Willard Tigers drop close one to Neosho

Willard moves up to third in district standings
By Michael L. Misfeld
    A slow start spelled doom for the Willard footballers, as the host Tigers fell to Neosho 21-14 on Oct. 12.
    The Wildcats scored first on a 30-yard touchdown run but Willard came right back moving the ball up the field in chunks, before Garrett Rice plunged in from four yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
    Neosho put in another score on a 63-yard touchdown run before the first quarter ended to take a 14-7 lead. Willard answered back in the second quarter on a 32-yard touchdown pass from Reece Dawson to Ethan Thompson to once again pull even with the Wildcats at 14-14.
    Neither team would score in the third quarter, but Neosho put one in from 13 yards out in the fourth quarter to seal the 21-14 win.
    “Our kids did a lot of good stuff,” said head coach Brock Roweton. “We were executing at a higher percentage but not high enough at this point. We have to find a way to execute play after play after play.”
    Dawson led Willard in passing going 9-for-18 for 142 yards and a touchdown; Rice had 21 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown, Dawson had 45 yards on seven carries. Maurice Grayer had five catches for 83 yards and Thompson ended the game with one catch for 32 yards and a touchdown.
    Despite the loss, Willard moved up to third place in the Class 5, District 5 standings and will travel to Branson for their final regular season game on Friday night.