By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Each Saturday we’ll recap the week that was and look ahead to the upcoming Friday of games, as well as name a Player of the Week. Please tweet (X) @ozarksozone to nominate athletes for POTW.
Player of the Week: Spencer Ward, Nixa
It’s one thing to receive all of the hype on paper, but it’s another to back it up and that’s exactly what Ward did on Friday night in a big-time matchup with Webb City. Ward turned 10 carries into 95 yards and the game’s opening touchdown. But he also helped the Eagles stifle a Webb City offense that ran 61 plays and dominated time of possession 32 minutes to 16 minutes. Nixa got off the field when they needed to most and Ward’s 11 tackles and fumble recovery were a large reason why. The area has seen some dynamic running backs and defensive backs in the last few years, Ward will have a chance to put his name amongst the two-way greats.
Other Notables
- Blandy Burall, Reeds Spring – The returning All-Stater picked up where he left off, completing 11 of his 18 attempts for 287 yards and four total touchdowns.
- Cody Umfleet, Monett – Just a sophomore and starting at quarterback in the Big 8 with a new system, it didn’t take long for Umfleet to find his legs, finishing with 138 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
- Bradlee Mullins, Strafford – We put him on our Breakout Watchlist, and it took him all of one game to prove why. Mullins had himself a Friday night, finishing with a pair of interceptions and two touchdowns. Prepare for Mullins to have a big year.
- Jack Bowers, Ozark – Carl Junction scored just before the end of the first half to make it a one-score game with just seconds left in the quarter. Bowers responded by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, one of four he’d have on the night. The powder keg back shredded CJ on the ground.
District Assignments
New district assignments were released on Friday and there’s a lot to unpack…
Class 6 received a local facelift, with Waynesville joining Nixa, Kickapoo, Joplin and Ozark in District 5. The change to the amount of teams means that one of them will be a Class 6 district champion and march on to the Quarterfinals where they’ll (likely) see the best team out of Kansas City.
Class 5 also has a new feel with the Ozarks expanding back into three districts. Camdenton and Rolla go north to District 5 with the Jeff City/STL teams, including perennial power Helias… District 6 remains exclusively local with Branson, Central, Glendale, Lebanon, Parkview, Republic and Willard… District 7 will see Webb City, Carthage and Neosho head north to Kansas City… If you’re Camdenton and Lebanon you have to be thrilled. You avoid each other, as well as Webb City and Carthage through the district playoffs. Republic could also be a big winner here.
Class 4 is pretty similar, with West Plains (who is officially the largest team in the class) being joined by Bolivar, Hillcrest, Rogersville, Marshfield, Mac County and Monett. District 7 will see Carl Junction and Nevada again go north where they’ll see Harrisonville.
Class 3 now welcomes back Mt. Vernon and East Newton, who spent last year in Class 2. District 5 is the eastern part of Class 3 with Ava, Buffalo, Clever, Mountain Grove and Salem being joined by Eldon and St. James. District 6 is the Big 8 with Aurora, Cassville, East Newton, Hollister, Mount Vernon, Reeds Spring and Seneca.
Class 2 also looks significantly different. For the first time in a while, Fair Grove will now go east to District 4 with Forsyth, Houston, Liberty, Catholic, Strafford and Willow Springs. This means the Eagles will avoid Lamar. The Tigers are again the favorite in District 5, where Adrian, Butler, Diamond, El Do, Sarcoxie and Stockton will attempt to dethrone the Class 2 power.
Class 1 has one of the most unique set ups of any district in Missouri, specifically District 1 where the nine teams cover a 300-mile span from east to west from Pierce City to Charleston. The district also has Ash Grove, Cabool, Hayti, Marionville, Miller, Portageville and Thayer. District 3 will see Skyline and Lincoln continue to go to the district just south of Kansas City.
What to make of the COC
We knew the COC could be an open race this season and Week 1 further confirmed that. While Joplin was as dominant as expected against Branson, and Ozark made quick work of Carl Junction, the other three games were all decided by one possession. Nixa held Webb City scoreless over the game’s final three quarters in a 14-7 win. Republic scored 20 unanswered points before thwarting Carthage’s comeback bid on the game’s final play in a 20-14 decision. And unlike last year’s shootout, Willard showed some defense in a 28-21 win over Neosho. But in those three games it was more about the losing team. Conventional wisdom says that Webb City and Carthage should be rebuilding but both programs proved that it’ll be a quick reload. The Cardinals have a future star at quarterback in Gabe Johnson, while junior receiver Joseph DeGraffenreid proved he’s a playmaker on the outside. Carthage has its own emerging stars in juniors Brady Carlton and Landyn Collins. Neosho lost two stars from last year’s explosive offense and battled with Willard behind a retooled defense led by Trey Hardin… Next week will paint a clearer picture with Republic traveling to Ozark, Joplin hosting Willard and Nixa going to Neosho.
Changing of the Guard in the Ozark Conference
OC has seen nearly every program turnover its head coach in the last five years, but Bolivar’s hiring of Jamie LaSalle may be the one that shakes the league from the stranglehold Camdenton, Lebanon and West Plains have had recently. LaSalle has won everywhere he’s been, earning a reputation as an offensive genius and on Friday his Liberators knocked off West Plains – who had won three straight against Bolivar (45-0, 16-7 and 56-7) since 2021. These two share a district so this is unlikely to be the only meeting between the two, but the comeback win by Bolivar is an announcement to the rest of the OC and Class 4 as a whole that the Libs are back.
Swing and a Miss
The O-Zone crew had 12 “unanimous” picks in Week 1 and 11 of them hit, then there was Strafford… Honestly, we should’ve expected it considering what the Indians returned from last year, especially on the defensive side of the ball with Prestin Ames, Silas Morton and Bradlee Mullins all back. The Indians had lost their previous five meetings with Liberty, all of which were double-digit games. This Liberty group is talented, this win says a lot about who Tim Hester and company could be this year.
Week 2 Games to Watch
Strafford (1-0) at Ava (1-0)
Strafford held Liberty to just six points and that offense is loaded with weapons. Now the Indians will see an Ava team that opened the season with a 56-point explosion. Strafford won both meetings last year, each win coming by seven points. Ava has a healthy Hunter Adams back which makes them a significantly different team than last year. Strafford needs the bonus points of playing a Class 3 team and Ava is trying to run away with District 5.
Monett (0-1) at Mt. Vernon (1-0)
Since 2010 these two programs have split 12 meetings right down the middle, but in a weird way. Mt. Vernon has won the last four, three of which have been one possession games. Monett won the five before that, all of which were blowouts. Monett nearly pulled off a comeback against a talented Reeds Spring group and Mt. Vernon rallied late to knock off Class 4 Mac County in Week 1. There’s no love lost in this rivalry.
Kickapoo (1-0) at Camdenton (1-0)
The Chiefs haven’t won in Camdenton since 2015, back when Malachi Stout and company were on their way to one of the best seasons in program history. Camdenton has won the last two meetings by a total of 11 points. The Lakers are rebuilding behind Parr Pitts and the Chiefs are looking to make a run at an OC title. They get Camdenton and Lebanon back-to-back and going winless would make a championship run next to impossible. This is also an intriguing quarterback matchup between two guys who are stepping in for big names. Chase Hamme and Kade Durnin could find themselves in a shootout.
Republic (1-0) at Ozark (1-0)
This tiger fight hadn’t meant much recently, but new blood could be changing that. Ryan Cornelsen has Republic relevant and competitive with Friday’s win over Carthage proving that these Tigers are a legitimate state championship contender. Ozark is hoping Jeremy Cordell can have a similar impact. Ozark’s Week 1 win over Carl Junction is a great start. Now his defense will have to gear up for one of the most physical teams in the COC. Republic and Ozark have split their last 14 meetings.
