West Plains football handling newfound expectations entering 2023
West Plains football coach Adam Cummings more than earned his Amarillo Globe-News Coach of the Year Award last season.
After starting 0-3, West Plains rallied to 6-4 in the regular season. They finished second in district and won a playoff game despite carrying six seniors, two of whom were starters. Oh, and it was the team's first year of existence.
After entering 2022 with low expectations from the outside, the Wolves now have a tremendous amount of pressure on them as many are predicting a district championship. Cummings is once again directing his group to pay attention not to what they're saying on the outside, but what the team expects of itself.
"Expectations are obviously high and there's a lot of anticipation knowing we have so many guys coming back," Cummings said. "I think everyone looks at that and realizes that we should be better than we were last year. At the same time, our expectation in the program hasn't changed from last year. Our expectation is to win, be successful and we did that. It's the same thing this year."
Greatest show on turf
In a world in which Max Neff doesn't exist, Reid Macon would've been a shoe-in for Newcomer of the year last season. The freshman showed poise and maturity far beyond his years in throwing for 2,273 yards, 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 58.6% of his passes.
Though he loses top receiver Trae Ferril, King Tallant is back for one last season after hauling in 47 catches for 569 yards and eight touchdowns. Jensen Phillips (24-350-3) returns as well to give Macon a solid pair of targets.
It was expected that Jordi Hernandez would be a key contributor last season and he didn't disappoint, rushing for 1,476 yards and 18 touchdowns. He's back for his senior year alongside Phillips (350 yards and three touchdowns) to give West Plains a potent ground attack.
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Ace Giesbrecht returns as the starting center, Duke Blaser (6-foot-5, 260 lbs.) was a unanimous first team All-District OT last year and Dawson Hall was co-Lineman of the year in the district. When Dave Campbell's Texas Football Magazine unveiled its preseason All-State selections, Hall was one of three from the Panhandle to make a squad.
"Offensively we're definitely picking up in a way different spot than we were last season," Cummings said. "We're not having to figure out our kids and vice versa. We're actually able to get into the meat and potatoes of what we do offensively. We already have an identity going into this year, which is nice because we didn't last year."
Demolition D
As decorated as Hall is at O-line, he may be even more impressive along the D-line. He racked up 90 tackles in 2022, 15 of which were for a loss. He added three forced fumbles and two sacks to establish himself as a playmaker. Damien Benavidez (32 tackles) and Jarrett Diggs will pair with him to form a monstrous combo in the trenches.
Mason Gomez (104 tackles, five TFLs, one interception) and Quentin Elam (93 tackles, 17 TFLs, three sacks, one FF and one INT) give the Wolves one of the best returning linebacker combos in the Panhandle. Brody Tupin (42 tackles, three INT) and Layton Barrow (46 tackles, two INT) form a hard-hitting, ball-hawking secondary for West Plains.
Add in an outstanding kicker in Joseph Estrada (5-for-7 on field goals, 48-for-50 on extra points) and you've got quite the balanced team.
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"The comfort level with our system is just so much greater," Cummings said. "We've got great leadership coming back on the defensive side of the ball which helps give us confidence as coaches. I think the excitement is equally high on the defensive side of the ball as it is on offense."
Great expectations
Levelland, Borger and Perryton struggled to win games last year and are all going through various forms of transition. Seminole is the defending 2-4A Division II champion, but it took everything they had to overcome West Plains last season and West Plains will play them at home this season.
So, the Wolves are the clear front-runners to win the district. They'll have to deal with a ton of pressure that wasn't there on the outside last year, but Cummings and company are focusing on their own goals.
"We want to get better every day and improve as the season progresses," Cummings said. "We want to finish better than we started. We want to execute at a high level and the level that we're capable of...If we can look back at the end of the season and say that we did all that then regardless of the record or gold balls, it was a successful year."
More: 2023 Amarillo Globe News High School Football Previews
WEST PLAINS WOLVES
Head coach: Adam Cummings
2022 record: 7-5 overall, 3-1 in district
Base offense: Multiple Spread
Base defense: 3-4
Last playoff appearance: 2022
Top returners: Reid Macon, Jordi Hernandez, King Tallant, Dawson Hall, Duke Blaser, Mason Gomez, Quentin Elam, Damian Benavidez, Brody Tupin, Jensen Phillips
SCHEDULE
*All home games to be played at Happy State Bank Stadium in Canyon
Aug. 25: at Bushland, 7 p.m.
Sept. 1: at Midland Greenwood, 7 p.m.
Sept. 8: vs. Canyon, 7 p.m.
Sept. 15: vs. Palo Duro, 7 p.m.
Sept. 22: at Lubbock Estacado, 7 p.m.
Sept. 29: vs. Hereford, 7 p.m.
Oct. 6: vs. Seminole, 7 p.m.
Oct. 13: at Levelland, 7 p.m.
Oct. 19 (THURSDAY): vs. Perryton, 7 p.m.
Oct. 27: OPEN
Nov. 3: at Borger, 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Plains High School football expecting further success in 2023
