Waynesville vs. Camdenton

By Zachary Remedies, Sports Information

Waynesville Tiger 28

Camdenton Lakers 31

WAYNESVILLE, Mo. 9/4/20.  The Waynesville Tigers opened their fields up to play their first football game of the season against the Camdenton Lakers on a beautiful Friday night in Waynesville. With the uncertainty of the future of their season due to Covid-19, the Tigers made Friday night their Senior Night to honor all their Tiger Seniors on football, cheer, and band. 

The Tigers managed to keep the Lakers at bay in the first half of the game; however, that did not stop the Lakers from coming back to beat the Tigers, 31-28.

The Lakers are 1-1 on the season while the Tigers are 0-1.

Waynesville’s Head Coach, Joe Haynes, states that “I honestly thought we were well prepared and definitely thought we would be able to exploit them in different areas on offense and take advantage of their scheme on offense with our skill set on defense.” 

However with all football games, mistakes are going to happen. 

“Naturally there were a few mistakes on both sides of the ball, and that ultimately is what came down in a three-point game like this against arch rivals. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is usually going to be the one that wins.”

Game Leaders

A Tiger who had a big night was Xzavia McArthur. “Xzavia McArthur woke up tonight,” said Haynes. “He was definitely significant because he made plays on both sides of the ball. He played on defense; he played on offense. He was a spark when we needed him. If you’re a guy that's number 2 or 3 on the depth chart and you’re only going to get minimum reps, when you get a chance to take advantage of it, you got to be that guy that makes plays and that’s what he did tonight.” With this being his first football game since 8th grade, there’s no doubt his goal was to be on the Varsity Tigers football team and make outstanding plays when he was given the opportunity.

Up Next

The Tigers hit the road next week to play the Kickapoo Chiefs in their 2nd game of the season. Kickapoo is 2-0 on the season, having beat Camdenton 28-7 and Lebanon 30-26. This game will no doubt be anything less than suspenseful as the Tigers seek their first victory of the season.

Xzavia McArthur (11) had a breakout game for the Tigers Friday, Sept. 4 against the Camdenton Lakers.  Photo by Zachary Remedies  

Photo by Zachary Remedies