By Chris Parker
The seventh week of the football season is in the books. Below are some of the things that stood out to me.
FIVE TEAMS THAT STOOD OUT
Thayer
Thayer picked up the most impressive win in the area on Friday beating (then) Class 2 No. 10 Ava 34-8. The Bobcat defense was stifling. Ava has averaged more than 300 yards per game on offense this season and Thayer held the Bears to 114 including just 79 rushing. The Bobcats also won the turnover battle 2-to-1 taking a fumble recovery back for a touchdown. Thayer got a bad break when the classifications were released, as their enrollment of 171 made them the smallest school in Class 2, which is one more student than the largest enrollment in Class 1. The Bobcats are in a tough district featuring six teams who have two losses or fewer through seven games including the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Fair Grove. One of those teams is Ava, and Thayer proved on Friday it can be a contender in Class 2. If Thayer wins out, the Bobcats will clinch at least a share of the SCA title.
Lamar
Lamar snapped a three-game losing streak with a 45-22 win over Monett on Friday. The three losses are the most for Lamar since going 10-3 in 2019 and it marks just the second time since 2010 that Lamar has lost more than two games in a season. The Tigers have fallen out of the state rankings, but there is no way anybody should be writing them off. Two of Lamar’s losses have come by a single point to Class 3 Cassville and Class 4 ranked Nevada. The other loss was to Mt. Vernon by 10 points. Lamar is two two-point conversions away from being 6-1 and still ranked in the top three in Class 2. There isn’t a single Class 2 team in the state with a tougher schedule than Lamar. The Tigers are the lone Class 2 team in a conference of Class 3 & 4 teams. That strength of schedule is reflected in the district standings. The Tigers currently hold the No. 1 seed over one-loss Stockton and unbeaten Warsaw. It would not be wise to count The Brotherhood out come playoff time.
Glendale
Back in Week 2, Glendale came up two points short of beating Willard. Fast forward five weeks and the Falcons were able to finish out a close game with a 22-21 win over Ozark. Glendale scored a touchdown with 17 seconds left on a Jaylon Lockett run. Down one, Glendale went for two and got it when Cash Newberry found Trevor Heman for the conversion and the win. Glendale has won back-to-back games and is sitting third in the district standings for Class 5 District 6.
Joplin
Joplin picked up a decisive 35-14 win over Neosho on Friday, which was a nice bounce-back from a tough overtime loss to Carthage in Week 6. Toryn Jones has emerged at running back for Joplin the past month with three 100-yard performances including a 202-yard game against Glendale. The first three weeks, Jones carried 52 times for 159 yards and one touchdown. The last four games, Jones has 91 carries for 583 yards and seven touchdowns. Joplin sits pretty comfortably at No. 2 in the Class 6 District 5 standings.
Camdenton
When Camdenton decided to join the CMAC during the conference realignment of last year, we knew we would see less of the Lakers in southwest Missouri. The CMAC is a mostly Columbia and Jefferson City conference. So far, Camdenton has shown well against its new competition, going 4-3. The losses have come to unbeaten Class 5 No. 7 Branson, one-loss Class 5 No. 4 Helias Catholic and one-loss Class 6 No. 9 Rock Bridge (by one point). The Lakers have more than proved they belong in their new conference. They are getting it done similarly to how they have in recent seasons with a Durnin leading an explosive passing attack. It is now Karson Durnin throwing for 1,841 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season. Deontay Haire (478 yards), Owen Borbe (466 yards) and Micheal Maschino (402 yards) have been the top receivers. Camdenton is currently sitting No. 3 in Class 5 District 5 ahead of a big game against Capital City this Friday.
PLAY OF THE WEEK
Newly minted Class of 2026 No. 1 recruit in the nation Jackson Cantwell got the chance to show off a little more to his game on Friday scoring a touchdown in Nixa’s win over Waynesville.
Finally got in the end zone last night! First varsity TD from a few yards out on a tackle throwback. Got to plant the #TrenchGang flag after too! (If any TE coaches want me to switch positions in college, feel free to reach out👀👀) #NSGB @jperry_nixa @CoachMedley66 pic.twitter.com/NqdoBGgRJz
— Jackson Cantwell (@jcantwell2499) October 12, 2024
Other performances of note
Jourdyn Edelstein & Ryder Ross, Strafford
Strafford pulled away late to beat Forsyth 49-33 on Friday. Edelstein led through the air with 312 yards and four touchdowns passing. Ross was again a star in the running game with 26 carries for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Ross is up to 1,501 yards rushing with 22 touchdowns on the season.
Jansen Hunt, Aurora
Hunt was explosive for Aurora in a 26-21 win over East Newton. He took 13 carries for 238 yards and two touchdowns with a long of 82 yards.
Nixa Everything
It is tough to pick just one or two players from Nixa to put in this space this week, so here are nine. Adam McKnight completed 8-of-10 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Waynesville. Wyatt Vincent caught five of those passes for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Dylan Rebura had 14 carries for 142 yards and another touchdown. Jackson Cantwell also scored a touchdown (see above). Defensively, Parker Mann (14 tackles), Kaden Kelley (11 tackles), Morgan Thompson (11 tackles), Adam Jedlicka (10 tackles) and Ty Kellis (10 tackles) all recorded double-digit tackles.
Braxton Wolfe, East Newton
East Newton fell to Aurora 26-21 on Friday, but Wolfe was a two-way force who helped keep the Patriots in the game. Offensively, he caught eight passes for 100 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Wolfe pulled down 13 total tackles to lead the Patriots to go with a fumble recovery.
Jacob Shinkarevich, Logan-Rogersville
Shinkarevich played at a high level on both sides of the ball in Rogersville’s 34-26 win over Marshfield. He had 21 carries for 100 yards and four touchdowns on offense. Defensively, Shinkarevich pulled down 13 total tackles to lead the team.
DJ Riley and Jordan Arthur, Houston
The Riley-to-Arthur connection was strong in Houston’s 49-6 win over Willow Springs on Friday. Riley completed 10-of-12 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Arthur hauled in five of those completions for 129 yards.
Jackson Lucas, Webb City
People generally don’t think about the passing attack first when talking about Webb City, but Lucas had that phase of the game working for the Cardinals in a 41-6 win over Willard. He completed 10 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns averaging 20.2 yards per completion.
Mountain Grove Running Game
The Panthers beat Salem 60-6 and did it almost exclusively on the ground. Eight different Panthers combined for 37 carries for 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Braydon Curtiss had six carries for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper Hoerning added in five carries for 121 yards and a touchdown. Eli Golden was a third Panther over 100 yards rushing with five carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Five games to watch this week
Mt. Vernon at Nevada
Second-place in the Big 8 is on the line in Nevada on Friday. Both teams come in with one loss. Both teams have a loss to Seneca. Nevada has won each of the past two matchups in 2022 and 2023. Braden Dodson and Gavin Johnston set the career rushing and passing records for Mt. Vernon last week. Nevada will lean on running backs Will Jackson and John Michael-Collins. That duo is coming off 36 combined carries for 258 yards and three touchdowns in a 25-21 win over Cassville. The winner stays alive in the race for a Big 8 Conference title one game behind Seneca.
Marionville at Ash Grove
Two of the top 10 teams in the latest Class 1 rankings square off with Marionville (No. 1) looking to secure at least a share of the Southwest Conference title. Ash Grove (No. 7) needs a win to forge a three-way tie at the top of the Southwest Conference standings with Stockton also having one loss on the season. Marionville has won the past six games in the series with the last loss to Ash Grove coming on Oct. 20, 2017.
Capital City at Camdenton
I mentioned above that Camdenton has been solid in its first season in the CMAC. What the Lakers lack is a signature win. Friday offers the opportunity for that signature victory when Capital City comes to town. The Cavaliers spent several weeks in the state rankings this season with losses to Rock Bridge and Helias Catholic. Camdenton also lost to both teams, but played Rock Bridge within one where Capital City lost to the Bruins by 12. District seeding is also on the line with Capital City holding the No. 2 spot and Camdenton the No. 3 spot in the Class 5 District 5 standings.
Carthage at Webb City
Webb City has played a lot better lately after a three-game skid in September. The Cardinals are 2-1 since with the loss coming by two points to Republic on the road. This is another game where Carthage can clinch at least a share of the COC West title or Webb City could throw the division into chaos with leading to a three-way tie at the top depending on the result of the Republic and Neosho game. This rivalry has been very good since 2021 with Carthage winning three times and Webb City twice in the past five matchups. Last season, Carthage took the regular season matchup 20-13 before Webb City took the district game 42-7.
Ozark at Nixa
The Backyard Brawl is always a date to circle on the calendar. Nixa has dominated the rivalry of late winning six in a row. One thing I love about this rivalry isn’t necessarily what is happening on the field, but what takes place off it. This is the 17th year for the “Can the Eagles/Tigers” fundraising competition. The competition is to see which community can donate the most money and non-perishable food items to benefit Least of These Christian County Food Pantry in Ozark. It is a fun competition for a great cause.
