Willard football wallops Branson in shutout victory at home, looks to districts

In a balanced attack, the Willard High School football team ended the regular season with a 49-0 win over Branson on Friday, Oct. 25, at Willard.
The Tigers scored early and often, leading Branson 27-0 after the first quarter and 42-0 at the half. The Tigers added their final score in the third quarter to go up 49-0.
“Friday was a great cel- ebration of our seniors on Senior Night,” said head coach Brock Roweton. “We played extremely well on both sides of the ball. We had an extra edge about us and played with great intensity. We have had so much fun coaching our seniors and were really happy we had the night that we had on Senior Night.”
Reece Dawson ended the game going 5-6 for 189 yards and three touch-
downs. Marshall Swadley had 52 yards on seven carries; Garrett Rice carried the ball eight times for 56 yards and two touchdowns and Richard Sherman had seven carries for 32 yards and a touchdown.
Maurice Grayer had two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown; Eli Aye ended the game with two catches for 59 yards and a touch- down and Jackson Jeffries had one catch for 80 yards and a touchdown.
With the win, Willard finishes the regular season with a 4-5 record and the fourth seed in the upcoming Class 4, District 6 tourna- ment.
Webb City leads the
district with 52.44 points, followed by; West Plains (51 points), Bolivar (47.92 points), Willard (37.78 points), Carl Junction (35.56 points), Hillcrest (26.74 points), Neosho (26.56 points) and McDonald County (19.14 points).
The playoffs will begin this Friday as Webb City will host McDonald County; Neosho will travel to West Plains, Bolivar will host Hillcrest and Willard will play what could be their final game of the season when they host Carl Junc- tion.
The Tigers defeated Carl Junction 48-6 on Sept. 20. That game was also played at Willard.