By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
After three-and-a-half quarters Friday night, Webb City had taken Nixa’s biggest punch and was still standing.
The Cardinals’ game plan to that point had worked, and Webb City was on the move late in the fourth quarter needing eight points to tie the game.
But as the Cardinals crossed midfield, Nixa’s defense stopped Webb City dead in its tracks, and the Eagles escaped with a 28-20 Central Ozark Conference victory at Nixa High School.
“This game was a battle,” Nixa senior defensive lineman Max Gredell said. “(Webb City) came in and fought hard. It was a grind, but we were able to do it. I feel a lot of satisfaction for my guys on the defensive line.”
Trailing by eight points with 5:41 left in the game, Webb City forced Nixa into a turnover-on-downs at its own 26-yard line. The Cardinals took over and marched to the Nixa 38-yard line, before a penalty and two incomplete passes had Webb City moving in the wrong direction. The late mistakes ended Webb City’s final drive as well as their upset hopes as Nixa stopped the Cardinals on fourth down with 2:24 left.
“They are relentless running the ball,” Nixa coach John Perry said. “Their quarterback and running backs are good. They fire off the line of scrimmage. They play their type of football and tonight they were physical.
“That was a great high school football game with two really great teams.”
Nixa, the top-ranked team in Class 6, jumped to an early 7-0 lead after just one play from scrimmage.
Senior Jayden McCaster took the handoff up the gut, made one cut, and went untouched 73-yards for the score.
“They are really big and they are explosive,” Webb City senior Slade Hurd said. “Their offense can score in one play, as you saw at the beginning.
“It sucks losing this one. We feel like we are doubted but I feel like tonight was a good step toward proving ourselves.”
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Following the game’s first play, McCaster left the game with hamstring tightness, but returned.
Webb City, the No. 4 team in Class 5, followed McCaster’s big play with a quite different approach. The Cardinals used a slower, chew-up-the-clock game plan, and used 11 plays to get to the Eagles’ 1-yard line.
“At the start of the game, they get a long run for a score,” McFarland said. “We got the ball, get down to the 1-yard line, but we don’t score. It would have been easy for our kids to quit playing right there, but they fought back both offensively and defensively, and I’m probably most proud of that.”
The Cardinals tied the game at 7-all midway through the second quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Hurd around the left end. Hurd’s score capped a 12-play, 64-yard drive that chewed up 4:44 of the period.
“The game plan was to run the ball and keep the ball away from Nixa,” Hurd said.
McCaster’s limited availability early in the game, opened the door for junior quarterback Adam McKnight to fill the void. Nixa regained the lead on its next drive when McKnight connected with junior Carter Mabe on a 36-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 lead with 4:19 left before halftime.
But the Eagles weren’t done. Nixa stopped Webb City on its next possession, then scored to take a commanding lead into the break.
McKnight rolled to the right, broke a tackle, and scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Eagles a 21-7 lead with just 4 seconds left in the second quarter.
“Tonight was a team affair, because Jayden went out early so we had to count on the other guys and we had to count on Adam running a little bit,” Perry said. “I thought everybody chipped in. It wasn’t easy, but we scored 28 points against a good football team, even though we had limited possessions.”
Webb City senior Mason Williams didn’t wait long after halftime to get the Cardinals on the board again.
On its first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Williams took the handoff to the right and broke free down the sideline for a 64-yard touchdown, making the score 21-14.
Three drives later, Nixa extended its lead to 28-14 on a 5-yard run by McCaster midway through the third quarter.
But the Cardinals kept chipping away and getting closer. On its ensuing possession, Webb City drove 55-yards in 17 plays, including three fourth-down conversions, scoring on a reverse option.
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Hurd took the pitch from senior quarterback Gabe Johnson and ran to the left, then Hurd lateraled to senior Randy Flint. Flint then pitched the ball back to Johnson, option style, who ran it in for a 5-yard touchdown.
“We had the mindset all week that we knew they had weaknesses, and we knew we could capitalize on them,” Hurd said. “They aren’t too disciplined in the linebacker area I don’t feel like, so we took advantage of that, and we had some explosive plays.”
A blocked extra point by Nixa senior Kaden Flood made the score 28-20 with 8:14 left in the game.
McCaster led Nixa (2-0) with 97 yards rushing on 14 carries and had two touchdowns on the ground, while McKnight added 85 yards rushing and was 5-for-8 passing with 84 yards and a score through the air.
Williams led Webb City (1-1) with 155 yards rushing on 21 attempts and a touchdown. Mabe finished with 79 yards on 18 rushing attempts.
“We might be one of the smallest defenses in the state of Missouri, regardless of class, but our guys play extremely hard,” McFarland said. “If they are the best team in Class 6, and if we can play with those guys, it’s going to give our kids the confidence moving forward that we can play with anybody.”
