By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
You can’t doubt the toughness of Adam McKnight, nor can you doubt the leg of Jonah Fields.
Nixa’s star quarterback and its long-range specialist kicker – who picked a great time to make his first varsity field goal – delivered big for the Eagles in the Class 6 quarterfinals on Friday night.
McKnight accounted for 281 total yards and four touchdowns, Fields drilled a 52-yard field goal in crunch time and Nixa withstood a furious comeback from Helias Catholic to prevail 45-28 and keep its state title aspirations alive.
“As you could tell, ol’ mo – momentum – obviously had swung. That (kick) brought it back to our sideline,” said Nixa coach John Perry. “I don’t give out game balls ever. They’re expensive. But I gave (Jonah) a game ball because that’s how big that kick was.”
Fields’ kick came as Nixa was on the verge of a stunning collapse. The Eagles led 35-7 early in the second half then sputtered on both sides as Helias Catholic scored three straight touchdowns to pull within 35-28.
As another Nixa drive stalled, the Eagles faced 4th and 4 from the Helias 35 with 7:25 remaining.
The Eagles sent out Fields, a 5’10” junior who was 0-for-2 on varsity field goals in his career. He normally punts and does the kickoff duties.
This was neither.
“Honestly, there’s a lot less stress from that far because people don’t expect you to make it,” Fields said. “So, I was like, ‘I got this.’ I felt very confident.”
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Fields drilled it down the middle and over the crossbar with a few yards to spare. According to MSHSAA records, the 52-yard field goal is tied for the 11th longest in state history.
“It felt really good coming off my foot,” Fields said. “I saw it soar and I just went, ‘Oh, thank goodness.’”
On its three previous drives, Nixa went three-and-out, lost a fumble and then had another three-and-out series to open the door for the Crusaders’ comeback.
Desperate for points, Perry turned to his little-used but highly trusted kicker.
“We don’t kick field goals,” Perry said. “We needed a field goal there. We weren’t doing what we needed to do on offense. (Fields) got it done. I knew he could do it. He drilled it.
“He does that every day in practice so I thought, ‘Why not?’”
The Eagles also got a heroic effort from their quarterback McKnight, who battled through an apparent leg injury to lead the offense. McKnight hobbled to the sideline after a 3-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.
While he never missed a snap, McKnight got up wincing again after a short gain on 3rd down that set up Fields’ long boot.
“(It’s motivating) playing for this team, playing for this city, playing for these boys I’ve grown up with my whole life,” McKnight said. “You only get this opportunity once to play with your brothers that you’ve been with day in and day out.
“If I’m able to walk, I’m going to play.”
Perry compared McKnight, a two-year starter and one of the area’s top football prospects, to a famous movie character.
“If you’ve ever watched the Rocky series, you can’t knock that dude out,” Perry said. “(McKnight) is phenomenal. He’s a fierce competitor. He’s had to run the ball more here down the stretch, but you don’t have to worry about him.”
McKnight delivered the dagger on Nixa’s final offensive series as he dropped a 47-yard pinpoint pass to Randy Flint down the left sideline. Flint finished with six catches for 131 yards and a pair of scores.
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“I saw No. 2 (Flint) with single coverage, and I knew where I was going,” McKnight said.
Eagles’ senior running back Jayden McCaster had 25 carries for 136 yards and a pair of scores. He ripped off a 53-yard touchdown run on Nixa’s opening series of the second half that pushed the Eagles’ lead to 35-7.
Nixa’s defense forced five turnovers but also allowed Helias quarterback Austin Weaver to tally 385 total yards and two touchdowns. Most of the yardage came in the second half as Helias went pass-heavy and Weaver scrambled around to make plays.
“We advanced to the next game. We have not played four solid quarters yet,” Perry said. “But we knew (Helias) would come out strong in the second half. They’ve won a bunch of ball games, played for state championships. They weren’t going to quit. Kudos to them for competing for 48 minutes.”
The Eagles are one win away from returning to the state championship game in St. Joseph. They’ll travel to St. Louis next weekend for a semifinal contest.
Nixa will face the winner of Pattonville-Ft. Zumwalt West, who play at noon on Saturday (Nov. 22).
“We’re going to focus on ourselves and clean up some things we were doing tonight,” Perry said. “(Helias) got after us a little bit and caused some problems for us. We want to clean up our football and do everything we can to put the best football team on the field next week.”
Nixa 45, Helias Catholic 28
Helias 0 7 14 7 — 28
Nixa 7 21 7 10 — 45
First quarter
Nixa – McKnight 8 run (Kahmke kick)
Second quarter
Nixa – McKnight 3 run (Kahmke kick)
Nixa – McCaster 2 run (Kahmke kick)
Nixa – Flint 15 catch from McKnight (Kahmke kick)
Helias – Hillman 18 catch from Weaver (Calvaruso kick)
Third quarter
Nixa – McCaster 53 run (Kahmke kick)
Helias – Fann 3 run (Calvaruso kick)
Helias – Fann 2 run (Calvaruso kick)
Fourth quarter
Helias – Weaver 58 run (Calvaruso kick)
Nixa – Fields 52 field goal
Nixa – Flint 47 catch from McKnight (Kahmke kick)
Helias stat leaders (unofficial)
Passing: Weaver 21/44, 302 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs
Rushing: Weaver 20/183, 1 TD; Fann 6/22, 2 TDs
Receiving: Hillman 5/90, 1 TD; Sykes 5/74; Wood 5/46; Miller 1/46
Nixa stat leaders (unofficial)
Passing: McKnight 11/16, 188 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing: McCaster 25/136, 2 TDs; McKnight 13/93, 2 TDs
Receiving: Flint 6/131, 2 TDs;
Turnovers: Helias 5, Nixa 1
