Friday night the Waynesville Tigers entered into the contest against Parkview High as the #2 seed for the Class 5 District 5 playoffs. Willard High was a mere few points behind the Tigers in the #3 slot, and they needed to win their final game and have the Tigers lose in order to have an opportunity to be the #2 seed.

Waynesville started the game with a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by a one-yard touchdown rush by Aarron Emperato. While the 7-0 lead managed to seize early momentum, Waynesville’s celebration proved to be short-lived.  Parkview not only answered with a TD of its own — a 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run.

Parkview’s offensive unit and Kickoff unit turned two 4^th down stops and two onside kick recoveries into 4 consecutive touchdown drives, which set Parkview ahead with 49 first half points. Aaron Choi aided the Tigers with a 42-yard field goal in the 2^nd quarter, which set the Tigers with 10 first half points.

After accounting for 56 yards on Waynesville’s opening drive, standout running back Shen Butler-Lawson spent most of the game bottled up by Parkview’s defense.  The junior Butler-Lawson finished with 103 yards on the ground, 101 yards receiving and one touchdown — a 75-yard, fourth-quarter reception.

Meanwhile in Branson, the Willard Tigers handled their business and beat Branson on the road 27-7. With Willard winning and Waynesville losing, at the end of the night, both teams sat at 3-6 with 27.63 points in the District standings. After MSHSAA factored all of the tie breaker scenarios, the Willard Tigers edged out Waynesville for the #2 seed by .01 points. So, now on November 2^nd, the Waynesville Tigers will travel and compete against the Willard Tigers for an opportunity to compete for the Class 5 District 5 title.