OZARK, Mo. — Joplin avenged a loss from a year ago by blitzkrieging Ozark for a 42-7 win in Central Ozark Conference play on Friday.
Joplin scored on its first five possessions of the first half while the defense forced a pair of turnovers as well as a turnover on downs to build a 35-7 lead by the intermission. Joplin’s offense added another score in the third quarter to start a running clock while the defense pitched a second-half shutout en route to victory.
“I still think there are some things we need to clean up but all in all, I felt like we started how we needed to start and we finished how we needed to finish,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “We just need to clean up some stuff in the middle and get better, but I think it was a good week.”
With the win, Joplin improves to 3-0 on the season and in the Central Ozark Conference.
STATS
Joplin quarterback Always Wright completed 17-of-19 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns, while adding three carries for 23 yards on the ground.
Tight end LT Atherton caught seven passes for a game-high 127 yards and three touchdowns. WR Hudson Moore hauled in four passes for 73 yards and touchdown, while WR Terrance Gibson caught three passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.
RB Quin Renfro carried the ball 10 times for 30 yards and a touchdown, while Drew VanGilder had six carries for 33 yards.
GAME ACTION
Joplin found its groove on offense early, marching 54 yards on 11 plays — converting two fourth downs in the process — on the opening drive for a score. Wright found Moore on the far left side with Moore spinning away from the defender before sprinting to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown with 7:53 on the clock to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
“That was the first time this season we started on offense,” Jasper said. “It was nice just to execute, convert a couple of fourth downs and get a score to put pressure on their offense. We talked about it before, but if Ozark can get a lead and take the air out of the ball, they can be difficult to beat.”
After Joplin’s defense forced a three-and-out with the offense taking over at the OHS 38, Wright picked up 22 yards on a scramble before hitting Atherton on a play-action pass over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead in just two plays.
“They were showing early that they were going to load the box to force us to throw the ball,” Jasper said. “I feel like we’ve shown we can (run the ball and pass the ball), and we were able to execute through the air and run when we needed to. I felt like that was very effective.”
Ozark cut into the Joplin lead on the Tigers’ ensuing drive when quarterback Jace Easley found room to run from 13 yards out with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
Joplin answered right back on the ensuing possession, needing just five plays to find the end zone for a third straight possession. Wright found Atherton for gains of 19 and 37 yards before Renfro capped the drive with a 2-yard rushing score to put Joplin on top 21-7 with four seconds left in the first quarter.
Joplin dipped into its back of tricks on the next drive, as Bruce Wilbert connected for a 63-yard halfback pass to Gibson for a touchdown to five the Eagles a 28-7 lead with a little more than nine minutes left in the first half.
“Bruce is a really good athlete who can throw the ball,” Jasper said. “We have been working on that play for a while and had it in our back pocket. We felt like with what Ozark was doing on defense, that was a good time to pull out.”
Joplin’s defense forced a turnover on the ensuing drive as Easley fumbled the snap to DE Joe Jasper, giving the offense the ball at the OHS 42. The Eagles offense took advantage as Wright hit Atherton up the seam for a 19-yard touchdown with 6:32 left to make the score 35-7.
Joplin’s Evan Overstreet picked off an Ozark pass on the following Tigers’ drive for the second forced turnover by the Eagles. The Eagles were forced to punt for the first time in the game on the next drive with 2:30 left in the first half.
In the first half, the Eagles completed 13-of-14 passes for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns as they gashed the Tigers through the air while gaining more than 300 yards of total offense in the first two quarters.
Joplin didn’t slow down in the second half as the defense forced a turnover on downs with the offense making the most of it. The Eagles marched 65 yards on eight plays with Wright finding Atherton from 9 yards out for a touchdown, their third pitch-and-catch score of the night, to give Joplin a 42-7 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter to start the running clock.
“I thought he was really efficient and did a good job of finding guys or using his legs when he needed to,” Jasper said of Wright. “Coach (Jacob) Hewitt saw some things with our tight ends and we executed. Always knew what he was looking for and that led to LT having a big night.”
Ozark threatened to score at the start of the fourth, but the Eagle defense forced the Tigers into another turnover on downs with four stops inside the 5-yard line for a goal-line stand.
UP NEXT
Joplin hosts Carl Junction (2-1) in Week 4 at Junge Field.
