By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
What were some of the biggest stories from Week 3 of the football season? Which games are the biggest of Week 4? Jordan Burton takes a look back at last night’s action with the things that stood out the most to him and looks forward to next week.
TOP 100 PHOTOS OF WEEK 3 – CLICK HERE
PHOTOS: FANS OF WEEK 3 – CLICK HERE
Carthage-Nixa is an Instant Classic
Rarely do games as big on paper as Class 6 No. 4 Nixa at Class 5 No. 1 Carthage live up to the pre-game hype but Friday night was an exception with the Eagles and Tigers creating an instant classic with Nixa scoring with less than two minutes remaining when Connor Knatcal found Noah Engelman for an 11-yard touchdown before Knatcal connected with Gaven Krans for the go-ahead conversion. Senior defensive back Jordan Tyler then put the game on ice with a late interception.
Nixa hadn’t beaten Carthage in a decade, but the win does a few things. First, it puts the Eagles firmly in the driver’s seat to claim the COC title despite being just three games in. Nixa will host Joplin and Republic, which helps considering those are the two most talented teams remaining on the schedule. They’re also in the driver’s seat to take the top seed and have homefield throughout district play. Still lots of football to be played, but Nixa controls its own destiny.
What the win also did was give Ramone Green a really strong case for the COC Offensive POY award. He went for 138 yards and a touchdown against what is one of Missouri’s top defenses. Carthage senior Luke Gall also went off, finishing with 174 and a pair of scores.
Nixa and Carthage won’t play again this year but there’s a chance they end up playing on the same field in Columbia at some point.
Separation Atop the Ozark Conference
While the COC in Nixa’s to lose, the Ozark Conference has more clarity but still much to be decided. Camdenton handled Waynesville and Lebanon made quick work of Kickapoo, keeping the two rivals unbeaten in the league. Lebanon still has to host Glendale and travel to West Plains before the Week 8 tilt at Camdenton. The Lakers visit West Plains on Sep. 23, but will see Lebanon and Glendale back-to-back to end the season. West Plains also sits at 3-0 with a brutal stretch upcoming; at Rolla, vs Camdenton, at Kickapoo and vs Lebanon. The Zizzers could put an end to the conference title race should they navigate that run unblemished. Glendale still sits firmly in the hunt as well at 2-1, while Kickapoo (1-2) will need some help to get back in the race but could certainly play spoiler.
How Good is the Big 8 West
A few years ago the COC had a run that saw the league send Webb City, Carthage and Joplin to state championship games. The Big 8 West is unlikely to match that due to Seneca and Lamar now sharing Class 2, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see the league accomplish a different feat. Class 4 Nevada and Class 2s Lamar and Seneca may not lose a game outside of losing to each other. As of now they’re a combined 9-0 and have been nothing but dominant. Lamar has pitched three straight shutouts, topping opponents 125-0. Nevada has one of the state’s most explosive offenses, outscoring its foes 154-14 and Seneca isn’t far behind with a 151-15 spread. The Indians also have the best win of the three, beating Cassville at Cassville. Right now Cassville is the fourth-place team in the Big 8 West and they’d probably be the favorite to win the Big 8 East. The strength on that side of the league is unlike anything in any other league.
SCA Upsets
On paper, there were a pair of major upsets in the SCA with Ava handling Class 2 No. 6 Mountain Grove and with Liberty drilling Class 1 No. 6 Thayer. But, that’s anything but the case. Liberty is the most athletic team in the SCA and have been on a mission to prove that the league again belongs to them. The message was clearly received in the 62-16 win. Just one week after a gut-wrenching loss to Ava, the Bears got the marque win they needed by housing Grove 49-28. The two wins make next week’s Ava at Liberty game one of the biggest in the Ozarks.
Random Notes
Mt. Vernon won just one game all of last year and now just three weeks into the 2022 season, the ‘Neers have already surpassed that win total being capped by a 24-7 Bell Bowl win over rival Aurora. Mt. Vernon has been one of the biggest surprises this season with those three wins coming over Class 4s McDonald County and Monett, as well as Class 3 Aurora. MV’s schedule could see them jump several spots in district standings… Congrats to College Heights Christian and Travis Burk on earning the first win in program history, a 78-40 home victory over Greenfield… After an 0-2 start, Branson got its first win under Aaron Hafner, a 21-19 nail-biter. Branson has now won three straight over Willard… Joplin is another surprising 3-0 team. We knew the Eagles returned arguably the best player in the Ozarks in junior Dontrell Holt, but the growth of other young Eagles has been impressive. Junior Quin Renfro has taken the next step as one of the area’s truly elite backs, tight end Whit Hafer is quickly turning into one of Missouri’s highest-profile prospects in the 2024 class with multiple Power 5 offers and the defense – led by Draven Van Gilder – is allowing just 13 PPG… We can’t overlook Houston in the SCA title race. The Tigers are 3-0 for the first time in more than a decade, outscoring opponents 127-20. This is a group that started young last year and won just two games as a result. They’ve turned those trials and tribulations into victories… Sarcoxie is 3-0 and seemingly one of the teams to keep an eye on in Class 1. Friday’s 28-20 win over rival Pierce City has the Bears in a great place heading into the toughest portion of their season; four straight road games at Stockton, Lafayette, Miller and Marionville.
Week 4 Games to Watch
Lamar (3-0) at Seneca (3-0)
This one is intriguing. We’ve seen several teams go into big games with Lamar and get boat raced but this one feels different. This Seneca team is physical and explosive on both sides of the ball. We all expected that Nevada would be able to hang with Lamar, but the Indians and Jackson Marrs present an interesting challenge. Seneca is one of the only teams in the last decade to beat Lamar in a Big 8 game, topping them 15-11 back in 2019.
MV-BT/Liberty (3-0) at Ava (2-1)
Liberty hasn’t had a close game yet and they now get an Ava team that has won seven of the last eight meetings. Ava has dominated the SCA, winning 38 of its last 41 league games dating back to 2016. Liberty was the team that beat them preceding that streak and again in 2019. This one has star power on each side with names like Carter Pruett, Drew Ripko and Hunter Adams all on display. The names may be different from those old Acklin-Swofford battles, but this is a big-time game.
Webb City (2-1) at Joplin (3-0)
Joplin has not-so-quietly won three straight meetings against Webb City by a combined 9 points. Two of those have come in Webb City. We are getting a feel for Webb City as the Cardinals have settled in and are playing typical WC football. But the jury is still out on Joplin. This will by far be the best team they’ve seen this season. And while the names at Joplin have changed, this is another group that has several D1 prospects and it’s not just with one position group; it’s all over the field. Joplin wins this game and they keep pace with Nixa atop the COC. A win for Webb City and the Cardinals are right back in the thick of things, but needing a Nixa misstep.
Rogersville (1-2) at Mt. Vernon (3-0)
Get this… Seneca is state-ranked, undefeated and still trails Mount Vernon by nine points in the district standings. We’ve seen Lamar do it for years, rack up massive point totals because they play up multiple classes throughout the year. Mt. Vernon could repeat that but on steroids. The Class 2 ‘Neers have five Class 4 games and two Class 3 games. Because of the layout of the Big 8 West, Mt. Vernon has a chance to get the kind of wins that other Class 2 programs cannot. Should they beat Rogersville next week – and knowing Seneca still has Lamar and Nevada waiting – there’s a chance MV could start pulling away with home field advantage throughout district play.
