Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best high school football players of the 2023 season
The Springfield News-Leader is proud to announce its 2023 Dominant Dozen honoring the 12 most impactful players of the high school football season.
The players were picked based on in-season production, News-Leader observations and consultations with high school football coaches from across the area. Statistics and other data were provided by coaches.
As expected, there was quite a bit of movement from our preseason team to the one that counts at the end of the year. Eight players from our preseason team made the final 12 with two coming from our annual "players who will make us regret not putting them in the Dominant Dozen" list. Two players went completely under our radar and made their names known as one of the area's 12 best players this season.
Here are the 2023 Dominant Dozen, the Next Dozen and honorable mention selections, which are all in alphabetical order by last name.
2021: Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best high school football players of the 2021 season
2022: Dominant Dozen: The Ozarks' best high school football players of the 2022 season
2023 Dominant Dozen
Jackson Cantwell, OL, Nixa
Cantwell becomes the first sophomore to make this list since we started putting it together in 2021. The five-star prospect and one of the nation's best players in his respective class was more than deserving after starring for a line that went undefeated in Central Ozark Conference play. Cantwell, at 6-foot-8, 300 pounds, had 91 pancake blocks this season and zero sacks allowed. The strength and athleticism are evident for a player who is still in his early days as a left tackle. He has a chance at being one of the area's all-time greats.
Talan Chandler, OL, Nevada
Chandler is one of two, two-time Dominant Dozen recipients this year as he continued to be one of the best players in the Ozarks — and an argument could very easily be made that he was the best overall player in the area these last two seasons. Chandler should end his career as a three-time first-team all-state performer before he heads off to play on Mizzou's offensive line. He finished the 2023 season with 143 total pancakes and knockdowns. He also had time to make 32 tackles with five being for a loss.
James Dowdy, WR/DB, Reeds Spring
The other two-time Dominant Dozen recipient from this year's class saw Dowdy lead the area in receiving when everyone on the field knew the ball was going his way. He is a playmaker down the field with a knack for jumping up and making the big catches in addition to being among the elite defensive backs in the area. He caught an area-high 74 passes for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's among the great athletes to ever wear a Wolves uniform.
Hugh Eaton, RB/LB, Marionville
The heart of the Marionville football program over the last two seasons led the Comets to an undefeated season and its second state championship in school history. Eaton was a load to tackle offensively and was the leader of a historic defense that allowed just 4.3 points per game. Eaton rushed for 966 yards and 16 touchdowns to go along with 97 total tackles and five interceptions. He established himself as one of the best football players in the state, something he showed glimpses of a year ago.
More: How Marionville football secured a state championship that was 20 years in the making
Jax Glendenning, RB/LB, Lebanon
Glendenning was among the most impressive backs in southwest Missouri and he helped lead Lebanon to an undefeated run through the Ozark Conference. He rushed for 1,723 yards and 23 touchdowns this season which ranked him among the tops in the area when those ahead of him played more games. Defensively, he came through in some big-time spots including a game-sealing interception to beat Camdenton in the regular season. He's an immediate favorite to earn Player of the Year honors in 2023.
Briggs Hughston, WR, West Plains
Hughston was a monster in West Plains' passing game and there is no denying that he was among the 12 best players in the Ozarks this season. With 58 catches, the Northern Iowa commit made the most of them with 1,080 yards (second in the area) with a region-high 20 scores. The 6-foot-6 receiver showed impressive speed for his size throughout the season and made him a matchup nightmare for everyone going up against him.
Kellen Lair, RB, Fair Grove
All Lair did this season was make big plays and score touchdowns. He was the area's breakout player of the year with nearly 2,000 yards on the ground with 37 touchdowns in addition to 30 catches for 638 yards and 10 scores. His breakaway speed was special and no one had an answer for him in the Mid-Lakes Conference. He made the big plays in the postseason en route to leading the Eagles to a Class 2 state semifinal appearance. Lair had an incredible season and it's going to keep coaches across the area up at nights this offseason knowing he'll be back for more next year.
More: Why Fair Grove junior Kellen Lair is one of the best football players in the Ozarks
Kellen Lindstrom, DL, Glendale
The top senior football prospect in the Ozarks put together a season that reflected his Tennessee commit and four-star ranking. He led the area with 13 sacks and finished the year with 109 tackles with 65 being solo. Those numbers are even more impressive when considering teams often sent two or three guys at him trying to slow him down while running the ball in the opposite direction. His motor is what makes him special and it was on full display the entire year, no matter the score. It wouldn't be a stretch to call Lindstrom the area's defensive player of the year.
More: Through the season's many distractions, Glendale football stayed together and never quit
Jackson Marrs, RB/LB, Seneca
Seneca had the season most expected it to as it finished with a Class 3 state runner-up finish. Marrs led the way as the team's star running back and an all-state-level piece to its linebacker group. Marrs finished the year among the top rushers in the area with 1,710 yards and 35 touchdowns — which is even more impressive considering he didn't play all four quarters in most games because Seneca was so dang good. Marrs left his mark on a great Seneca program.
Quin Renfro, RB, Joplin
It doesn't matter how much time Renfro missed with an injury this season. When he was on the field, he was the best player. In eight games, Renfro still managed to rush for 1,601 yards and 18 touchdowns. The combination of his patience and acceleration when hitting the hole makes him maybe the best back we've seen from the area since former Joplin standout Isaiah Davis — who appears to be on his way out of South Dakota State while Renfro will become the latest Joplin player to become a Jackrabbit and have a shot at winning an FCS national title.
Spencer Ward, DB, Nixa
The final Ward brother to play football at Nixa left his mark on a program when he started up as a freshman in John Perry's first year at the school. Ward was the standout on the Eagles' defense for the last few seasons and he finished his career by collecting the most solo stops in southwest Missouri with 112. He was a sideline-to-sideline tackler in the secondary and one you didn't want to throw the ball near. The dude is a flat-out great football player and will make whoever better when he gets his shot at the next level.
More: Nixa football's seniors helped build an area power. They depart after a quarterfinal loss.
Wyatt Woods, QB, Republic
Last, but certainly not least, is the star quarterback who led Republic to its first state championship appearance in school history. Woods was the heart of the entire run while making the biggest plays late in games either with his legs or arm. His calm demeanor kept the Tigers calm when they could have been seen as underdogs over their last four games of the postseason. Woods was among the area's top rushers with 1,543 yards and 19 touchdowns. Through the air, he had 933 yards with 13 scores. He was perfect at everything Republic wanted to do and his efforts late in the year won't be forgotten in that city anytime soon.
More: Republic football never quit, and its historic season will leave a lasting legacy
Next Dozen
Blandy Burall, QB, Reeds Spring — The area's best quarterback threw for 2,490 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. He will go down as one of the great Wolves to wear the red uniform.
Jack Cheaney, RB, Nevada — Cheany led the area in rushing with 2,056 yards and 31 touchdowns this season.
Braden Dodson, RB/LB, Mount Vernon — Dodson was a standout on both sides of the ball and he'll continue to be heading into his senior season. He rushed for 1,720 yards and 23 touchdowns.
Bryer Guerin, QB/DB, Marionville — Guerin came up with a big interception late in the first half of the Comets' state championship win and then broke away for a long scoring run as the team's quarterback. While leading the area in interceptions and leading his team to a state title, Guerin should be in for a special career in Marionville.
Gavyn Hoover, QB, Seneca — It's a shame that we went with "Dominant Dozen" instead of "Dominant Baker's Dozen" because Hoover would be right there. He threw for 2,304 yards and 25 touchdowns in addition to his 1,052 yards and 14 scores on the ground.
Silas Morton, RB, Strafford — Morton was the one guy in the area no one wanted to tackle. His second half of the season helped make him the area's second-leading rusher with 1,982 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Ian Ngugi, ATH, Lamar — State-champion Lamar enjoyed Ngugi's play-making on both sides of the ball and in the kick return game. Every time he touched the ball, he was a threat to score. When on defense, he was among the area's shutdown corners.
Cash Pomeroy, RB/LB, Marionville — Pomeroy is one of the best sophomore skill position players we've seen come through the area in a while. He's a man among boys at the Class 1 level and led the Comets with 1,340 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns this season. Buy stock now.
James Rexroat, WR, Republic — Rexroat's numbers weren't eye-popping but his influence on games can't be recorded. The Memphis commit drew a ton of attention opening opportunities for others in Republic's passing game. When he did get his shot, he somehow found his way behind defenses en route to big plays down the field.
Russell Roweton, QB, Willard — Roweton led Willard's resurgence this season behind his 1,447 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. He turned a 1-10 team into one that was 5-6 and competitive in the COC and left the Tigers better than he found it.
Gavin Smith, QB, Lebanon — Smith made a ton of plays with his legs during a great year for Lebanon that came up short in a district title game against Republic. He rushed for 926 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Mogan Vaughn, LB, Seneca — Vaughn was the top linebacker on a Seneca squad that allowed fewer than two touchdowns per game. Seneca has churned out great linebackers in recent seasons.
Honorable Mention
Hunter Adams, RB, Ava
Jayden Antonelli, DL, Nixa
Gage Depee, RB/LB, Branson
Cody Downing, LB, Mount Vernon
Kade Durnin, QB, Camdenton
Parker Elliott, LB, Ozark
Dontrell Holt, OL, Joplin
Quenton Hughes, QB, Neosho
Mason McCurry, LB, Bolivar
Toby Moore, OL/DL, McDonald County
Josh Pacheco, WR, McDonald County
Alex Wilkerson, QB/DB, Lamar
Trace Woolridge, DL, Lamar
Khiler Nance, LB, Lamar
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: Dominant Dozen: Springfield area top football players of 2023
