NIXA, Mo. — After falling behind by two scores late in the second half, the Joplin Eagles rallied but came up short in a 35-34 loss to the Nixa Eagles on Friday.
The loss ends Joplin’s 16-game regular-season winning streak dating back to Sept. 14 of the 2018 season. Joplin moves to 1-1 on the season and in the Central Ozark Conference.
“Hats off to Nixa,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “We saw them on film and we knew they looked good on film. They outplayed us tonight, and obviously I need to do a better job coaching. They were the better team tonight.
“We didn’t click in our normal rhythm. … This one is on me. I have to have them better prepared. It comes down to the little things. We have to do the little things better.”
Tied at 21 at the intermission, Nixa took the advantage in the second half after quarterback Austin McCracken, who came in early in relief of injured starter Reid Potts, scored from 4 yards out on a keeper with 5:06 to play in the third quarter to give NHS a 28-21 lead.
“He is a gutsy kid,” Jasper said of McCracken. “He makes plays with his feet and his arm. He did a really good job.”
Joplin took the ball near midfield after a strong return from Dante Washington and drove deep into Nixa territory looking for a chance to tie the game before quarterback Always Wright was picked off in the end zone by Nixa’s Ben Mills.
Nixa started at its own 20 and marched down the field on a long drive that lasted 13 plays before Joplin forced a fourth-down-and-5 at its own 17. It appeared the Eagle defense forced an incomplete pass for a turnover-on-downs, but a flag was thrown for defensive pass interference, keeping the Nixa drive alive. On the next play, Ramone Green found the edge and scored from 9 yards out to put Nixa on top 35-21 with 7:46 to play.
Joplin responded with a 21-yard scoring strike from Wright to Washington up the far sideline to trim Nixa’s lead to 35-28 with 6:21 left.
“Obviously, our kids are resilient, and we have seen that over and over again,” Jasper said. “It was nice to see at the end of the game, I wish I had them ready to do that earlier.”
Joplin’s defense forced Nixa into a punt situation, with the ball sailing over the punter’s head into Nixa territory, with Joplin taking possession with 2:25 to play and less than 40 yards to paydirt.
It took one play for Joplin to find the end zone, as Wright found Washington in the far flat, with the sophomore wide receiver reversing the field and outrunning everyone on the way to the goal line for a 37-yard touchdown with 2:11 to play. Joplin lined up for the two-point conversion, with Nixa’s defense stopping Nathan Glades on a run up the middle to preserve the lead, 35-34.
Joplin’s defense came up big again, forcing Nixa into a three-and-out, using all three timeouts to stop the clock in the process. The punt again sailed over the head of the Nixa punter, but he was able to recover, kicking the ball to the JHS 35.
Glades ripped off a 23-yard run before adding a 10-yard gain to get Joplin into Nixa territory. On second-down-and-9, Wright heaved a pass over the middle that was tipped and picked off by Clayton Uber at the 3-yard line to end Joplin’s chance at a comeback bid.
SEESAW FIRST-HALF
Nixa took the lead early after quarterback Reid Potts found a wide open Michael Sportsman over the middle for a 41-yard touchdown reception with 6:48 left in the opening quarter.
After Joplin went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, Nixa’s first play on the following possession was a turnover, as Joplin’s Luke Vieselmeyer picked off McCracken for his second interception of the game.
Joplin’s offense took the takeaway and marched down the field with Glades carrying the ball in from 4 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 2:47 to play in the first quarter.
Jayden Holt picked off McCracken and took the ball down inside the NHS 10 before Glades scored from 9 yards out two plays later with 8:34 left in the first half to give Joplin a 14-7 lead.
“We got some turnovers in the first half, but I was hoping we could get more out of them,” Jasper said. “It just didn’t happen. Those turnovers were huge, we just didn’t capitalize on them as much as I would have liked.”
Nixa answered right back with a score on its following drive after McCracken found Steven Ward II in the flat, who looked to be stopped at the line of scrimmage before breaking free for a 53-yard touchdown with 5:11 left in the half to tie the game at 14-14.
Joplin turned the ball over on downs and Nixa responded with a seven-play drive that culminated in McCracken hitting Nate Nixon at the back pylon for a 15-yard touchdown to give NHS a 21-14 advantage with 1:17 to play.
In need of a lift with 1:09 left in the opening half, Joplin took possession near midfield after a strong return from Washington and drove 53 yards on eight plays with Wright faking a handoff before finding Washington over the middle for a 3-yard touchdown with less than 10 seconds to play to send the game into the intermission tied at 21-21.
“That was huge,” Jasper said. “We deferred before the game and were trying to get a two-for-one there to score right before the half and then come back out after the half and score again. We just stalled out (to open the second half) and didn’t finish that drive.”
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts Ozark at 7 p.m. at Junge Field. With COVID concerns in terms of the length of the season, Week 3 will be Joplin’s Senior Night game.
“We have to do a better job out of the gate, and again, that is on me,” Jasper said. “I am happy we get to have a Senior Night. We are going to recognize the seniors and do a good job of playing for them.”
