By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
A lot went right for the Joplin Eagles in the first half of Friday night’s Class 6 District 5 Tournament semifinal at Kickapoo.
The second half? Not so much, but beauty points hardly matter this time of year.
Joplin survived a wild second half to defeat Kickapoo 45-29 and advance to next week’s district championship game.
“A lot of it seemed like it was heading in the other direction, in Kickapoo’s favor,” said Joplin coach Curtis Jasper. “That’s why I’m really proud of our kids for hanging in there, overcoming the adversity and sealing it off tonight.
“We’ve battled through some adversity all year, and I think maybe we were able to lean on that a little bit in the second half. Our kids found a way.”
Quarterback Hobbs Gooch had 266 total yards and four touchdowns to lead the Joplin offense.
Eagles senior running back and South Dakota State commit Quin Renfro gashed the Kickapoo defense for 251 yards on 29 carries. Renfro appears to be at full strength for Joplin’s postseason run after being limited due to injury earlier in the season.
In Joplin’s regular season finale two weeks ago, he tallied over 300 yards on the ground in a blowout win over Neosho.
“He’s a real tough, hard-nosed kid,” Jasper said. “If you ask him, he’ll give credit to his offensive line.”
Joplin threatened to turn Friday’s district semifinal into a rout. The Eagles used big plays and Kickapoo miscues to build a 35-7 lead at halftime, a margin they needed every bit of after Kickapoo rallied in the second half.
“We missed some things early that we felt we could get (Joplin) on,” said Kickapoo coach Nate Thomas. “We had some turnovers; maybe a little too peeked up playing in this game. We weathered the storm.
“Just a lot of what-ifs tonight. This one stings for sure.”
Joplin will play at undefeated Nixa (10-0 overall) next week in the Class 6 District 5 Tournament championship game. Nixa topped Joplin 35-27 in the regular season matchup.
The Central Ozark Conference schools have played five times since 2020, with all five meetings decided by 14 or fewer points.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Joplin (7-3 overall) will be seeking its first district championship since 2019, when the Eagles went on to finish as Class 6 state runner-up.
“It’s everybody’s last practice until you earn another week,” Jasper said. “Tonight, we earned seven more days with each other. We’re going to work really hard this next week to earn another seven.”
Kickapoo made a spirited comeback in the second half and came close to pulling off an all-time comeback.
The Chiefs ripped off three touchdowns in a four-minute span, cutting a 28-point deficit to just 13 points.
Shaun Campbell had a spectacular 45-yard touchdown catch in between touchdown runs by Morgan Nicholls and backup running back Deion Banks.
“(The turnaround) was because of those kids,” said Thomas, nodding toward his team. “They don’t have an ounce of quit in them. That’s why it’s hard to turn this group loose.”
Kickapoo was on the verge of making it a one-score game, but the Joplin defense would step up.
Clinging to a 42-29 lead late in the third quarter, the Eagles recorded a sack on 3rd and short near midfield that forced the Chiefs to punt. On Kickapoo’s next drive, following a Joplin turnover, the Eagles stopped Kickapoo on downs after the Chiefs had driven into Joplin territory.
“Our kids pick each other up on the field and off the field,” Jasper said. “It’s just the way this group is. It makes it fun to come to work every day and go to work with these guys.”
Joplin dominated the first half, making big plays in all three phases. Linebacker Jonathan Williams had a 48-yard interception that put the Eagles ahead 28-7 midway through the second quarter.
Later, Joplin pulled off a successful fake punt that set up Gooch’s fourth touchdown of the first half.
“When things are going right, we can play really good complementary football,” Jasper said. “I thought we showed that in the first half. We had big-play drives and time-consuming drives. We got a big first down off a fake punt, we had a pick-six. Hopefully we can continue to build off all three phases.”
Kickapoo quarterback Chase Hamme finished 14-for-24 for 181 yards and one touchdown. Davis had 93 yards on 14 carries after the Chiefs lost starting running back Nick Lipari to injury. Campbell had four catches for 89 yards in his final career game.
Kickapoo (8-2 overall) will say goodbye to a large senior class, one that helped the Chiefs go 15-5 overall the last two seasons.
“They’re a competitive group,” Thomas said. “They came out and proved some people wrong this year.”
Joplin 45, Kickapoo 29
Joplin 14 21 7 3 —- 45
Kickapoo 7 0 22 0 — 29
First quarter
Joplin – Gooch 1 run (Ipsen kick)
Kickapoo – Christian 98 kick return (Wehner kick)
Joplin – Thomas 70 catch from Gooch (Ipsen kick)
Second quarter
Joplin – Gooch 76 run (Ipsen kick)
Joplin – Williams 48 interception return (Ipsen kick)
Joplin – Gooch 11 run (Ipsen kick)
Third quarter
Kickapoo – Nicholls 1 run (Wehner kick)
Joplin – Renfro 44 run (Ipsen kick)
Kickapoo – Campbell 45 catch from Hamm (Wehner run)
Kickapoo – Banks 14 run (Wehner kick)
Fourth quarter
Joplin – Ipsen 32 field goal
