It was a great week full of upsets around the Ozarks. And it was a Friday night full of eating crow for the O-Zone Staff. Without further ado, here is our apology to all those teams we picked against. You're welcome!!!
WEEK 3 FOOTBALL PICKS
Ozark did what now?!? (Beat #2 Carl Junction 10-7)
O-Zone Picks: Carl Junction 8, Ozark 0 (oops!)
This was a shocker on so many levels. Carl Junction beat Webb City for crying out loud! The Bulldogs were on a roll and that's just how Ozark wanted it. The COC Large foes traded punts for most of the night, but in the end it was Coach Depee's defense and a Curt Gracy 4th down touchdown the proved to be the difference. This is undoubtedly Ozark's biggest win since beating Lee's Summit West 26-23 in the 2012 Class 5 quarterfinals.
What they said:
"We were looking at the O-Zone picks and no one had us picked, so that gave us a little motivation. Not that we needed it. But we were just looking to come out and make a statement.”
– Curt Gracey, Ozark Junior
Bolivar will never lose a COC Small game, right??? (Reeds Spring wins 38-28)
O-Zone Picks: Bolivar 7, Reeds Spring 1 (Yay Riley Bean!)
I was at this game and it didn't look like it was Reeds Springs' night after the Liberators marched down and promptly found the endzone on the opening drive. Afterall, Bolivar had won 65 straight COC Small games! 13 straight conference titles! But hey, the Wolves and their "Big Bad Wolf" theme song, frustrated Bolivar, controlled the line of scrimmage, made the big plays and I'm assuming cost radio voice Perry Phillips (@MoSooner) his voice.
Go to 3:00:20 mark:
‘High School Football Reeds Spring Vs Bolivar 09 – 02 – 16’ on #SoundCloud #np https://t.co/4RzCMtt7Uf
— Perry Phillips (@MoSooner) September 3, 2016
What they said:
Good job Riley Bean! You got it right. Reeds Spring beat Bolivar! All the others got it WRONG @OzarksOzone #wolves #reedsspring #BAM
— Tara Newton (@taralynnnewton) September 3, 2016
And the Highway 5 trophy goes to Camden…..what? Oh, Lebanon! (Jackets beat the Lakers 28-19)
O-Zone Picks: Camdenton 7, Lebanon 1 (Yay Bobby Oler!)
Ok, this one was a little less surprising than the others, but after beating top 10 ranked West Plains the week before (yes, we all picked the Zizzers), we figured the Lakers would take care of business at home. Apparently our predicting Karma is in flux. Only our resident football expert Bobby Oler got it right.
What they said:
@OzarksOzone Good pick Bobby Oler! The rest of the staff keep watching film. #lhsbuzz #R3Awesome Great win @jacket_football
— *Ashley Felton* (@AshleyFelton5) September 3, 2016
We weren't just wrong, we were waaaay off!!! (Skyline beats Stockton 54-14)
O-Zone Picks: Stockton 8, Skyline 0 (ummmm)
This outcome more than any other shows how much of a crap shot picking early season high school games can be. Our entire staff thought Skyline (a preseason top 10 team) was going to 0-3. Not only did that note happen, the Tigers went ahead and won by six touchdowns. Senior Shawn Bryan was on a particularly big mission as he broke out with 273 yards on 25 carries with five touchdowns.
Hollister for the win! Or not… (Rogersville hands Tigers their first loss, 25-13)
O-Zone Picks: Hollister 6, Rogersville 2 (Sampson and Turer got it right)
Maybe this was just pulling for Hollister. The Tigers were going for their first ever 3-0 start in the program's seven-year history. That and the fact that Rogersville lost to Monett 49-0 the previous week.
What they said:
@LogRogWildcats @LRWildcatFB Win in the Holla…
LR: 25
Hollister: 14#WeAreLR pic.twitter.com/BBAViWnEnw— Jason O'Neal (@JasonONeal_LR) September 3, 2016
Diamond was up 20 in the 1st half….but wait until you hear this! (Buffalo storms back to win 34-33)
O-Zone Picks: Diamond 8, Buffalo 0 (natta!)
It was just that kind of night! The Bison trailed 19-0 and 27-7 before battling all the way back. Kyle Cooley hit Keaton Rackley on an 80-yard touchdown connection, Federico Poli split the uprights on the PAT and the rest was history. In fact, it's Buffalo's first 2-1 start since 2006. Nice work fellas!
What they said:
Congrats to Buffalo on a hard fought win over Diamond! @BisonPrideR1 @OzarksOzone @scoreboardguy pic.twitter.com/8NcWOzu772
— Bison Basketball (@CoachGawlowski) September 3, 2016
In the Zone: Week 3 Recap