[wpbvideo id=’302075′]
The regular season is rapidly heading toward its conclusion. See a full rewind of Week 7 and a look ahead at Week 8 below.
See the top plays of Week 7 in the video above.
Team of the Week: Lamar
There were a lot of big wins in Week 7, but Lamar’s 50-13 dismantling of Class 1 power Valle Catholic is the only option for this spot.
The Tigers showed no ill effects from five-plus hours on a bus in ending Valle Catholic’s 51-game winning streak that was the longest 11-man streak in the nation. That it was going to end was no longer in doubt by the end of the first half.
Luke Hardman returned after a four-game absence and caught two balls for 137 yards and two scores. Stuart McKarus completed all seven passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 135 yards and a touchdown.
Hardman being back is the big takeaway from this game for me. He is one of, if not the, fastest player in Southwest Missouri. All you have to do is look at his 100-meter dash times.
The Tigers are, within their own class, the state’s best team and you could talk me into them beating most of the area’s big class teams.
Fair Grove in a district title game and then either Liberty or Mountain Grove in a quarterfinal matchup appear to be the most challenging games remaining.
PICTURES: TOP 100 OF WEEK 7 – CLICK HERE
Five others who stood out:
Branson
Branson finally got over the hump and picked up their first COC Large win. Chad Utzman scored on a nine-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to make it 21-14.
The Pirates held Republic to 24 yards passing while allowing 225 rushing.
Ryan Still was masterful in the game with 212 yards passing. My favorite throw comes on a 23-yard touchdowns pass in the second quarter. The receiver is on a straight go route and Still hits him in stride for a touchdown.
SEE THE PASS AT THE 47 SECOND MARK OF THIS VIDEO
Carthage
It isn’t often that I give a team of the week and player of the week to the same school, but Carthage’s win on Friday was just that impressive.
The Tigers took control of the wild COC Large with a 25-7 win over Nixa. Keith Guest II was off the charts good (more on him below), but it is the defense I will focus on here.
Carthage held Nixa to just 26 yards passing with three interceptions. The Tigers won the turnover margin yet again with 3 turnovers created to just one yielded. Tucker Edmonson was disruptive with two sacks in the game.
Offensively, Arkell Smith has been a revelation and caught seven balls for 145 yards and three touchdowns.
Hillcrest
Let’s talk about Josh Powell and Erik Savage.
There aren’t many players in Southwest Missouri more dangerous with the ball in their hands than Josh Powell and it was on display on Thursday.
WATCH HIS CATCHES AT THE 22-SECOND AND 45-SECOND MARKS OF THIS VIDEO
He is a game-breaker with the ball in his hands. In the win over Parkview, he turned seven catches into 130 yards.
Erik Savage is listed as a wide receiver, but Hillcrest is finding a way to get the ball in his hands any way possible. He is one of the state’s fastest 400-meter runners and that speed was on display. He carried the ball 22 times for 214 yards and two touchdowns.
Lockwood
Lockwood forged a three-way tie for first place with a win over Sarcoxie.
Things got off to a rocky start for the Tigers with Sarcoxie converting two consecutive onside kicks to start the game and take a 10-0 lead.
The Tigers responded with a lot of Jobe Edwards who carried 14 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Brady Oeltjen returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown for the other Lockwood score. In all, Lockwood scored 28 points unanswered to get the win.
Ozark
I give up on the COC Large. This conference is impossible to predict.
Ozark picked up the program’s first win over Webb City with a 17-12 decision. The Tigers controlled the ball with 29:30 of possession time to just 18:30 for Webb City.
Jack Hulse ground out 28 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way on offense.
The Tigers shut down Webb City’s running game, which is always the key to beating the Cardinals. Webb City rushed for 142 total yards, which is the second lowest total of the season. It is also just the second time they have been held below 200 yards. The one rushing touchdown is also the second fewest of the season.
Conversely, Ozark forced Webb City into the uncomfortable position of having to throw the ball. The 19 pass attempts were the most Webb City has attempted. Ozark turned two of those attempts into interceptions and extra possessions.
Ozark is now in a four-way tie for second place in the COC Large with two losses. This week the Tigers host Nixa for what amounts to an elimination game in the COC Large title chase.
In the Zone: Week 7 Recap
[jwplayer jtfodmeJ]
Player of the Week: Keith Guest, CarthageÂ
Keith Guest did it all for Carthage in a 25-7 win over Nixa. In the air, he was 11-for-20 for 240 yards and three touchdowns. On the ground, Guest II carried the ball 21 times for 148 yards.
Carthage gets Republic this week and Neosho next week just two wins away from the program’s first outright COC Large title.
PICTURES: BEST FANS OF WEEK 7 – CLICK HERE
10 others that stood out
John Berry – LebanonÂ
John Berry is back. The Lebanon ball carrier had 28 rushes for 219 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Joplin.
Go to the 1:24 mark of this video.
He turns what should have been a loss of yards into a 68-yard scamper to the Joplin two-yard line.
Michael Elbert – Carl Junction
Another week, another survival by Carl Junction. This time Michael Elbert was the man as he wrestled a ball away from a Willard receiver for an interception at the end of the game. If he doesn’t make the play, Willard has a shot at the end zone down just four points.
Jerrett Esposito – GreenfieldÂ
Greenfield remained unbeaten in an 88-20 win over Hughesville. Esposito lived in the opposing team’s backfield as he recorded four sacks with seven total tackles. He also carried the ball five times for 42 yards.
Sam Gleason – Kickapoo
Kickapoo trailed West Plains at half, but the defense clamped down in the second half and held the Zizzers scoreless. Linebacker Sam Gleason was at the center of the defensive effort. He had 15 solo tackles, five assists, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Go to the 2:00 mark of this video to see his sack.
Jay Griffin – CamdentonÂ
Camdenton ran past Waynesville 50-6 and did so on the legs of their star Jay Griffin. He carried the ball 12 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
He delivered some serious punishment on this 12-yard run.
Marcos Rodriguez – MV-BT/LibertyÂ
MV-BT/Liberty shut out Cabool with Marcos Rodriguez having a big day. He turned just 14 carries into 155 yards and three touchdowns.
River Phelps – CassvilleÂ
What can’t River Phelps do? He had easily his best game of the season with 258 rushing yards and six touchdowns in a shootout win over Seneca. He also kicked five extra points and ran for another.
Tyson Riley – CatholicÂ
Tyson Riley is getting better as the season goes on. One out of every three carries in Friday’s win over Hollister turned into a touchdown. He finished with 153 yards and five touchdowns on 16 carries.
Bryant Taylor – LighthouseÂ
Bryant Taylor ruined Central’s homecoming with his leg and arm. He carried the ball 42, yes 42, times for 152 yards and five touchdowns. He added 187 yards through the air in the win>
Montrey White – CentralÂ
It has been a rough year for Central, but it the performance of freshman Montrey White is any indication, there are better times on the horizon. White showed out on homecoming as he carved up Lighthouse for 278 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries.
What did Glendale do?
Glendale beat Rolla 56-21 with Alex Huston throwing for 502 yards to continue to lead the nation with more than 3,000 yards this season.
Luke Montgomery now leads the nation in receiving yards after catching seven balls for 224 yards in the win.
Kyle Doran also leads the nation in tackles as he added 14 solo and six assists on Friday.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE HUDL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
Winless Waynesville is up on Friday.
What’s at stake in the conference races?
Ozark Conference: A Glendale win or Kickapoo loss will guarantee the Falcons at least a share of the conference title.
COC Large: Nope. Just nope. Get back to me next week.
COC Small: A Reeds Spring win over Buffalo guarantees at least a share of the COC Small title for the first time.
Mid-Lakes: Fair Grove and Ash Grove meet in a defacto conference championship game. A Fair Grove win gives the Eagles the title outright and alone. An Ash Grove win means a two or three team tie for the title.
Big 8: Lamar.
SRVC: Sarcoxie, Diamond and Lockwood are tied at the top with one loss each. It will take a decent sized upset over the next two weeks for this to not end in a three-way tie.
Best Games of Week 8
Nixa at Ozark
The Christian County brawl and an elimination game to stay alive in the COC Large race.
Nixa has struggled the last two games, while Ozark picked up a signature win over Webb City.
If Nixa can be balanced, they have a good shot in this game. In the loss to Carthage last week, the Eagles mustered just 26 yards passing and had 214 rushing. The previous week against Webb City, Nixa had 138 yards passing against just 38 rushing.
In wins over Neosho and Republic, the Eagles had at least 110 yards passing and 245 yards rushing in each game.
Ozark is going to try and take the run away.
For Ozark, they just need to continue to run patient offense. The Tigers are not an extremely explosive team on offense, which means controlling the clock and limiting possessions is key. In the win over Webb, Ozark held the ball for 29:30 while Webb had it for just 18:30.
Fair Grove at Ash Grove
Fair Grove would lock up the Mid-Lakes title with a win over Ash Grove on Friday. I like Fair Grove a lot in this one. Dalton Cloyd, Brayden Lumley, Austin Fodge and company are a very dynamic group. The Eagles have too many weapons.
Lebanon at Kickapoo
There aren’t a ton of meaningful games left in the Ozark Conference, but this is one of them.
Kickapoo showed some vulnerability in the first half against West Plains last week before pulling away late. Lebanon caught a loss to that same West Plains team two weeks ago before winning a shootout with Joplin.
John Berry is back for Lebanon. A win for the Yellowjackets would forge a three-way tie for second and give Glendale the Ozark Conference title outright.
The records in this one aren’t great, but these two teams can play football. Both have been in games with teams at the top of the COC Large, but unable to finish for the win.
Nobody will want to see these two in their district with battle-tested nature of their schedule.
