The Mansfield Lions’ baseball team celebrates with the wood bat as they knocked off rival Hartville last week.

It was the tale of two halves when the Mountain Grove Panthers’ football team took on Class 5 West Plains in week two.
Mountain Grove had 100 more yards of offense and a 14-7 lead in the first half.
West Plains had 96 yards passing and just 28 on the ground during that span while the Panthers had all of their 224 yards on the ground.
Unfortunately, the Zizzers looked more like the Panthers in the second half. They turned to their running game and took over the game clock with nearly 100 yards rushing.
Meanwhile, the Zizzers’ defense held the Panthers’ offense to just 32 rushing yards in the final two quarters to pull away for the 26-14 victory.
Mountain Grove looked ready for the renewed rivalry on their opening drive. Braydon Curtiss had a 25-yard gain and Eli Golden added one for 23 yards.
After taking nearly eight minutes off the game clock, Curtiss scored on a one-yard touchdown run. Golden’s extra-point kick put the Panthers in front, 7-0.
It didn’t take long for the Zizzers to respond as they opened with a 65-yard touchdown pass just 29 seconds later. A good kick tied things at 7-7.
Mountain Grove’s second drive got big boosts from quarterback Dalton Shannon’s 15-yard keeper and Brody Bevan’s 17-yard gain.
Though the drive ended in a punt, Golden’s kick rolled out of bounds at the 4, pinning the Zizzers’ offense near their own goal line.
West Plains would have a bad punt from deep in their own territory that traveled just 12 yards, giving the Panthers the ball on the West Plains’ 32.
Golden had a 19-yard carry followed three plays later by Curtiss’ four-yard touchdown run. Golden’s kick made the score 14-7 with 5:34 left in the first half.
West Plains would return the kickoff to the Panthers’ 38. They moved the ball to the 10 before a pitch was fumbled and recovered by Carson Gibson.
Mountain Grove’s offense then moved the ball past midfield, but time ran out on them after a long carry as time expired in the first half.
After only having nine carries in the entire first half, the Zizzers started the third quarter with a nine-play drive with eight rushes. They scored on a one-yard touchdown plunge. A good extra-point kick tied the game at 14-14.
Mountain Grove’s first offensive drive of the second half included two tackles for a loss of three yards on each play. Golden had to punt from the 5, leading the Zizzers to start their next drive on the Panthers’ 35.
Eight carries later, West Plains scored on a six-yard touchdown run. The extra-point kick hit the cross bar, keeping the score at 20-14.
Bevan would get a big 16-yard carry before the start of the fourth quarter on the next Panthers’ offensive possession.
The drive would stall on Golden’s incomplete pass in Zizzers’ territory.
Two plays later, West Plains scored on a 65-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 26-14, which would end up being the final.
Mountain Grove’s offense had 256 yards rushing.
Shannon had 17 carries for 87 yards while Curtiss added 17 carries for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Golden added seven carries for 56 yards and Bevan had six carries for 41 yards.
West Plains had 173 yards passing and 115 on the ground for 288 total yards.