By Chris Parker

Nixa will face off with De Smet for the Class 6 state championship at 7 pm on Friday night at Mizzou.

Find a full team stat comparison along with individual leaders below.

Here are some things that stood to me.

Key Matchup: Nixa’s Offensive Line vs. De Smet’s Defensive Line

Back in July when I talked to coach John Perry for a season preview, one of the first quotes from him including the following line:

“To win championships, it is my belief that you have to be able to run the football.”

All season long, Nixa has done just that to a great effect. The Eagles have averaged 268 rushing yards per game led by Dylan Rebura with 2,619 yards and 46 touchdowns on the ground.

On Friday, Nixa’s stout offensive line will be tested in a way that it hasn’t been all season. De Smet is holding opposing ball carriers to 3.28 yards per carry. Nixa is averaging 7.78 yards per carry on the season.

The De Smet defensive line is anchored by a pair of FBS-level athletes in senior Eastern Michigan signee Quincy Byas and junior four-star recruit Titan Davis. Byas has 19 sacks on the season, which is tied for 10^th all-time in Missouri history for a single season according to MSHSAA. Davis has nine sacks of his own.

The matchup of Jackson Cantwell against either of these elite pass rushers is going to be must-see in this game.

Circling back to Perry’s quote from the preseason, if Nixa can control the line of scrimmage and run the football as it has for much of the season, it will take away one of De Smet’s greatest strengths in its pass rush. De Smet’s secondary benefits greatly when Byas and Davis have a chance to get after a quarterback with 16 interceptions on the season for the defense.

The battle between these two elite units will go a long way in deciding the result of this game.

RECORD WATCH

Dylan Rebura has already etched his name in the MSHSAA record book a couple times. On Friday, he has a chance to move up the leaderboard.

Rebura enters the game with 2,619 yards rushing on the season. Right now, Rebura stands at No. 21 all-time for rushing yards in a single season. He needs 120 yards to take the No. 20 spot. With 141 yards, Rebura would pass Fair Grove legend Caleb Schaffitzel’s mark at No. 19, which is the third-best single-season total in SWMO history. Lee Flood holds the No. 1 and 2 marks for SWMO all-time with seasons of 3,316 (No. 6 all-time) and 3,272 (No. 7 all-time).

Rebura also has 46 total rushing touchdowns, which is No. 7 all-time and the second-most for any running back in SWMO history. With three touchdowns on Friday, he would tie Flood for No. 5 all-time and with four he would hold the fifth spot by himself becoming just the fifth running back in state history to rush for 50 touchdowns in a single season.

TEAM COMPARISON

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS