By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As the chaos subsided and he began to make sense of what just happened, Nixa senior kicker Jordan Cribbs was still in shock.
But who could blame him?
It’s fair to say that anyone who had just booted their first career game-winning field goal, got mobbed by their teammates, all while hearing chants of “M-V-P” from the crowd would be in shock too.
Cribbs’ 22-yard field goal sailed through the uprights as time expired on Friday, and was the difference in Nixa’s 31-28 Central Ozark Conference victory at Republic.
“I’m just in shock,” Cribbs said. “These are the most supportive people I know. It’s a family here and I love it. This is great. It feels amazing.”
Cribbs described the encouragement he got before lining up the kick, which was roughly two yards further than a standard extra point.
“I was thinking, “are we about to with this game?” Cribbs said. “This was a big game and I really wanted to keep our undefeated season going.
“My teammates told me, ‘this is normal, it’s like practice,’ I make this kick all the time, but obviously without the pressure.
“It was an easy kick, but just with a lot of pressure. I was able to keep my cool and I kicked it like I always do.”
Nixa took possession of the ball on the final drive with 5:54 left in the game at its own 35-yard line.
The Eagles moved into plus territory after just one play when senior running back Spencer Ward ran for 27 yards off right tackle.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
From that point, Nixa ran time off the clock by using seven running plays and two completed passes, and moved the ball to the Republic 5-yard line with one second left, setting up Cribbs game-winner.
“This was a very clean football game between two really good teams,” Nixa head coach John Perry said. “That was a great high school football game. That was a lot of fun.”
Nixa, the No. 4 team in Class 6, improved to 8-0 overall. Republic, the No. 6 ranked team in Class 5, fell to 6-2 on the year.
Nixa opened the scoring midway through the first quarter and from that point, the teams traded touchdowns. The Eagles led by seven points three different times; Republic never led.
Nixa led 28-21 early in the fourth quarter when the Tigers scored to tie the game for a third time on a trick play.
Republic senior tight end James Rexroat, who is usually on the receiving end of passes from senior quarterback Wyatt Woods, took the reverse toss in the backfield and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Woods to tie the game at 28-all with 5:54 left in the game.
“Republic did every thing they could do to win this ballgame,” Perry said.
“I told (Republic coach Ryan) Cornelsen that it is awesome that he’s here, because he has helped make football better in southwest Missouri. He’s a fantastic coach and that’s a fantastic program.”
Nixa senior running back Malachi Rider rushed 15 times for 80 yards and three touchdowns, while Ward finished with a game-high 89 yards on the ground on 11 attempts.
“We have one of the best offensive lines in the state,” Rider said. “I am really grateful for them and they are the reason I score touchdowns.”
Woods led Republic with 79 yards rushing on 17 carries and two scores on the ground, plus a touchdown catch. Rexroat had two catches for 67 yards and a score, along with a touchdown pass.
“I thought this was a great high school environment here tonight,” Cornelsen said. “Both student sections made a lot of noise, both teams played well and made big plays. We just came up short.
“We played really well, we just didn’t find a way to win it in the end, and they did. It was a heck of a football game and I couldn’t be more proud of these players. We’ve just got to use this one to build off of.”
