The fifth 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 5 – CLICK HERE
STATE FOOTBALL RANKINGS – CLICK HERE
FAN PHOTOS OF WEEK 5 – CLICK HERE
TEAMS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE IN WEEK 5
There are many teams that had great weeks. I am picking 10 to focus on here.
Camdenton
Camdenton got its first win of the season handling Battle 53-24. The Lakers are in the midst of moving from a pass-heavy to more balanced attack this season. On Friday, they found a good mix rushing for 232 yards and passing for 187. Quenton Krewson led the rushing attack with five carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Hodge was just behind him with three carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. Michael Maschino was a dual threat at quarterback with 130 yards and three touchdowns through the air with another 75 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Maschino set the tone on defense to start the game with an interception in the endzone taking the ball back 108 yards for a touchdown turning the momentum in Camdenton’s favor early. The kicking game was working for the Lakers as well with Krasi Petrov hitting a 19-yard field goal and going six-for-six on PATs. Defensively, Camdenton had five sacks including two each from Carter Butts and Paul Muff. The Lakers had 12 tackles for a loss as a team.
Cassville
Cassville was a team I had my eye on entering the season with a veteran roster returning. They opened a lot of eyes with a narrow six-point loss to two-time defending state runner-up Seneca in Week 1. Seneca has not played a game within 16 points since. Cassville followed that up with a loss to McDonald County (has been state ranked in Class 4) by 12, a win over East Newton and then a loss to then Class 2 No. 2 Lamar by nine. This week, Cassville got a signature win handing traditional Class 4 power Harrisonville its first loss by a dominant 42-14 margin. Colton Roark was a star with 318 yards and four touchdowns from scrimmage. That included seven carries for 144 yards and three receptions for 174 yards. Quarterback Jaren Stearns threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Easton Hughes also had two rushing touchdowns and 22 yards on nine carries. This win served as a reminder as to how difficult the Big 8 conference is. Often when the teams step outside of conference play, they find success. One Big 8 team plays a non-conference game each week. So far Big 8 teams are 4-1 in non-conference games with the one loss being East Newton falling by just four points to currently unbeaten Springfield Catholic.
Clever
Clever turned a corner last season winning five games which was two more than the combined total from the program’s first four varsity seasons. This season, the Blue Jays are taking another step forward, and that was evident on Saturday night. Clever improved to 4-1 on the season with a 13-10 win over defending Class 2 state runner-up Fair Grove. It is Clever’s first ever varsity win over Fair Grove on the football field. Brayden Baker threw for 103 yards and one touchdown on three completions. Lucas Peebles was on the receiving end of the touchdown which went for 69 yards. Quintin Lemmer had the other touchdown with 11 carries for 44 yards. The Mid-Lakes Conference race is wide open with Springfield Catholic sitting at 3-0 in conference followed by Clever, Forsyth and Fair Grove all at 2-1.
Glendale
Rivalry games are always fun, and Glendale got a big 38-29 Southside Showdown win over Kickapoo on Friday. The Falcons got it done without senior starting quarterback Cash Newberry who is out with an injury. Junior William Ross threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns in Newberry’s stead. The play of the game was an electric with a 95-yard touchdown catch by Joelle Rover that saw him use every bit of the field available. He had three catches for 109 yards. Rover is more than just a receiver. He also had a pick six on defense and key blocks on two more touchdown runs. Trevor Heman hauled in six passes for 100 yards upping his season total to 690 yards receiving through five games. Deric Washington and Kamron Richardson have paced the defense all season. Washington has 44 tackles and six tackles for a loss from his linebacker spot this season. Richardson has contributed 38 tackles at strong safety.
Miller
Miller picked up a signature win on Friday by traveling to Ash Grove and handing the No. 5 ranked team in Class 1 its first loss 25-12. The Cardinals got it done running the ball and playing shutdown defense. Offensively, Miller had 258 yards rushing and 312 yards of total offense. Quarterback Jaylen Madsen had 17 carries for 106 yards and two touchdowns. The game was tied 12-12 at the half. In the second half, Miller allowed 63 total yards of offense with four interceptions including two by Paul Nunez. The defensive front caused havoc all night led by Conner and Mason Neely. Mason Neely had five solo and seven assisted tackles with two tackles for a loss. The Cardinals are very close to being unbeaten with the two losses coming by three total points in the first two weeks of the season. It is Madsen’s first season playing quarterback and he has 526 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns and 325 yards passing for two touchdowns through five games. He also has two interceptions with a pick-six on defense. Nunez has done a big of everything for Miller with 53 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, four sacks and two interceptions on defense. He has rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns and caught six passes for 82 yards and a touchdown on defense. Miller looks to run its winning streak to four with a road trip to Sarcoxie this week.
Monett
Class 4 District 6 is a wide open district this season and Monett proved it is a contender in the district with a key conference and district win over McDonald County by a 50-40 margin on Friday. The thing that stood out for me in this one is how effectively the Cubs, a team known for a high-flying passing attack, ran the ball. Brayden Seitz had 12 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Antoine Smith added 14 carries for 58 yards and three touchdowns. As a team, the Cubs had 247 yards rushing and 264 yards passing. Dylan Washick had all 264 yards through the air with two touchdowns. The aerial attack is still the bread and butter for Monett with Washick posting 1,904 yards passing through five games this season, but the effective running game adds a new dimension to Mauk’s offense that makes it even harder to stop. The Cubs have rushed for 641 yards and 16 touchdowns through five games this season. Last season, Monett had 112 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in 10 games. Senior offensive lineman Edgar Mercado has been one of the key pieces up front. Alex Meeks (548 yards), Carson Nestleroad (385 yards), Collin Umfleet (364 yards), Seitz (235 yards) and Smith (232 yards) all have more than 200 yards receiving this season. Big plays both ways are a key for Monett and Camden Towles is providing that on defense with 5.5 sacks. The Cubs have 11 total sacks, seven fumble recoveries and three interceptions on defense. Mauk took over a team coming off an 0-10 record two years ago and led the program to three wins last season in a year when everything was new for the Cubs. This season, Monett has already matched last season’s win total through five games. The two losses came to Seneca and Nevada, which are a combined 9-1 this season with Nevada’s one loss coming to Seneca.
Mt. Vernon
On Friday, Mt. Vernon did something that hadn’t been done in a long, long time. The Mountaineer defense stifled Lamar on the way to a 21-0 shutout win. It was the first time since Sept. 7, 2012 when Lamar lost 31-0 to Cassville that the Tigers had been shutout. A streak of 186 games. The Mountaineer defense did not allow a Lamar offensive play to go for more than 19 yards all night. Garrison Nordyke had 13 tackles while Hunter Conway added in nine tackles. Coy Felton had one interception and a forced fumble. The kicking game was also on point with Landon Popa having three touchbacks to negate any chance at returns while also hitting all three PATs. Hunter Dawson had two punts that traveled an average of 30.5 yards with no return. Offensively, Dawson threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Dawson found Felton for a 61-yard touchdown pass on Mt. Vernon’s first offensive play of the game to set the tone. Conway had 24 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown to lead the rushing attack.
“This was truly a total team effort,” Mt. Vernon head coach Tom Cox said. “Coach Chris Johnston and our defensive staff of Jeff Piepenbrink and Jeremy Braun had a great game plan, and our guys executed it well. Coaches Beckner and Alumbaugh had our scout team working hard all week. The Lamar offense is not easy to replicate. Our offensive line did a good job. We controlled the middle 8 by scoring on our last drive of the first half, receiving the second half kickoff and scoring on our first drive of the second half. I am super proud of our players and coaches.”
Ozark
It was a big night for Ozark on Friday with the Tigers exploding for 71 points in a 71-0 win over Waynesville. Head coach Jeremy Cordell said they believe it is a program record for points scored in a game. It was also the first shutout for the team since Sept. 16, 2022. The Tigers had 551 yards of total offense led by Jett Easley and Anthony Cordell. Easley rushed for 157 yards and Cordell added in 104. They did their damage behind an offensive line of Isaiah Collins, Jacob Bruce, James Rice, Braxton Degase and Ethan Johnson. For the season, Easley has 412 yards rushing and five touchdowns while Cordell has 356 yards and three touchdowns. The duo have added 344 yards and 197 yards receiving, respectively. Quarterback Peyton Russell has 52 completions for 835 yards and seven touchdowns. Ozark is 1-0 in COC East play with a big road game against Lebanon on tap this week.
Parkview
Parkview picked up a big-time district win on Friday, handing Branson its second loss of the season in an 18-13 decision. The Vikings got the ball back offensively with five minutes left in the game trailing 13-12. They marched down the field to score a touchdown and take an 18-13 lead with about a minute left in the game. The defense was able to hold off Branson on the ensuing drive to secure the win. This was a huge win for many reasons, but biggest for the district standings. Right now, Parkview is one spot behind Branson in the Class 5 District 6 standings. If those standings hold, Parkview would jump Branson in the standings based on head-to-head results.
West Plains
As I mentioned above, Class 4 District 6 is wide open this season with more than half the teams in the district having real shots at winning the title. West Plains staked their claim to contender status on Friday with a 55-41 win over previously unbeaten Logan-Rogersville. Offensively, West Plains was balanced on Friday with 276 yards passing and 250 yards rushing. Ethan Miller had all 276 yards passing with two touchdowns. His top target was Dominic Hale with five catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Jackson Taylor was dominant on the ground with 24 carries for 206 yards and two touchdowns averaging 8.6 yards per carry. The defense was able to come up with big plays when it needed them. West Plains had eight tackles for a loss and two sacks from Jaxon Hunter. The victory also kept West Plains very much alive in the conference standings. Branson is unbeaten in conference with Carl Junction, Bolivar, Logan-Rogersville and the Zizzers all have one loss each.
Top Games of Week 6
Republic at Webb City
This is the first of four consecutive weeks to end the season where the COC West and Class 5 District 6 standings will be decided. Right now, Republic, Webb City, Carthage and Neosho all sit at 4-1. The first three are 1-0 in COC West play. Up first is Republic at Webb City. These two teams have three common opponents with both losing to Nixa (Republic by 28 and Webb City by eight) and both beating Ozark (Republic by 22 and Webb City by 17) and Kickapoo (Republic by 47 and Webb City by 28). Republic has won three of the last four matchups. The clock likely won’t stop often in this game. Republic has a 241-23 run play-pass play split so far this season while Webb City is at 225-26. Owen Klier, Preston McCracken and Izaiah Hull lead Republic on the ground with 413, 412 and 318 yards rushing, respectively. Mason Williams has been the leader for Webb City on the ground with 83 carries for 850 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has at least 110 yards rushing in every game this season.
Ozark at Lebanon
Nixa is the prohibitive favorite in the COC East until someone can knock them off, but there is a lot of competition throughout the rest of the league to be that top challenger. Peyton Russell, Jett Easley and Anthony Cordell make the Ozark offensive engine go, and it has been rolling this season averaging 40.8 points per game. In Ozark’s three losses, the Tigers have given up an average of 399 yards rushing on the ground. Lebanon will try to replicate that success behind an offense averaging 270 rushing yards per game. Elisha Simmonds (351 yards rushing), Carson Hill (338 yards) and Beckett York (243 yards) lead the Lebanon offensive attack.
Lamar at Nevada
The annual Silver Tiger game is always one to circle on the calendar. Lamar is looking to bounce back from its first shutout loss in 186 games while Nevada is hoping to retain the trophy for a second straight season. Nevada beat Lamar last season 20-19 for the program’s first win in the rivalry since its resumption in 2018.
Springfield Catholic at Fair Grove
This is a seismic matchup in the Mid-Lakes Conference. Springfield Catholic is the final remaining unbeaten team in conference play, but Clever, Fair Grove and Forsyth are all sitting right there with one loss. A Catholic win would keep the Irish in the driver’s seat for a conference title and make Fair Grove’s path to another conference title arduous. A Fair Grove win blows the conference race wide open.
Liberty at Mountain Grove
This another big rivalry game with big SCA implications. There are three state-ranked teams in the SCA right now with Liberty, Mountain Grove and Thayer. It is unique that they are also all three in different classes. Thayer already owns a head-to-head win over Liberty. Mountain Grove and Thayer are the two remaining unbeaten teams who don’t face off until Week 9. Liberty needs to win this game to avoid falling two games back behind Mountain Grove and Thayer pending Friday’s result. Mountain Grove snapped a three-game losing streak to the Eagles with a 44-24 win last season.
