2023 Dominant Dozen: Southwest Missouri's top high school players heading into the season

The preseason edition of the 2023 Dominant Dozen is here and we’re projecting who southwest Missouri’s top high school football players of the season are going to be.

A talented area features Power 5 commits, those who have led their teams on deep postseason runs and other notable standouts who are worth the price of admission heading into the season.

The News-Leader is in its third season of the “Dominant Dozen” for high school football. It supplements our preseason and postseason All-Ozarks postseason teams — which were revived after the 2022 season.

This list will be different by December when a few players break out and make it known that we messed up by not including them. We will publish a watchlist around midseason before naming the 2023 Dominant Dozen once every area team’s seasons are complete.

Our preseason Dominant Dozen for the 2023 football season follows and is in alphabetical order by last name.

Jayden Antonelli, Nixa

A second-team All-Ozarks performer from a year ago, Antonelli returns as one of the most productive defensive linemen in the area. While competing against the top offensive lines in the Central Ozark Conference, Antonelli led the league with eight sacks last season. He’s a 6-foot-4, 210-pounder who should be in a great position to make another leap heading into his senior year.

Blandy Burall, Reeds Spring

No one in the area improved as much from their sophomore to junior year as much as Burall did while establishing himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the state. He led the Wolves to a state championship appearance and he will have another opportunity to lead Reeds Spring on a deep postseason run this year after throwing for over 2,500 yards and an area-high 34 touchdowns last season. He has returning weapons and he still has the arm to make big plays happen.

Talan Chandler, Nevada

There wasn’t a better offensive lineman in the area last season than Chandler when he made his debut season in the Ozarks. That should continue heading into 2023 when he was a pancake-flipping machine a year ago Chandler is committed to playing for Deion Sanders at Colorado and he’ll probably head there with a new highlight tape that will have many excited for his arrival.

James Dowdy, Reeds Spring

Another Reeds Spring standout, Dowdy was a Dominant Selection player at the end of last season when he finished as the area’s leading receiver while coming up with the second-most interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. He was a play-making machine while finishing with 25.4 yards per catch. He also put on one of the most unforgettable performances in Reeds Spring’s history when he caught seven passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns to go along with a kickoff return for a score and an interception in a state semifinal victory.

Hugh Eaton, Marionville

A second-team All-Ozarks player on defense, Eaton is going to have a chance at making a bigger name for himself as the standout player on the Comets. The graduation of Wil Carlton should give Eaton more opportunities for bigger numbers even when he rushed for 1,100-plus yards last season with 15 scores. Eaton is tougher than most players on the field and he’s going to be the best athlete on most fields he steps on. The Comets are going to be just fine heading into the post-Carlton era.

Breckin Galardo, Webb City

When given opportunities last season, Galardo took advantage and was one of the top running backs in the state. He finished the year with six games in which he rushed for 150 yards or more while going for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns in 10 games. Galardo will be the featured back from the start of this year when he only had seven carries through the first two weeks of the season. Webb City will have a new head coach on the sidelines but it shouldn’t change much to one of the area’s premier programs.

Dontrell Holt, Joplin

A first-team All-Ozarks lineman, Holt should continue to be one of the best in the area before he heads off next year to play at Iowa State. He’s bigger than everyone else and he keeps his quarterback clean. His offense is going to have weapons all around him, an experienced quarterback and one of the best running backs in the state — and somehow, he’s going to be the one most defenders fear the most.

Kellen Lindstrom, Glendale

One of the best football prospects out of the area since Dorial Green-Beckham, Lindstrom will have the chance this season to show the Springfield area why. He has the measurables as an explosive 6-foot-5, 240-pound edge rusher who is committed to playing at Tennessee next season. The four-star prospect is a near-lock to put up bigger numbers than he did a year ago when he had 40 solo tackles with 73 total and a sack. He’s going to be fun to watch every time he takes the field.

Jackson Marrs, Seneca

Seneca has earned the right to have some extremely high expectations this year and it’s thanks in large part to having its star two-way player back. A second-team All-Ozarks performer at running back and linebacker, Marrs can take another step forward when he put up some of the biggest numbers in the area last season. He’s southwest Missouri’s top returning rusher at 1,688 yards and 24 touchdowns last season. Defensively, he had 82 total tackles with 47 coming by himself. Seneca should be considered a state contender and Marrs will have to lead it there.

Quin Renfro, Joplin

Speaking of the top backs in the area, Renfro is in a great spot to become the area’s top back this season. Renfro finished right behind Marrs with 1,514 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground last season when playing in three fewer games than Seneca did. He’s turned into a legitimate college prospect as he’s attracted top FCS programs this offseason. There should be some expectations for the Eagles with some of the turnover in the Central Ozark Conference with Renfro and a few other star players being back.

Spencer Ward, Nixa

There aren’t many players who possess the speed that Ward has in the Eagles’ defense and he should be in for another big season after All-Ozarks First Team honors a year ago. Ward was the area’s second-leading tackler from last season while playing in two fewer games than the one at the top. He has sideline-to-sideline range that will continue to make him one of the best players in the area. There’s also a good chance we see a bit more of him offensively with some of the turnover in Nixa’s offense this season.

Wyatt Woods, Republic

There is a lot to be excited about in Republic with the growth of its football team. Woods is an elite player for the program to get behind heading into his senior year. When he’s needed to run, Woods has proven to be one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks in the Ozarks after finishing last year with 936 yards and 15 touchdowns. In his first year behind center, he threw for 1,046 yards and 15 scores. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see those numbers take a jump with Woods possessing the ability to put up the best numbers at the position in the area.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 2023 News-Leader Preseason Dominant Dozen high school football team