The first week of the football season is in the books and there were many big performances and interesting developments.

Below are some of the things that stood out to me.

TOP PHOTOS OF WEEK 1 – CLICK HERE
STATE FOOTBALL RANKINGS – CLICK HERE
FAN PHOTOS OF WEEK 1 – CLICK HERE

THOUGHTS ON NEW DISTRICT/CLASS ASSIGNMENTS

Most every class had some movement of interest when the new class and district assignments came out last week. Here are some things that stood out to me.

CLASS 6

The local Class 6 district remained largely unchanged. The interesting part here is the path to the state title game. This year, Districts 1-2 face 7-8 in the state semifinals while 3-4 face 5-6. Nixa (No. 1) is the only ranked team in district five. Blue Springs South (No. 3) and Blue Springs (No. 8) are ranked in district six, which would be a state quarterfinal opponent for our area’s district winner. The state semifinal pod (Districts 3-4) features no ranked teams in the first rankings.

CLASS 5

The big move here was Carthage and Webb City moving back into Class 5 District 6 after two years in Class 5 District 7 going up to Kansas City. That district is a bruising set of teams where seeding will be everything with state-ranked Republic, Carthage and Webb City all jockeying for position in addition to a Branson program that had the one seed last season and Neosho. Those regular season conference games will have a huge bearing on the postseason outlook.

CLASS 4

Things remained largely unchanged here. Class 4 District 6 is the local district and it is pretty wide open. Nevada is in Class 4 District 7 going with the Kansas City schools.

CLASS 3

Southwest Missouri has two districts that are pretty much all area schools minus one. Clever moves into Class 3 District 5 pushing Mt. Vernon over to District 6 with unanimous Class 3 No. 1 Seneca.

CLASS 2

The big news here doesn’t involve a local team. Blair Oaks, the defending Class 3 state champion with four state titles since 2018, goes from being one of the smallest Class 3 schools to one of the biggest Class 2 schools. This news is particularly big because Blair Oaks would be lined up for a semifinal showdown with whichever southwest Missouri team comes out of the quarterfinal matchup between districts three and four.

CLASS 1

The headline for me is Thayer dropping into Class 1 as one of the biggest programs after being the smallest Class 2 school last season. The Bobcats are an immediate state title contender and share a district with Marionville. It is a brutal potential path for whoever wins the local District 3 with Adrian (No. 1, defending champion), Penney (No. 2), Marionville (No. 3), Tipton (No. 4) and Thayer (No. 5) all residing in districts 3-6 meaning only one of the top five from the initial state poll can make the Class 1 state championship game.

TEAMS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE IN WEEK 1

There are many teams that had great starts. I am picking 10 to focus on here. 

Nixa

The Eagles made a statement in Week 1 with a 49-21 win over a Republic team I think is a contender for a deep postseason run. New running back Jayden McCaster was as advertised with four touchdowns and 220 yards against a strong Republic defense. The Eagles opened up as the No. 1 ranked team in Class 6 in the initial state rankings. They have a home date with Webb City this week.

Aurora

Aurora’s 32-29 win over rival Mt. Vernon to take the Bell Bowl was huge for the program in its first game under Ty Kime. The game was back-and-forth with the Houn Dawgs getting a game-winning touchdown pass with 16 seconds left in the game. It snapped a three-game losing streak to Mt. Vernon and is Aurora’s second win in 10 tries over their rival since September of 2017.

McDonald County

McDonald County’s resilience was on display against Lamar in Week 1. The Mustangs were down 20-0 to the defending Class 2 state champion Tigers on their field early in the second quarter before getting on the board. In the fourth quarter, McDonald County overcame a nine-point deficit with eight minutes left in the game to go from trailing 35-26 to winning 39-35. Ryder Martin had his fingerprints all over the win with 197 yards rushing and three touchdowns to go with 107 yards passing. Defensively, he had a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown. It was a nice turnaround for the Mustangs after falling by three to Lamar to open last season.

Lockwood

Lockwood put the 8-man football world on notice by beating two-time defending state champion Archie 38-36 on Friday. It snapped a 28-game winning streak for the Whirlwinds. Over the past two years, Lockwood has gone 19-1 against teams not named Archie. Lockwood got it done with clutch plays including quarterback Landry Ogden turning a fourth-and-two from the Archie 16 into a touchdown and Roper Gray bringing a kickoff back 71 yards for a touchdown after Archie had just reclaimed the lead. The Tigers won the game on a six-yard touchdown pass from Ogden to Sean Contreras with two seconds left in the game. The Tigers are a real threat to bring home the first even 8-man football title to southwest Missouri.

Fair Grove

A lot of the talk entering the season was what Fair Grove lost from a team that came up just short of a state football championship. What they returned was a group of players who know how to win. Gavin Thomason, a Missouri State baseball commit, showed great poise in his first game at quarterback with 196 passing yards and three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns came in the biggest moment. The Eagles trailed Mountain Grove 28-23 with 5:20 left in the game. Thomason took a snap on third-and-12 from his own five-yard line, shook a Mountain Grove defender and hit his receiver for a 95-yard touchdown to take the 29-28 lead. The defense held strong and Fair Grove won its 21^st straight regular season game and 27 win in its last 29 games.

Neosho

In the preseason, head coach Brandon Taute said his team had a chip on its shoulder as they were looking to prove they are a program that is here to stay year in and year out. That mission got off to a good start with a 44-38 win in overtime. Neosho had a 38-23 lead going into the final quarter, but Glendale was able to tie the game with less than five minutes to play. The Wildcats stopped Glendale on their first drive of overtime and then scored a touchdown to end the game. Offensively, just five starters returned, but four of them were on the offensive line where Neosho was stout in the win. New running back Keisean Rhone took 35 carries for 212 yards and a touchdown. Blayne Patterson was strong in his first game as a starting quarterback with 234 yards passing for two touchdowns and 89 yards rushing.

Liberty

Liberty football returned 15 total starters, but one key player was in a new position with all-state wide receiver Parker Tune moving to quarterback. Head coach Jansen Acklin said in the preseason that Tune had been preparing for the move since his freshman season. That preparation paid off. Tune had four touchdowns rushing and two touchdowns tallying 374 total yards in a 48-0 win over Strafford. Jasper Melby had five catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles look to be real contenders in both the SCA and Class 2 District 3.

Springfield Catholic

Springfield Catholic closed down last season strong with three straight wins to end the regular season after starting 0-6. That momentum carried into the 2025 season for the Irish with a 31-27 road win over East Newton. It snapped a six-game losing streak in season openers for the Irish. Catholic trailed 27-24 with 4:35 left in the game before an 84-yard touchdown run put Catholic in front for good. The Irish rushed for 208 yards in the win.

Logan-Rogersville

The Joel Wells era got off to a strong start with Logan-Rogersville beating Reeds Spring 42-18. The Wildcats established the run and didn’t look back with 42 carries going for 295 yards and six touchdowns in the win. Cash Clark was explosive with 12 carries going for 133 yards (11.1 ypc) and a touchdown. Junior Joe Roche turned his 22 carries into 114 yards and four touchdowns. Gage Hale showed off his versatility with three carries for 39 yards and a touchdown to go with five catches for 47 yards. He also had an interception on defense.

Nevada

Nevada scored early and often in a 63-34 win over Monett. Jett Snyder had touchdowns on both offense and defense. John Michael Collins had 10 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Kellen Braden threw for 123 yards and four touchdowns. The Wildcats were firing on all cylinders in the season-opening win tallying 469 yards of offense including 346 rushing while forcing five turnovers.

WEEK 2 GAMES TO WATCH

Webb City at Nixa

Two of the best quarterbacks in the area will be going head-to-head in this one with Adam McKnight for Nixa and Gabe Johnson for Webb City. The Cardinals beat Lebanon 28-20 on Friday despite turning the ball over four times and possession the ball for just 14:15 compared to 33:45 for Lebanon. Those mistakes can’t happen against the No. 1 ranked team in Class 6. Webb City is ranked No. 4 in Class 5. Nixa has dominated the series of late with four straight wins with three of the wins coming by 14 points or more.

Willard at Glendale

This is a matchup between two teams who showed improvement in Week 1, but came up short of wins. Last year, Willard lost its opening game to Ozark by 42. This year, the Tigers fell by 18. Last year, Glendale lost its opener to Neosho by 38. This year, the Falcons lost by six in overtime. The two teams split their meetings last season with Willard winning by two in the regular season and Glendale winning by 29 in the playoffs. Glendale quarterback Cash Newberry threw for 457 yards and four touchdowns with 132 yards rushing on 21 attempts in Week 1.

Joplin at Lebanon

Lebanon started off its season with an eight-point loss to Webb City while Joplin took a 31-7 victory over Kickapoo. The Yellowjackets lost this matchup on the road 21-17 last season. Joplin was about two-to-one run-to-pass in Week 1 with quarterback Daniel Rose throwing for 152 yards on 18 attempts while the Eagles carried the ball 39 times for 248 yards. Traevian McCadney did most of the damage on the ground with 205 rushing yards. Lebanon will bring its run game as it always does after running the ball 53 times for 234 yards in the loss to Webb City. Beckett York, a recent Mizzou baseball commit, had 113 rushing yards and 102 passing yards in Lebanon’s Week 1 contest. Brayden Christian had 28 carries for 111 yards. This one will be tough to pick and come down to who controls the line of scrimmage.

Cassville at McDonald County

These two teams have different records with McDonald County beating defending Class 2 state champion Lamar 39-35 while Cassville fell to defending Class 3 state runner-up Seneca 33-27. Both were impressive results in their own ways. Seneca, which starts the year ranked No. 1 in Class 3, didn’t play a game within 21 points until falling in the state title last season. Cassville took this matchup 20-7 in Week 2 last season.

Aurora at Nevada

For Aurora, this will be a chance to build off a huge season-opening win over rival Mt. Vernon. For Nevada, they will look to keep the momentum of playing a pretty complete game in Week 1 going. Nevada has won the past three matchups dating back to 2020 with each win coming by two or more touchdowns.

FULL WEEK 2 SCHEDULE

THURSDAY
El Dorado Springs at Ash Grove

FRIDAY
Harrisonville at Bolivar
Skyline at Buffalo
Branson at Camdenton
Heritage (Ark.) at Carl Junction
Fair Grove at Tipton
Cuba at Clever
Windsor at Cole Camp
Pierce City at Diamond
Lamar at East Newton
Willard at Glendale
Rich Hill at Jasper
Neosho at Kickapoo
Joplin at Lebanon
Greenfield at Liberal
Thayer at Lighthouse Christian
Drexel at Lockwood
Linn at Salem
Ava at Logan-Rogersville
St. James at Liberty
Cabool at Lutheran South
Reeds Spring at Marshfield
Cassville at McDonald County
Strafford at Monett
Seneca at Mt. Vernon
Aurora at Nevada
Osceola at New Heights Christian
Webb City at Nixa
Carthage at Ozark
West Plains at Parkview
Willow Springs at Pleasant Hope
Hillcrest at Rolla
Hollister at Sarcoxie
Houston at Springfield Catholic
Mountain Grove at St. Michael
Miller at Stockton
Braymer at Lincoln
Republic at Waynesville
Adrian at Warsaw

SATURDAY
Forsyth at Marionville