By Jeff Kessinger (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The smell and smoke from the fireworks display drifted over the newly-renovated Eagle Stadium at Nixa High School. But those explosions in the sky seemed dim in comparison to the smiles on the Nixa sideline after a thrilling 35-34 Central Ozark Conference win over Joplin Friday night.
Nixa now has a new stadium, a new head coach and a new swagger, thanks to a 2-0 start.
“I’m super excited for our kids. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Perry said, clearly smiling behind his mask. “They’ve come so far in the past five or six months. I’m so happy for them.”
That joy didn’t come without some tough moments. Nixa let an early 7-0 lead slip away, then lost its starting quarterback when Reid Potts went down with a knee injury late in the first quarter.
Backup Austin McCracken needed a minute to find his groove, but once he did Nixa roared back in front 21-14 late in the second quarter. McCracken helped guide a six play, 83-yard scoring drive, capped by a great individual effort by Steven Ward II. He caught a pass in the left flat, tunneled into a pile and then exploded out the other side. The 53-yard touchdown tied the game at 14.
Just four minutes later McCracken lobbed a ball to the back-left corner of the end zone. Michael Sportsman elevated over a defender to haul in the pass, his second scoring grab of the game.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
McCracken is just a sophomore, but he already has a varsity start under his belt. He started in last week’s 42-6 win at Branson while Potts served a one-game suspension. Potts and former Nixa coach Rich Rehagen were both ejected from Nixa’s final game last season.
“I struggled at first. I just had to warm up,” McCracken said. “Once I did, I felt comfortable. Experience was key, so that experience last week helped me push forward after I made mistakes.”
Perry called McCracken “a gamer.”
“We really hadn’t practiced him at all this week,” Perry said. “To come in like that and play lights out? I think everybody rallied behind Austin and played that much harder to overcome. This was a great team win.”
But Joplin responded quickly. A long kickoff return set them up in Nixa territory and a 3-yard pass from Always Wright to Dante Washington made it 21-21 with nine seconds to play before the half.
Nixa dominated the early stages of the second half, with a third-quarter touchdown run from McCracken and a fourth-quarter strike from Ramone Green to push the home team in front 35-21 with less than eight minutes to play.
But Joplin, the Class 6 runner-up last fall, didn’t wither. Tailback Nathan Glades rushed the ball six times in a nine-play drive to set up a 21-yard scoring pass from Wright to Washington. Joplin forced a Nixa punt and, after a bad snap, took over on the NHS 37. Wright and Washington connected on the very next play to make it 35-34.
Joplin coach Curtis Jasper elected to go for two, but Nixa stuffed Glades at the line of scrimmage to keep that one-point lead.
The visitors had one last chance to win the game, but a leaping interception by Clayton Uber sealed the victory for Nixa. Then came the actual fireworks.
“We knew they had to take some shots late in the ballgame,” Uber said. “They got me with the post across the middle in the first half, so I knew they were coming back to it. They ran the two inside guys into each other. Riley (Childs) stayed over the top of his guy, I stayed over the top of mine and I had a chance to make a play. Tough people win. That’s what we’ve been preaching. We just had to stay tough at the end.”
McCracken finished 5-for-9 passing, for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Green, a fellow sophomore, rushed 33 times for 163 yards and another score.
Wright finished the game 13-for-22 passing, for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Washington caught six of those passes for 71 yards and three scores. Glades rushed 22 times for 113 yards and a pair of scores, while Washington hauled in
Uber said they are going to stay humble as they prepare for Willard in Week 3. But there was no doubt Nixa was feeling itself after winning a game it wasn’t supposed to win.
“The only people that have to believe are them and me,” Perry said. “The sky’s the limit for what this program is going to do.”
SCORING SUMMARY
JHS 7 14 0 13 — 34
NHS 7 14 7 7 — 35
First Quarter
6:48 — Nixa: Michael Sportsman 41 pass from Reid Potts (Kaleb James kick), 7-0
2:47 — Joplin: Nathan Glades 6 run (Keaton Huff kick), 7-7
Second Quarter
8:34 — Joplin: Glades 9 run (Huff kick), 14-7
5:21 — Nixa: Steven Ward II 53 pass from Austin McCracken (James kick), 14-14
1:17 — Nixa: Wheeler 15 pass from McCracken (James kick), 21-14
:09 — Joplin: Dante Washington 3 pass from Always Wright (Huff kick), 21-21
Third Quarter
5:06 — Nixa: McCracken 4 run (James kick), 28-21
Fourth Quarter
7:46 — Nixa: Ramone Green 9 run (James kick) 35-21
6:21 — Joplin: Washington 21 pass from Wright (Huff kick), 35-28
2:11 — Joplin: Washington 21 pass from Wright (run failed), 35-34
