The Bolivar Liberator Football team came into their first home matchup ranked 10th in Class 4 in Missouri. They started the season with a win against Osage, taking them down 41-6. The Liberators followed this up with a hard-fought matchup against Harrisonville, winning 33-25.
Bolivar dropped both of their matchups against these teams last season.
Ozark Mountain Conference opponent West Plains started their season with two big wins against Mountain Grove and Miller Academy with Sumner.
Senior leader and quarterback Chapel Banner started the season with 408 yards in the air, completing 64 percent of his passes. Among Banner as captains for the Liberators were Jonah Bryant, Chapel Banner, Brylin Stigers, and Knox Wolhoy. Wolhoy starts the game with 22 tackles on the season, leading the Liberators.
Bolivar won the opening Coin Flip and deferred, choosing to kick off to West Plains. The Liberators held the Zizzers to a fourth down at their own 26 yard line on the first drive, but West Plains picked up the first on fake snap trick play. However, after two straight deflections, the Liberators forced a stop at their own goal line, taking possession in the middle of the first quarter.
After a delay of game on third down, the Liberators were forced to punt it back to West Plains. Junior Malaki Maupin took it down to the 16 yard line, giving the Zizzers solid field position. Bolivar held strong and forced another turnover on downs with big plays in the secondary. Following the Liberators second punt in as many drives, Sophomore Waylon Cooper grabbed an interception on a third and long.
Bolivar marched down the field, hitting senior wide receiver Paden Yates on a slant for the first touchdown of the game. Cooper knocked down the extra point, giving the Liberators a 7-0 lead with three minutes remaining in the second quarter.
West Plains quickly responded with a kick return to the Liberator 43 yard line, and senior Gavin Marshall capped off the drive with a touchdown run up the middle, knotting the score at 7-7 with less than two minutes remaining in the half.
Bolivar failed to pick up the ensuing kickoff, resulting in West Plains gaining possession with time winding down in the first half. On fourth down with four seconds left in the half, Junior quarterback Cale Combs connected with senior Aden Judd for West Plains second touchdown of the game, giving the Zizzers a seven point lead heading into halftime.
Banner fired a pass to Bradyn Long to begin the second half on third down, bringing the Liberators down to the opponents 27 yard line. Banner finished the drive with a roll out touchdown pass on the run to Long, earning Banner his second passing touchdown of the night and tying the game 14-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
West Plains turned the ball over on downs on the next possession in the redzone, giving the Liberators a chance to take the lead late in the third quarter. Penalties and a missed throw forced the Liberators to punt on fourth down.
Combs powered the ball down the field and Marshall found the endzone on a five yard rush up the middle, giving West Plains the advantage 21-14 with ten minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Cooper immediately found the endzone for the Liberators on a kick return, but it was removed for a block in the back, still setting up the Liberators at the opponents 20 yard line. In a two-play drive, Banner took a five yard run to the endzone, giving him his first rushing touchdown on the night and his third total touchdown. With a missed extra point opportunity, the Liberators scored six points making the score 20-21.
The West Plains duo of Combs and Marshall continued to march down the field slowly. With three minutes left in the game, Marshall tacked on another touchdown. They tried for a two point conversion to put the game out of reach, but missed a pass, giving the Liberators a chance to tie or take the lead with the score of 20-27.
The Liberators mishandled the ensuing kickoff, giving West Plains the ball. After a couple first downs, the Zizzers were able to take a knee and drain the remaining time on the clock, giving them the win with a score of 27-20.
Banner finished 11 for 13 on pass attempts with 113 yards passing with two touchdown passes. Sophomore Kolt Hill had eight carries for 39 yards.
Bolivar falls to 2-1 on the season. Their next matchup will be homecoming against conference and district opponent Hillcrest on Friday, Sept. 18.
