Ava 7th Grade Wins, 8th Grade Loses At West Plains Oct. 4
The Ava Middle School football teams traveled to West Plains to play the Zizzers on Thursday, Oct. 4.
The Bears won the 7th grade contest 16-8. The Bears were first on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. A 10-play, 80-yard drive was finished with Brittain Tetrick’s 5-yard touchdown run.
Aaron Everett ran for the conversion to give Ava an 8-0 lead with 6:29 remaining in the first half.
West Plains took the ensuing kickoff and moved the ball down the field against the Bears, tying the score with 15 seconds remaining in the half.
An interception by Everett stopped the first West Plains drive of the second half and gave Ava the ball at their 24-yard line. The Bears took nine plays to cover 76 yards and regain the lead with a one-yard plunge by Everett. Everett also ran for the conversion to give Ava their final margin of victory with 5:26 remaining in the game.
The defense then forced West Plains to turn the ball over on downs with two minutes remaining. The offense was able to run out the remainder of the clock to seal the win.
Leading tacklers for Ava were Tetrick with 11 tackles and Takoma Dobbs with 10 tackles.
West Plains won the eighth grade game 30-16. West Plains took the lead late in the opening quarter to complete a 15-play drive. The Zizzers extended the lead to 16-0 midway through the second quarter.
The Bears responded with a score of their own on their following possession. Nick Sterling completed a pass to Jacob Luebbering that covered 23 yards for a touchdown. Sterling ran for the conversion to trim the West Plains lead to 16-8 with 37 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Zizzers would score twice in the second half before the Bears scored again, a 39-yard run by Luebbering. Sterling passed to Dartanian Taylor for the conversion to make the score 30-16 with 1:35 remaining in the contest. West Plains then ran out the clock on offense to claim the win.
Leading tacklers for the Bears were Luebbering with 14 tackles and Brandon Johnson with 13 tackles.
