Tag: Nixa Eagles

Remember, remember the fifth of November when second-seeded Joplin ousted third-seeded Nixa from Class 6 District 3 tournament with a 24-13 win in the semifinals at Junge Field.

After Joplin handed Nixa its first loss of the season on Sept. 3 in Week 2, it seems quite poetic that Joplin also gave Nixa its final loss of the season in the district semifinals on Friday.

In a low-scoring first half, Joplin (10-1) and Nixa (8-3) went into the intermission tied at 10-10. Nixa struck first in the second half with a field goal late in the third period only for Joplin to score 14 unanswered points on the way to victory.

“It was a huge win,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “Our kids played fantastic. All three phases of the game did an amazing job.”

Joplin advances and travels to face top-seeded Lee’s Summit North, which defeated fourth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar 21-14 in the other district semifinal matchup, in the Class 6 District 3 title game on Nov. 12. This is the third district title game appearance in four years for Joplin, and its first since 2019.

“We are in a really tough district, and we are very fortunate to playing for the championship,” Jasper said. “We knew whoever we faced, it was going to be a good team. But, that is Class 6 football all the way through. We relish that opportunity, and we relish that we get to spend seven more days together fighting for a common goal. We’re going to enjoy every moment of it.”

Joplin’s offense finished with 354 yards on 64 plays. Running back Quinton Renfro led Joplin’s offense with 106 yards rushing and a touchdown on 28 carries, while RB Drew VanGilder added nine carries for 38 yards and a touchdown. QB Always Wright had seven rushes for 85 yards and a touchdown, while completing 14-of-19 passes for 125 yards.

“Everyone kept asking me what the difference was going to be in this game,” Jasper said. “I thought it was going to come down to who was the more physical team. That started up front, and I thought both with our offensive and defense lines were more physical than theirs.”

Nixa came into the game scoring nearly 40 points a game, but was limited to 13 points and 300 yards of offense on 53 plays.

“We have an experienced defensive coordinator who knows what he is doing,” Joplin LB Robert Kelly said of DC Nick Reid and the game plan for Nixa. “We practiced this stuff all week. This is our defense. We are for real. We are the real deal.”

Nixa QB Connor Knatcal completed 22-of-35 passes for 242 yards, while Austin McCracken caught five passes for 30 yards. WR Kael Combs had six receptions for 86 yards, while RB Dylan Rebura finished with 34 rushing yards on nine carries.

GAME ACTION

Nixa took the initial lead on the opening possession when PK Kaleb James capped a 12-play drive with a 40-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 6:44 left in the opening period.

Joplin responded with a double-digit drive in return, marching 65 yards on 13 plays with VanGilder punching it in up the middle from 4 yards out to give his team a 7-3 lead with 2:25 left on the clock. 

Nixa looked to make it two drives with points before Joplin came up with a goal-line stand at the start of the second quarter to hold on to the early lead. 

Nixa went to the air during its second drive before Rebura picked up 9 yards on first down deep in Joplin territory to give NHS a second-down-and-1 from the JHS 3-yard line. Rebura was stuffed on two consecutive runs before the fourth-down pass fell incomplete. 

“Nixa is a good team, and they did some really good thing offsensively,” Jasper said of his defense’s stop. “We didn’t give up the big play. We kept making them lineup and snap the ball again. It was huge. Hats off to the kids for making those plays and the coaching staff for preparing them.”

Nixa eventually regained the lead late in the first half when Knatcal hooked up with McCracken on a slant over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown to make the score 10-7 with 3:35 to play in the second period. The score capped a 13-play drive for Nixa that started at its own 29-yard line.

Joplin had enough time to drive down deep into Nixa territory before PK Joseph Ipsen tied the contest at 10-10 after knocking through a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the second period. His fifth make this season.

Nixa got on the board first in the second half when James connected for a 28-yard field goal to give NHS a 13-10 lead with 2:08 left in the third quarter. Joplin looked as if it forced a turnover just two plays earlier when Kelly came up with a strip sack, but it was called an incomplete pass despite the ball moving backwards after Kelly hit the quarterback.

Joplin eventually regained the lead when Renfro capped a four-minute drive with a rushing touchdown from a yard out to give JHS a 17-13 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. 

Joplin’s defense forced Nixa into a turnover on downs near midfield with less than seven minutes to play, and the offense took advantage. 

“We played fairly mistake free,” Jasper added about his defense. “It was a very clean game, and when you’re playing the caliber of teams such as Nixa, you have to play mistake-free ball, especially on the mental side.”

Joplin took possession at the Nixa 46 and bled the final six-plus minutes off the clock before Wright found room four a 4-yard touchdown on fourth-down and goal with three seconds remaining to ice the win.

“Offensively, they were going to try and keep a roof over us and limit our big plays,” Wright said. “We knew that coming in. It was really won in the trenches. The most physical team won. The defense played second to none tonight. I really appreciate our defense because they help out the offense a lot.”

In a battle of top-10 ranked Class 6 teams who share the same mascot and the same 1-0 record, it was the fourth-ranked Joplin Eagles who came away victorious on Friday night after defeating the sixth-ranked Nixa Eagles 28-25 in a Central Ozark Conference clash at Junge Field.

Nixa jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter before Joplin cut the deficit to 10-7 by halftime. Joplin scored on a long drive out of the lockeroom to take its first lead of the game only to see Nixa answer right back with a scoring drive to regain the lead, 17-14. Joplin found paydirt on the ground with 10 minutes left in regulation and after a three-and-out by the defense, pushed the lead to two scores with six minutes to play. Nixa scored and converted the two-point try late but to no avail as Joplin picked up a first down on the ensuing possession and ran the remaining time off the clock. 

“I thought our kids played really hard and I thought we played together,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “For the most part, I thought we played pretty smart. I think our conditioning was a factor again this week. Coach (Michael) Jeurgens heads that up for us, so I want to give credit to him for doing a great job. It was going to come down to the most physical team in the trenches, and I think we were definitely that tonight.”

With the win, Joplin improves to 2-0 on the season.

GAME ACTION

Nixa went to the air early, completing a 60-yard pass from Connor Knatchal to Kael Combs on the first play from scrimmage, which ultimately set up a 31-yard field goal from Kaleb James to give NHS a 3-0 lead.

Joplin’s first drive lasted five plays before running back Drew VanGilder fumbled the ball over to Nixa for the game’s first turnover.

Nixa, who lost starting running back Ramone Green Jr. to an apparent shoulder injury midway through the first half, looked like it gave the ball right back with an interception on the first play of the ensuing drive but it was negated by a personal foul penalty on Joplin to keep the NHS drive alive. Two plays later, Knatchal hit Combs over the middle for a 48-yard touchdown to put Nixa on top of Joplin 10-0 with 7:51 to play in the first quarter.

Joplin’s offense found its groove on the next drive, marching 71 yards on 16 plays with VanGilder punching it in from 2 yards out to cut Nixa’s lead to 10-7 with 2:28 left in the opening period of play.

Scoring opportunities were limited in the second quarter. Nixa drove the ball inside the Joplin 20 early in the period before the JHS defense forced a turnover on downs at the 17 near the 10-minute mark. A 42-yard completion from Joplin QB Always Wright to WR Hudson Moore put JHS inside the Nixa 20-yard line before Wright was picked later at the goal line to end the drive. The game went into halftime with Nixa on top 10-7.

“Our offensive line,” Jasper said when asked about the biggest difference in play by the offense in the first and second half. “Especially against a defensive line like that, they’re tremendous. Our offensive line really took care of business.”

Much like Joplin’s first scoring drive, JHS came out of the intermission and put on a methodical 17-play drive that spanned over 79 yards, with Wright finding Moore over the middle in the end zone on fourth down for a 13-yard score at the 5:57 mark. With the point-after from Joseph Ipsen good, Joplin took its first lead of the game, 14-10. Joplin converted on fourth down three times in the drive, including the touchdown pass.

“I was just mad at myself,” Wright said about his interception in the first half. “I shouldn’t have made that play, but that was the best thing that could have ever happened to me in that situation. Coming back and responding with my teammates, and they deserve more credit than I do. They lifted me up and let me know I was still their leader and I could come back and do this.”

Nixa continued to pick up chunk gains through the air, as Knatchal connected with Combs on third-down and 13 for 37 yards to ultimately set up a 1-yard rushing scored from Casen Hammitt to give NHS the lead right back, 17-14, with 2:21 left in the third.

Joplin answered back quickly, driving 69 yards in less than five minutes of game action with Quinton Renfro punching it from 3 yards out to put JHS back on top 21-17 with 9:57 left in the game.

After the Joplin defense forced a three-and-out punt, the offense went to work, led by Wright and his ability to make plays with his legs. Wright highlighted the drive with scrambles of 12 and 18 yards that ultimately set up a 16-yard passing score to Whit Hafer to give Joplin a 28-17 lead with 6:07 left in regulation.

“I feel like they have to account for it,” Wright said about his ability to stretch the field with his legs. “It makes everyone’s life easier—the offensive line. If a play breaks down on their end, I can go scramble with my legs.”

“I love my o-line to death,” Wright added. “If I didn’t have them I wouldn’t be nearly as successful as I am. It’s all credit to them and the receivers.”

“He is making really good decisions right now,” Jasper said of Wright’s play. “I knew he threw that interception (early) but he is making really good decisions on third (and fourth) down.”

Nixa didn’t go away, as Knatchal found Combs again for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 2:06 left. Hammitt converted on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to three, but the rally ended there as Joplin’s offense ran the clock out in victory formation.

“That was a hard-fought win,” Wright said. “We are proud of it, but it’s time to move on. We can’t simmer in this victory for too long.”

STATS

Wright completed 14-of-23 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He added nine rushes for 52 yards. Renfro rushed 23 times for 84 yards and a score, while VanGilder picked up 74 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, losing one fumble. Moore led Joplin in receiving with five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Knatchal completed 14-of-29 passes for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Combs caught nine passes for a game-high 234 yards and two touchdowns. 

UP NEXT

Joplin hits the road for a matchup at Ozark in Week 3.