By Josh Hall
There is no doubt the West Plains High School Football team will miss Keegan Hoopes.
As a senior last year, Hoopes was named first-team all-state by the media after running for 2,202 yards on 309 carries with 35 touchdowns.
But the Zizzers do have reasons to be optimistic about the 2017 season after falling to Webb City in a Class 4 District 5 semifinal last season to finish with a 5-6 record.
“We’ve got a lot of kids back,” West Plains coach Steve Ary said. “We expect to be competitive.”
West Plains returns seven players on each side of the ball, but the Zizzers will have to replace Hoopes, along with second-team all-state linebacker and First-Team All-Ozark Conference tight end Justin Nichols and first-team all-conference defensive lineman Haden Smith. Nichols had 23 catches for 386 yards and led the team with 157 tackles. Smith finished his senior year with 54 tackles.
West Plains will also have to replace first-team all-conference defensive lineman Haden Smith. Billy Holloway will also be missed after leading the team with 32 catches for 448 yards. He was second on the team with 284 yards rushing on 34 carries.
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With those departures, the Zizzers offense will look slightly different.
Conner Rackley (sophomore) will be the starting quarterback for West Plains. Rackley saw action during his freshman season, where he completed 52 of 74 passes for 537 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Landry Randolph (senior) is moving to receiver after taking the majority of the snaps under center in 2016. Randolph was 75 of 111 for 970 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions as the Zizzers quarterback last season. As a receiver, he had four catches for 11 yards and two touchdowns.
Others will compete for time at receiver, though Josh Hackworth led non-seniors with 16 catches for 142 yards as a junior last season. West Plains will still be without its top-three targets from a year ago.
“We’re running in a lot of guys right now,” Ary said. “That’s up for grabs.”
West Plains won’t have the go-to running back like the Zizzers did last year. Brayden Lidgard (sophomore), Cody Cox (junior) and Lane Jett (junior) will all get carries this year.
“It will be more of a running back by committee type of deal,” Ary said. “We probably won’t have that one work horse like we had last year.”
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All-conference offensive lineman Sebastian Agnew (junior) and all-conference defensive back Andrew Wheeler (senior) are back after having solid seasons in 2016. Wheeler recorded a team-high seven interceptions and was third on the team with 83 tackles.
“We have some upperclassmen and some depth,” said Ary, who also noted the Zizzers have more than 30 juniors on the team this year. “I think having seven guys on each side of the ball back is going to be a strength for us.”
West Plains opens the season on Aug. 18 at home against Waynesville.
