3) is another prep gridiron blue blood, unbeaten Celina (14-0), who the Wolves will face next Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Abilene’s Shotwell Stadium.

If they keep up their historic run, they’ll be playing for the state championship at 3 p.m. the next Friday at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, marking their official arrival as a program.

Each year the Wolves have advanced one round further than the previous season. They reached the third round in their first year and reached the fourth round last year.

“It’s the biggest quality win in our program’s history,” said West Plains coach Adam Cummings after the game in the understatement of the year. “I’m just so proud of our kids and our coaches. Our kids never wavered. We just kept coming back and getting hard yards on offense.”

There was as much drama and intrigue as could be packed in the game, as neither team led by more than a touchdown. The first minute of the fourth quarter hinted big time at the drama which was to follow.

On the first play of the quarter, Stephenville’s Sawyer Wilkerson scored his third touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run to give the Yellowjackets (12-2) a 35-28 lead.

It took only 55 seconds for the Wolves to answer.

Quarterback Reid Macon pump-faked what looked to be a certain swing pass to Kade White-Tinsley, only to throw it up the sideline to a streaking Kaden Hooker, who seemed so shocked to be wide open that he juggled the ball before he gathered it in and took it to the end zone for a 72-yard score to tie it at 35.

As if that wasn’t the biggest shock to hit Stephenville, the Wolves attempted an onside kick, and got away with the gamble, as Jenks Phillips recovered the ball at the West Plains 47-yard line, changing the complexion of the rest of the game.

“We knew we had to take possessions away from (the Yellowjackets) which is why we kicked the onside,” Cummings said. “Our offense was clicking and they’re so good offensively we knew we had to find ways to keep the ball away from them. You have to be a little more aggressive on special teams. We though if we could steal a possession and go up a score we’d put the pressure on them.”

It seemed like calculated risk to put the ball in the hands of Macon and the offense as opposed to relying on the defense to keep the game tied. The offense made sure that risk paid off handsomely.

“We always have some self-confidence for sure,” said Macon, who completed 19-of-22 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in another stellar postseason performance. “All our doubters are outside, but all that matters is what’s inside the locker room. We always have trust in our kicking game and they executed their plan amazingly.”

That left it up to Macon and the offense. They drove down to the Stephenville 19 where they faced fourth down, and instead of attempting a go-ahead field goal, they opted to go for it, and Macon hit White-Tinsley for a 13-yard gain to the Stephenville 6.

Two plays later, Slade Russell scored his third touchdown of the game on a 3-yard run with 6:23 left in the game to give the Wolves a 42-35 lead. However, it was what set up the score which most pleased Cummings.

“That was a great throw by Reid and a great play by Kane,” Cummings said. “Kane played well tonight and I don’t care what anybody says, our 14 (Macon) is the best quarterback in the state of Texas and somebody better start to recognize that.”

Yet, what Macon and White-Tinsley (who had a game-high nine catches for 120 yards and a touchdown) wouldn’t have mattered if the Wolves didn’t come through defensively on the next possession.

Stephenville drove the ball methodically down the field and kept the game alive in the final three minutes when quarterback Ryan Gafford ran 19-yard for a first down on fourth down to put the ball at the West Plains 10.

Wilkerson, who had a game-high 142 yards on 22 carries, ran it three times and that put the ball at the West Plains 1 with fourth and goal. The Yellowjackets, though, opted for the quarterback “tush push” with Gafford.

However, Brody Tupin leaped over the top and smothered Gafford less than a foot from the goal line. After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, officials ruled that the Wolves had stopped Stephenville with 1:19 left in the game to take over possession of the ball.

“I was sure about a QB sneak the way they all got up to the line and I missed the tackle a couple of plays earlier which could have ended the game so I knew I had to go all out and fill the hole,” Tupin said. “I pushed him back and he landed down and then tried to extend the ball out. It’s insane compared to last year.”

After a Stephenville penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct following the play, the Wolves got the ball at their own 16. Two plays later, Macon caught the Yellowjackets off-guard keying on Russell and carried it for a 14-yard gain to clinch the win.

“I think you get in the fourth round you’re going to face a great opponent, and they had a lot of momentum coming out of dominating a district,” Stephenville coach Sterling Doty said of West Plains. “They made a handful of plays to beat us. Hindsight’s always 20/20 and you wish you’d run a touchdown play down there.”

A combination of mastering the basics and gutsy moves paid off big time for West Plains in the first half. The Wolves ran twice as many plays as Stephenville in the first half and turned a pair of fourth-and-goals into touchdowns during a 21-point second quarter to take a 21-14 halftime.

The Yellowjackets took the early lead, as Wilkerson scored on a 7-yard run for a 7-0 lead. West Plains then mounted a ball control drive which as the first quarter ended found them with a fourth-and-goal at Stephenville’s 5-yard line.

On the first play of the second quarter, Macon hit Russell on a scoring pass to tie it 7-7.
Stephenville answered back with a scoring drive of its own to reclaim the lead early in the second quarter. Gafford hit Jayden Lujan on a 7-yard pass to make it 14-7.

West Plains responded with responded with two scores to take the lead, and on fourth-and-goal from Stephenville’s 1, Macon kept it and got just across the goal line to tie it at 14. On the ensuing kickoff, Stephenville’s Xavier Gonzalez fumbled and West Plains recovered at the Stephenville 30. West Plains cashed in on Russell’s 1-yard run with 1:03 left in the half for a 21-14 halftime lead.

“I can’t say enough about how proud I am of West Plains in general,” Cummings said. “It’s nice to represent our area, Amarillo and Canyon ISD. It’s very much an honor.”