Joplin fell behind by four possessions near the end of the third quarter only to see a late rally come up short, as the Eagles fell 51-43 to Ozark on Friday at Junge Field on Senior Night.
“We just have to get better, and there are a lot of things we can get better at,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “We are doing some good things, too, but we just are not being very consistent.”
Joplin’s loss marks the first time the Eagles have fallen in consecutive contests since losing to Webb City and Carthage in Week 2 and 3 of the 2018 season.
Joplin honored 13 seniors before the game in Senior Night ceremonies.
“They are upset right now, and I don’t blame them,” Jasper said. “I told them the only way to fix this feeling is to work hard and stick together. … I expect a lot of leadership from them to turn this back into a positive direction.”
Joplin (1-2) trailed 44-19 with 3:45 on the clock in the third period after Ozark’s Jacob Kronebusch picked up an Always Wright fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown followed by a 27-yard field goal from Jace Easley later in the period.
Joplin answered with a 14-play, 73-yard scoring drive that culminated with Wright finding Landen Atherton for a 12-yard touchdown — Atherton’s first score of the season — on the last play of the third quarter, cutting the Tiger lead to 44-27.
“It is nice to see guys come in, (like Landen), fill a role and perform well,” said Jasper.
Ozark answered back on the opening possession of the fourth, with quarterback Cannon Cox hitting Owen Brockman in stride for a 31-yard touchdown connection to push the lead to 51-27 with 9:12 remaining.
Joplin replied with a 6-yard rushing touchdown by Nathan Glades, with Wright finding Terrance Gibson to convert the two-point try to make the score 51-35 with 8:10 remaining.
After Joplin’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Eagles went on an 11-play drive that ended with Glades crossing the goal line for the fourth time. Glades then converted the two-point try on a run to get Joplin within one possession, 51-43, with 3:45 left.
Ozark’s Thomas Rushing fumbled a second-down carry over to Joplin with 2:09 left, with Jacob Prosser recovering it for Joplin, giving the Eagles one last chance to tie the game up and send it into overtime.
After three straight runs from Glades, picking up 24 yards, Wright scrambled for a 12-yard gain on third-down-and-6 to get the Eagles inside the Ozark 25-yard line. The rally ended two plays later when Wright was picked off at the goal line by Rushing with less than a minute to play, with the Tigers kneeling out the remaining clock.
“Anytime you lose it’s tough,” Jasper said. “And I am not into moral victories, but it was nice to see the kids not give up, continue to fight and try to persevere.”
Joplin finished with 608 yards of offense in the loss. Glades carried the ball 31 times for 268 yards and four touchdowns to go along with four catches for 52 yards. Wright completed 23-of-35 passes for 340 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
“They were making plays,” Jasper said of Glades’ and Wright’s performances. “Nathan is a bulldog whether it is in the run game or the pass game. Always was able to use his legs to buy himself some time to make plays and get guys open.”
Keaton Renfro caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Atherton hauled in five passes for 69 yards, while Trayshawn Thomas caught five passes for 41 yards. Dante Washington, who left the game with an injury, caught four passes for 79 yards.
Ozark picked up 387 yards of offense in the win. Tylr Bolin carried the ball 23 times for 107 yards, while quarterback Cannon Cox rushed 20 times for 76 yards. Cox had a pair of passing scores as well. Ethan Pritchard ran eight times for 101 yards.
“You don’t want to do too much live tackling in practice because you don’t want to get yourself banged up, but obviously we have to get better at that,” Jasper said. “We did better as the game went on, but we have to be better from the get-go.”
UP NEXT
Joplin travels to Carl Junction (1-2) for a 7 p.m. matchup on Friday.
SCORING SUMMARY
Ozark 7 27 10 7 — 51
Joplin 7 12 8 16 — 43
FIRST QUARTER
OHS—Cannon Cox 3 run (Jace Easley kick)
JHS—Nathan Glades 1 run (Dante Washington kick)
SECOND QUARTER
OHS—Cox 1 run (kick fail)
JHS—Glades 1 run (kick fail)
OHS—Colton Casteel 96 kick return (Easley kick)
JHS—Keaton Renfro 12 pass from Always Wright (2-point fail)
OHS—Owen Brockman 54 pass from Cox (Easley kick)
OHS—Ethan Pritchard 13 run (Easley kick)
THIRD QUARTER
OHS—Jacob Kronebusch 85 fumble return (Easley kick)
OHS—Jace Easley 27 field goal
JHS—Landen Atherton 12 pass from Wright (Glades run)
FOURTH QUARTER
OHS—Brockman 31 pass from Cox (Easley kick)
JHS—Glades 6 run (Terrance Gibson pass from Wright)
JHS—Glades 3 run (Glades run)
