BIGGSVILLE – There were some questions going into the Week 8 contest against Illinois 8-Man Football West Conference foe, West Central, on Friday, Oct. 18 for the Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio football team.

Could they sustain energy after a long bus ride?

Could they avenge the last time they played West Central, which was a losing effort in the 2022 8-Man Football State Championship?

Could the Clippers (7-1) boost the playoff seedings push?

After a 50-8 victory, they answered each question with the same answer, yes.

“They wanted to get this win. I think it helped that West Central is a conference opponent now,” Clippers coach Scott Payne said. “It was a long road trip, 2 hours, 10 minutes, and the kids just wanted to go down there and play good football. And that’s what they did.

“We got there a little bit after 5 p.m. Friday, so we were able to get them off of the bus and stretched out before we got in the locker room to get dressed. That always helps. The kids understood the importance of the game. It’s a conference game, and going into the playoffs, it helps our seeding. They understand the more we win the better seeding we’ll have.

“They did a good job of handling the long road trip and coming out with a victory.”

When asked which side of the ball helped lead to such a dominating win, Payne answered both sides played well.

But he said defense first.

“Our defense played really well. They did a great job of stopping their run game. Our defensive line did an amazing job,” Payne said. “Caiden Heath, a sophomore linebacker, played a phenomenal game. He had a lot of tackles and a lot of tackles for loss. We were able to shut down their run game and win the field position battle.

“Offensively, we ran the ball really well. We had a lot of long touchdown runs. Brayden Klein had 147 yards and Eddie Jones ran for 88 yards on three carries. The offensive line was solid.”

Klein scored three touchdowns with his five attempts, while senior Josh McKendry chipped in 42 yards and two touchdowns on five carries, senior Quinn Leffleman took seven carries for 15 yards and a touchdown, and senior QB Jones ran in a score and was 3-of-5 passing for 107 yards.

Jones’ passes were caught by senior Caleb Yanos (two receptions for 73 yards) and junior Rylan McNinch (one reception for 34 yards)

“Their team has changed and our team has changed, but the head coach, Jason Kirby, is still there and he does a phenomenal job,” Payne said. “To get a good win against a quality program like West Central is always good to see, especially this late in the season when you’re making a push toward the postseason.”

In the projected 8-man football 16-team playoff bracket, Amboy is thought to be the No. 4 seed.

As the defending champion, the Clippers don’t care where they start their playoff climb.

“My message to the kids around playoff time is the same every year. Everyone has the same record and anything can happen,” Payne said. “The seeding is just a number they put in front of your name. You have to go out there and play every opponent. It’s win or go home.”

The last game of the regular season has been moved from its original kickoff at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.

Either way, the Clippers finish it off at home against Bushnell-Prairie City (3-5).

“We played Bushnell in Week 4. It was a pretty close game until later in the game. It’s always tough playing a team twice in a season, but I think Saturday is going to be a little different,” Payne said. “It’s Senior Night and our seniors will be more hyped up knowing this is their last regular season game at home.

“Bushnell-Prairie City has improved since we played them five weeks ago. It’s going to be a tough opponent again. The best part is the second meeting between us is at our place.”