OZARK, Mo.-- With Ozark leading 14-7 in the 2nd quarter Austin Roberts broke a tackle in the backfield on his on 20 yard line and shook a couple of other defenders before breaking into the clear and scoring on an 80 yard run. The Tigers followed the touchdown recovering a fumble just before halftime inside Nixa's 20 yard line, which led to a which led to Cody Lindsay scoring his 2nd of 3 touchdowns on a 1 yard carry. Behind the big play from Roberts Ozark (7-0) took a 28-7 lead into halftime and went on to defeat Nixa (5-2) 41-21 in the Backyard Brawl.
"I got held up in the backfield but I didn't give up, kept moving my feet and I saw my man and they just led me," said Roberts talking about the 80 yard scoring run.
The win propelled Ozark to the Tigers 7th win in 7 games and snapped Nixa's 2 year winning streak in the rivalry game.
"Our seniors were freshman the last time Ozark beat them, they knew what was on the line this year when we played these guys," said Ozark Head Coach Mark Bliss. "People have asked me if I thought we would be 7-0 at this point, it doesn't surprise me being in the toughest conference in the state so our kids understood what it what take to compete at a high level."
David Salazar got the Tigers on the board 1st scoring on a 1 yard touchdown run. Cody Lindsay gave Ozark a 14-0 lead late in the 1st quarter. Nixa answered with a big passing play, Austin Schweiss connected with Tristian Ridenhour for the 34 yard touchdown strike making it 14-7, but that was as close as Nixa would come. Austin Roberts' 4 yard touchdown run gave Ozark a 35-14 lead in the 4th quarter and put the game out of reach.
"We're 7-0 now this is a dream, it hasn't happened in a very long time," said Roberts. "We're proud to be a part of it, but we're on to Webb City now."
The COC Championship will likely be determined October 12th when undefeated Ozark travels to perennial power Webb City (7-0). Nixa tries to rebound in week 8 hosting Carthatge.
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