Nixa football runs all over Joplin for first district championship since 2015
NIXA — A photo hangs in the Eagles' locker room of the 2014 Nixa football team that went to state and finished as the state runner-up.
The memories of Logan Tyler, Jacob Watkins, Jourden Riley and many others hang from the wall. A memorable team came up short and accepted a second-place trophy in the Edward Jones Dome.
Head coach John Perry wants to replace that photo.
"We want to replace that picture with a state championship team," Perry said. "Why not us? Why can't we do it? I have no idea why we can't, so that's our plan."
Nixa showed on Friday night that his plan might not be that far-fetched.
Friday night saw the Eagles put together a near-perfect offensive first half that sprung Nixa (11-0) to a 56-34 win over Joplin (7-4). It was the Eagles' first district championship win since 2015.
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Nixa will now travel to Rockhurst (10-1) after the Hawklets pulled off perhaps the state's biggest upset when they beat Class 6 No. 3 Lee's Summit North 24-21. The game will be Friday at 7 p.m. in Kansas City.
"This was something we've been working on for a long time," Perry said. "We're four years and to be able to have this group play as hard as they play every single day, we're pretty dang good. We just keep getting better every single day. They live in the present moment and they don't look back and they don't look forward. We're trying to break some new ground around here."
Nixa gained 525 yards of total offense with 387 coming on the ground. The Eagles scored 42 of their 56 points and gained 333 of their yards in the first half.
Each Nixa drive ended in a touchdown outside of kneeling out the clock to go into halftime while having 51 offensive plays to Joplin's 21.
"We just jumped on them early and we jumped on them fast," senior running back Malachi Rider said. "If we didn't, it would've been a closer game throughout. We were just smarter than them, stronger than them and we jumped out on them fast. I really believe that's why we won."
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Rider rushed for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Dylan Rebura rushed for 187 yards, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown.
The duo has been one of the best in southwest Missouri throughout the year. The two have a similar running style where the gameplan doesn't change depending on which one is in. The two are so similar to the point they finished the regular season with the exact same number of rushing yards and both have over 1,000 this year.
"We both have the same goal we're trying to reach," Rider said. "We're both competing with each other and it's only making us better. I'm not mad that we're splitting reps. We're both accomplishing great things and it makes it that much better."
Defensively, Nixa held its own against one of the most well-rounded offensive attacks in the area. Joplin's biggest threat, South Dakota State running back commit Quin Renfro, finished the game with 200 yards and a touchdown.
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Nixa forced four interceptions and recovered a muffed kick on a kickoff.
Star senior safety Spencer Ward put the game away with an interception in the final seconds to secure a trip to Rockhurst — somewhere the Eagles didn't expect to have to go.
Perry said he made the trip to Lee's Summit North during the Eagles' bye week to scout them thinking that the two would meet in the state quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
The Broncos featured perhaps the top recruit in the country, Power 5 skill players and a quarterback bound for Missouri State — but the trip went for naught as Rockhurst scored a go-ahead touchdown with 4:25 to go. LSN got to midfield before leaving the postseason without a district title.
"We were hoping we'd get the rematch with them because it would have been at home," Perry said. "Rockhurst it is, man. We'll be ready to play. We'll make us a trip. It'll be a fun day and I can't wait."
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Nixa will face a defense that has allowed 16.8 points per game. The Hawklets finished the regular season ranked ninth in the state while Nixa was ranked fifth.
The winner would play the winner of a quarterfinal between Liberty North and Oak Park for a trip to the Class 6 championship where Nixa hopes it can get a picture of it with the first-place trophy for the locker room.
"I really believe we can go all the way," Rider said. "I really believe we can do it. We all believe we can."
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: Nixa football beats Joplin in MSHSAA Class 6 state playoffs
