Week 1 Football Rewind

By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

What were some of the biggest stories from Week 1 of the football season? Jordan Burton takes a look back at last night’s action with the things that stood out the most to him.

• Statements were made in the COC

What a night at the top of the COC. Joplin goes to Webb City and tops the Cardinals for the third straight season in what might be a game of the year candidate. The Eagles trailed by double digits and then led by 14 point in the fourth quarter (38-24) only to see Webb snag a 40-38 lead with under a minute left. Senior QB Always Wright completed a monster game by marching down the field and setting up a 42-yard field goal by Joseph Ipsen as time expired. Pree Jackson showed why he will be an All-COC pick, rushing for 167 yards and adding 44 receiving yards. Cade Wilson rushed for 90 and three scores on 16 carries and Cohl Vaden led the Cardinals offense to 40 points with inexperience all over the field. The Cardinals will be just fine and all their goals are in front of them still, but this was a monumental win for Joplin. Wright completed 24 of 31 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns, with O-Zone Breakout POY candidate Hudson Moore being a familiar target 6-74-1. Drew VanGilder torched Webb City for 127 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly 12 yards per carry. Joplin hosts Nixa next week and if the Eagles go up a game on both Webb City and Nixa, the COC race becomes interesting just two weeks in. Joplin hosts Carthage on Oct. 8. Carthage will host Webb City on Sep. 17 and visits Nixa on Oct. 22… Speaking of Carthage and Nixa, both looked extremely dominant in season-opening wins. Nixa made quick work of Branson (42-6) and Carthage blasted Ozark 49-14. Junior RB Ramone Green did Ramone Green things, rushing for more than 100 yards and three scores. Classmate Luke Gall began his case for COC Offensive and Defensive POY awards with an 80-yard touchdown run and anchoring a defense that didn’t allow a score until second-half substitutions. These two are again two of the best in Missouri. That Oct. 22 meeting in Nixa could be for a conference championship and top district seed depending on how they handle Joplin and Webb City.

TOP 100 PHOTOS OF WEEK 1 – CLICK HERE

• Liberty-Fair Grove on a collision course with each other and Lamar

Fair Grove has played for and lost six consecutive district championship games. Of those, three have come against Lamar, two at the hands of Liberty and one to Ava. Two of those times the Eagles went unbeaten through the regular season. Fair Grove opened the season with a 48-19 thrashing of a very good and underrated Mountain Grove team, in a game that saw senior QB Kody Stacye post four touchdowns as he began his campaign for 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards. The Eagles allowed just six points after halftime and looked the part in every phase… Meanwhile MV-BT/Liberty handled Strafford 26-6 with Tyler Watts and Carter Pruett both looking good at quarterback and Noah Jester proving why he’s a top 10 receiver with a 5-83-1 line. Fair Grove and Liberty split a pair of meetings last year with the Red Eagles winning the one that matters most. Both teams are good enough to make deep runs but will have to go through each and Lamar to do so. Next Friday’s showdown in Liberty will be a barn burner. The winner should run the table and the loser is unlikely to lose again.

Lamar opens the season today against Catholic.

WEEK 1 FOOTBALL ROUNDUP – CLICK HERE

• The Ozark Conference is WIDE open (outside of West Plains)

There might not be a league with more parity than the Ozark Conference. First and foremost, West Plains is just really good and the class of the league. They blasted a Center Hill (Miss.) team that they took on short notice. However, outside of the Zizzers, everything else is up in the air. Rolla returns a stud RB (Hayden Fane) and a stud linebacker in Ty Locklear. To open the season with a win over Bolivar – regardless of how much they’re rebuilding – is still impressive… Waynesville lost so much from last season and still opened the season with a win over Parkview. The Tigers return Eric Richardson, who should be one of the league’s most dynamic players… Camdenton-Kickapoo was a defensive struggle and both teams seem to be improved from last year. The Lakers won 22-14 and we’ll get a feel for just how good both teams are next week with Camdenton hosting Waynesville and Kickapoo welcoming Lebanon… Glendale didn’t play but being healthy alone, as well as returning some elite players on both sides of the ball, will make the Falcons a player in the OC race and a darkhorse to win District 5. Glendale might have the best defensive player (Cooper Roy) and offensive player (Chris Floyd) on the field in every game they play this season. Both a legitimate D1 prospects… The one team that did exactly what we figured they’d do is Lebanon. The Jackets topped Hillcrest 56-6 and all signs point to their Sep. 24 trip to Glendale and Oct. 1 hosting of West Plains deciding the Ozark Conference title. Anyone that thinks Lebanon isn’t looking at West Plains and Webb City for some revenge doesn’t understand how Lebanon Football gets down.

• New Coaches making statements

Congrats to Cody Hilburn getting win No. 1 – at his alma mater no less – with a 31-28 comeback victory over Marshfield. The longtime Carthage assistant will look to move to 2-0 against Rogersville on the road next week… Ryan Cornelsen hit the ground running at Republic, with his Tigers drilling Neosho 47-12 in Week 1. The Kansas coaching vet also showed that he’s not afraid to pound the rock with senior Avery Moody and junior Connor Sandridge both exceeding the 100-yard mark with a pair of scores. Republic visits Willard before getting a pair of barometer games against Webb City and Nixa… Mike Johnson opened his era at Hollister with a huge 42-27 win over Monett. Hollister went 3-6 last year with four of those losses coming by one possession, including a 20-13 loss to open the 2020 season against Monett. The Tigers will host Nevada next week in their home opener.

• Friday Night Standouts

Carthage senior QB Caden Kabance made his first start under center and proceeded to rush for four touchdowns. Following one of the best players in program history, that’s nothing short of impressive… Cabool senior RB Braxton Davis has been in high school for seven years it seems. The Bulldog opened his “senior” campaign with 160 yards and four touchdowns. He’s really good at football… Reeds Spring junior Caden Weist is one of the biggest names in the Ozarks. At 6-foot-4, 240lbs he’s also one of the biggest skill position players in the area. The Wolves handed it to him, threw it to him and let him take direct snaps in Week 1. Expect him to be a problem all year. Teammate Evan Gross had a huge night with four touchdowns all coming in different ways. A rushing TD, receiving TD, KOR TD and a scoop and score defensively… Fair Grove senior Logan Daniels opened his season by getting to the money in every way possible. He had a pair of touchdown receptions, returned a punt 45 yards for a score and had a pick-6. O-Zone’s Chris Parker has been touting Daniels as a breakout player all summer. He didn’t disappoint Week 1… Cassville had to reload on both sides of the ball, but that didn’t stop the Wildcats from posting yet another shutout victory. Cassville has managed multiple shutouts each season since 2016.