By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
When faced with a familiar situation from earlier in the year on Friday, Kickapoo recognized it, and turned an Ozark muffed punt into a quick lead.
That early lead proved to be crucial for Kickapoo as the Chiefs’ defense held off a late-charging Ozark squad, 14-9, at Pottenger Stadium.
Following its first possession deep in its own end, Ozark lined up for a punt, but fumbled the snap near the goal line.
Just one play later, Kickapoo senior Morgan Nicholls punched it across from three yards out for a 7-0 lead at the 10:44 mark of the first quarter.
“That’s the second time that’s happened this season and on the same part of the field,” Kickapoo coach Nate Thomas said.
“That happened in week one at Joplin and we just weren’t in the right spot with our flyers. We talked about the right way to do it and they bought into it and took the coaching.
“Obviously, that’s a heck of a gift. I could not be more proud for our seniors to go out with a win at home.”
Ozark answered on the ensuing possession, moving the ball to the Kickapoo 15-yard line, and appeared to score when two penalties on the Tigers moved Ozark back to the 40-yard line.
The Tigers threatened, but settled for a field goal, cutting the Chiefs’ lead to 7-3 late in the first quarter.
“We’ve got to limit penalties, and we’ve got to be able to capitalize on our opportunities,” Ozark coach Jeremy Cordell said.
“We did not play a clean ball game. We racked up some yards in penalties and we moved backward at times.”
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With Ozark on the march early in the third quarter, Kickapoo forced a fumble and turned it into points once again.
Senior quarterback Ben Johnson ran and passed the Chiefs to a 14-3 lead late in the third quarter.
Johnson accounted for every yard from scrimmage in the 68-yard drive that culminated with a 2-yard touchdown run at the 3:42 mark of the third quarter.
“We got a little dinged there with quarterback Brooks Eaton, and we didn’t want to take any chances, so Johnson had to come in and he did a nice job,” Thomas said
Ozark answered with a 19-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by junior Peyton Russell, cutting Kickapoo’s lead to 14-9.
Thomas pointed to Ozark’s defense as key to the game’s low score.
“Usually for us, we’ve got to get our wide zone going and Ozark did a really good job of taking that away from us,” Thomas said.
“We had to manipulate some formations in the second half to get some unbalanced stuff.”
The Tigers had one more chance on their final possession with 2:40 left in the game.
Ozark got to midfield but turned the ball over on downs. Kickapoo then kneeled to end the game.
“We are a tempo offense, and we were moving the ball well at times, but we would take one step forward and then two steps back,” Cordell said.
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Johnson led all rushers with 54 yards on 13 attempts and a touchdown for Kickapoo (4-5), while senior Noah Harrell returned to the lineup and had 9 carries for 33 yards.
“Noah Harrell has been out with an AC sprain and to see him go out there and play like he did was great,” Thomas said.
“Top to bottom, our defense just got us off the field over and over again. We didn’t give up big plays. We had to keep everything in front of us and we did that.”
Russell led Ozark (3-6) with eight rushes for 47 yards while senior Parker Elliott totalled 31 yards on 11 carries in the loss.
“Overall, our defense played well for the most part,” Cordell said. “Elliott played really well and came in on offense and ran the ball well also.
“I thought Ethan Chandler flew around at linebacker and made a lot of plays.
“On offense, Jet Easley played well and our running backs did a good job of sharing the ball.”
