Plenge to Sammons tandem sparks the Clark County offense

Published 5:02 pm Wednesday, August 5, 2026

KAHOKA, Mo. — The quarterback and wide receiver combination of Clark County seniors Bennett Plenge and Reid Sammons will be formidable for the Indians’ offense this season.

Sammons was a first team All-Clarence Cannon Conference wideout last season after catching 34 passes for 581 yards and eight touchdowns.

“I always like throwing Reid the ball,” said Plenge. “I know I can trust him to catch the ball, so I’m always excited to give him the chance.”

Clark County also utilized Sammons in the backfield last season, with the now-senior carrying the ball 42 times for 221 yards and four more scores.

On top of that, Sammons was also Clark County’s top returner and averaged 19.9 yards per kick return and 17.8 yards per punt return.

“Reid’s a super athlete,” said Indians head coach Ethan Allen. “He’s a very dynamic player. We played him at running back and we’ve played him at quarterback a little bit. He was obviously really productive for us at receiver. He’s just a guy you got to get the ball to. If he gets in space, he’s going to make plays.”

Needless to say, Clark County would like to get the ball in Sammons’ hands as much as possible.

“(Sammons) is electric,” said Clark County senior wideout Lukas Weaver. “When he gets the ball, you know he’s going to score.”

Weaver is also a weapon in the passing game, catching 20 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns in 2025.

“I think our offense will be pretty good this year,” said Weaver. “We got a good QB, good receiving core and all around good skills guys. We got a couple of big dudes this year on our line, so I’m excited.”

Plenge is entering his second season as Clark County’s starting quarterback and is growing more comfortable in the role.

After a strong spring on the diamond, Plenge earned first team All-CCC honors as a pitcher and then began work this summer to prepare for his senior campaign on the gridiron.

“I would say I’m definitely seeing the routes a lot better now from when I was a freshman,” said Plenge. “My passing game’s gotten a lot better, being able to throw the ball a lot further and more accurate.”

Last season, Plenge completed 88-of-163 passes for 1,206 yards and 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

“(Plenge) has grown a lot,” said Weaver. “From our freshmen year when we were on JV, he’s just grown with his confidence. It’s just good to have somebody out there that knows what he is doing. When he’s out there, you can put all your trust in him and he does his best.”

Coach Allen feels that Plenge and the Clark County offense will really click this season.

“Bennett’s had a really solid summer,” said Allen. “We got a really good core of really good skill guys coming back. Pretty much all of them from last year. We’ve got some guys that we’re going to add in the mix that are really going to help us out, too.”

Another big piece to Clark County’s offense is senior Grady Webster, who caught 25 passes for 192 yards and one touchdown last season. He also ran eight times for 63 yards.

Clark County can also turn to senior wideout Conner Waples, who caught 17 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown.

The Indians graduated their leading rusher, Brennan Fuller, but is looking at junior Landon Roberts, sophomore Gabe Tournear and Webster to help fill that role.

“We’ve got fast kids,” said Plenge. “They’re always going to run hard. Always trying to run through somebody.”

Clark County graduated second team All-Conference offensive lineman Blake Rodgers and is reworking its lineup on the line.

“We gained a lot of size up front,” said Allen. “Some guys that haven’t played in years past that have come out that we think are going to really help us. We got a couple of guys that got a lot of experience last year that will obviously be good leaders for us up there. They’ve been helping the younger guys learn what we’re trying to do.”

A couple of players Clark County will look to on the offensive line are senior Cashtyn Sutterfield and sophomore Samuel Miller.

“Last year we were a little small, but this year we got more big guys,” said Plenge. “So they all know what they’re doing. They’re a lot stronger and more aggressive.”