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By Kary Booher (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
OZARK – He remembers it all too well. That is, the one-win season and the long, nearly three-hour bus ride cutting through the darkness from the west edge of St. Louis following the finale.
“No one really talked,” Ozark High School junior fullback Tylr Bolin said. “I was thinking I just wanted to turn it around this season.”
Bolin certainly did his part to make that happen on opening night of the high school football season Friday night. You see, he ripped off the tie-breaking, 80-yard touchdown run with 3:55 left and sent the Ozark Tigers to a 21-7 victory against the visiting Neosho Wildcats.
Outside linebacker Logan Baldwin also forced a fumble at the Neosho 18 in the first quarter — quarterback Chance Strickler scored on a 1-yard run only five plays later – and Ozark’s Trey Watts returned a fumble 43 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
In other words, for a team that didn’t win its first game a year ago until late September, there is hope for what could be – and it came on a night when Ozark almost was left wondering what might have been. But more on that in a second.
“We were fortunate to bust one,” Ozark coach Chad Depee said. “That’s where our locker room is important, with our kids understanding what we’re trying to do – and not abandoning ship just because it’s getting tough. That’s probably what I’m most proud of.”
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A year ago, Bolin played behind his then-senior brother, Blaine, and took mental notes. So when Strickler fed him the ball on an option play at the Ozark 20 – with seemingly little going right for the Tigers all night – his eyes widened when the left side of the Ozark line opened a hole.
Between him and the end zone, there was nothing but green and hash marks. Safe to say, Bolin knew what to do.
“It was a good play call by the coach and good blocking,” Bolin said. “(My wheels) helped me out tonight. We’ve been working on a lot of speed stuff this summer on the field, just practicing and working in the weight room.”
Call it a sigh of relief for Ozark.
After all, Neosho seemed primed to spoil Ozark’s home debut as the Wildcats had momentum – and possession of the ball – with about 4 ½ minutes left on a third-and-3 at the Ozark 34.
Yet a poor snap fluttered over the head of quarterback Gage Kelley. Dropped back to the 50-yard line, Neosho was forced to punt. Bolin scored on the next play.
“(They Wildcats) did a great job of putting us under pressure situations the whole second half,” Depee said. “We played on our end the entire half, and they got the wind behind their back. So I can’t say enough about our defense.”
Neosho finished 8-4 last year, but graduations thinned out its roster, especially on offense. Still, the Wildcats played with poise for third-year coach Leon Miller, whose wishbone offense offered intrigue for the road head.
Talon Mitchell broke off a 67-yard touchdown run with 5:10 left before halftime, helping to force a 7-7 tie.
In the second half, Neosho controlled most of the clock, including on an 11-play drive that consumed nearly seven minutes of the clock. Trap plays, toss sweeps and even a Kelly bootleg kept it interesting, although the Wildcats couldn’t find the end zone again.
“We executed (Mitchell’s touchdown) pretty well,” Miller said. “He got vertical and ran right up the seams. We were close all night, but had a miscue here or there.”
For Ozark, upcoming film session will serve as learning experiences, too. For instance, two first-half drives – both positioning the Tigers for scores — faded away.
A Thomas Rushing 25-yard run took Ozark to the Neosho 20, but a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the next play killed the drive (it ended in a missed, 49-yard field goal attempt).
And, just before Mitchell’s 67-yard TD run, the Tigers reached the Neosho 13, only to lose yardage on the next three plays. That drive ended when Neosho lineman Kaden Decker sacked Strickler on a fourth-and-14 at the Neosho 19.
Fortunately for Ozark, it was using Strickler’s 1-yard TD run as sustenance, thanks to Baldwin’s forced fumble in the opening quarter. That was a play that planted a seed – for an opening night, and perhaps for a season.
“We had a chip on our shoulder. We came out here looking to hit someone in the mouth this year,” Baldwin said. “We’ve been working hard, and I feel like this season could be really good for us.”
