Pirates ready for challenge of stopping Zizzers’ dual-threat quarterback

HANNIBAL, Mo. — All of the attention paid to the Hannibal football team’s record-setting offense has left the defense often overlooked.

That’s a mistake.

Stingy when it needs to be and opportunistic when it can be, the Pirates’ defense has created problems for opposing offenses all season. Last week’s 47-0 victory over Jefferson City in the Class 4 District 5 championship game was Hannibal’s third shutout in the last six weeks.

Overall, the Pirates (11-0) have allowed just 46 points in that stretch and are giving up just 13.4 points per game. More impressive, Hannibal allows just 230.9 yards per game and 4.5 yards per play. It has the chance to be one of the stingier defenses in the program’s modern era.

That’s as long as the Pirates keep Dagen Kenslow in check.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior quarterback for the West Plains Zizzers, Kenslow is the epitome of a dual threat and will be the focal point of the Pirates’ defensive scheme at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Class 4 state quarterfinal matchup at Porter Stadium.

A first-team all-state athlete as a junior when the Zizzers lost in the state quarterfinals, Kenslow has ripped apart the West Plains record book. He set the single-game passing touchdown record with six TD tosses in the district semifinal victory over Logan-Rogersville. In the district championship victory over McDonald County, he broke the single-season passing yardage record to go along with the single-season touchdown record he set earlier in the season.

Overall this season, Kenslow has completed 109 of 186 passes for 1,993 yards with 31 touchdowns and just two interceptions in leading the Zizzers to a 10-1 record. He has 45 career touchdowns passes.

He also has rushed for 1,098 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 10.2 yards per carry.

Yet, now he has to face a defense with 16 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries and a group of defensive linemen and linebackers who are quick enough to be playmakers on offense but salty enough to leave running backs flatbacked.

It should make it more difficult to get the ball into the hands of Heston Miller, who has 36 receptions for 659 yards and nine touchdowns, and Connor Lair, who has 21 catches for 517 yards and seven touchdowns. Lair also has 673 yards on the ground and 19 touchdowns.