Southwest Missouri high school football district quarterfinals takeaways and scores
District quarterfinal week has come and gone. We almost got a massive upset but everything was pretty much chalk. Here's what happened this week and what you should look forward to in the district semifinals.
Camdenton avoids what would have been the night's biggest upset
After beating Rolla 42-21 to begin the season, the improvement the Lakers showed over the year might have suggested they didn't have much to worry about heading into Friday night's rematch.
Well, Rolla might have improved a bit too.
Camdenton needed Kade Durnin's touchdown pass to Owen Borbe with 21 seconds left in the game to escape with a 17-14 win over the Bulldogs.
More: Through the season's many distractions, Glendale football stayed together and never quit
District quarterfinal week doesn't typically provide many upsets but that would have been maybe the biggest in the state. According to the scores posted to MSHAA's website by Saturday at 1:20 a.m., not a single seven-seed knocked off a two-seed.
Hillcrest sends message to Ozark Mountain Conference by beating Logan-Rogersville
The Hillcrest that struggled with the big dogs in the Ozark Conference might have a change of fortune when it moves over to the Ozark Mountain Conference.
Hillcrest edged Logan-Rogersville in a low-scoring 12-7 final. The Wildcats scored their lone touchdown in the second quarter to go up 7-6 but the Hornets rallied in the fourth for the win.
The Hornets, who had one win coming into the game against winless Parkview, knocked out the Wildcats for the second time in four years. Hillcrest should feel good about its chances when competing against more comparable competition when it and Logan-Rogersville join the OMC next season. Others in the league include Bolivar, Branson, Marshfield, Carl Junction and West Plains.
Reeds Spring, Mount Vernon set up rematch
We figured this was coming before these two played for the Big 8 East title in Week 9 of the regular season. We'll run it back next week in Mount Vernon.
Both won in shutouts with Mount Vernon beating Hollister 42-0 and Reeds Spring topping East Newton 41-0. The winner of the district semifinal will play the winner between Seneca and Cassville.
Mount Vernon won this matchup last week in Reeds Spring 42-27. The Mountaineers rallied from a halftime deficit to create the two-score advantage. Braden Dodson finished the game with 140 yards and five touchdowns for the Mountaineers.
More: Wheeler: Houston volleyball punishment was a bad look but MSHSAA wasn't completely wrong
Little bits from the area
Forsyth has its winningest season in program history after its 65-20 thumping of Willow Springs.
Catholic couldn't pull off the win against Mountain View in a 20-14 defeat but there has been noticeable growth from the Fightin' Irish. It might be a team to keep an eye on next year as it moves over to the Mid-Lakes.
Diamond's 49-14 win over Sarcoxie was the only other area upset when you go by the district seedings. The win avenged Diamond's 39-13 defeat to Sarcoxie in Week 8.
What we're looking forward to next week
Thankfully, we're on to better football in the district semifinal round of the playoffs. There are quite a few games to look forward to.
Strafford @ Forsyth — This Mid-Lakes contest will likely see the winner play Fair Grove in the following round. Forsyth got this one 42-28 last time but it wouldn't be the biggest surprise if the result flipped here. It should be a great game.
Reeds Spring @ Mount Vernon — The Wolves must do a better job at shutting down Dodson. A shutout victory over East Newton should give the Wolves some confidence defensively when going up against a very good Mountaineer team.
McDonald County @ West Plains — We've liked McDonald County all year and have noted that it plays in a juggernaut of a conference. West Plains has been up and down but this is a great cross-conference matchup between two teams that have been very good in recent years.
Grandview @ Nevada — Two Class 4 state-ranked teams will meet in the district semifinals. This is an unfortunate consequence, for Nevada, of Grandview's four forfeitures to begin the season after it played an ineligible player. The district standings were a bit manipulated because of it when Grandview isn't your typical four-seed. Maybe we'll see one of the schools sue MSHSAA to overturn its ruling, as we've seen with several different cases across the state this year *sarcasm font*.
Willard @ Republic — The Central Ozark Conference foes will meet again when this was a thriller in the fifth week of the regular season. Republic won it 21-20 and used a ton of ball control down the stretch. We'll see if the improved Willard squad will have an answer.
Joplin @ Kickapoo — A Central Ozark Conference preview as Kickapoo and Joplin meet for the first time since 2018 when the Eagles knocked the Chiefs out of the playoffs with a 77-13 blowout. Kickapoo isn't going to allow that many points this time around but Joplin's been a lot better in recent weeks with Quin Renfro running wild.
Area district quarterfinals results
Class 1, District 1
No. 8 Miller 34, No. 9 Hayti 6
Class 2, District 4
No. 4 Mountain View 20, No. 5 Catholic 14
No. 2 Forsyth 65, No. 7 Willow Springs 20
No. 3 Strafford 35, No. 6 Houston 13
Class 2, District 5
No. 5 Diamond 49, No. 4 Sarcoxie 14
No. 2 Adrian 34, No. 7 Stockton 10
No. 3 Butler 36, No. 6 El Dorado Springs 14
Class 3, District 5
No. 4 Eldon 63, No. 5 Buffalo 12
No. 2 Mountain Grove 49, No. 7 Clever 7
No. 6 Salem @ No. 3 St. James (Monday)
Class 3, District 6
No. 4 Cassville 24, No. 5 Aurora 14
No. 2 Mount Vernon 42, No. 7 Hollister 0
No. 3 Reeds Spring 41, No. 6 East Newton 0
Class 4, District 6
No. 5 Hillcrest 12, No. 4 Logan-Rogersville 7
No. 2 West Plains 50, No. 7 Monett 0
No. 3 McDonald County 41, No. 6 Marshfield 0
Class 4, District 7
No. 4 Grandview 56, No. 5 Center 0
No. 2 Harrisonville 62, No. 7 Southeast 0
No. 3 Carl Junction 32, No. 6 Lincoln College Prep 0
Class 5, District 5
No. 5 Washington 21, No. 4 North Point 13
No. 2 Camdenton 17, No. 7 Rolla 14
No. 3 Capital City 26, No. 6 Battle 7
Class 5, District 6
No. 4 Branson 41, No. 5 Glendale 38 F/OT
No. 2 Republic 42, No. 7 Parkview 6
No. 3 Willard 36, No. 6 Central 14
Class 5, District 7
No. 4 Belton 43, No. 5 Ruskin 19
No. 2 Raytown South 35, No. 7 Neosho 7
No. 3 Carthage 43, No. 6 Smith-Cotton 3
Class 6, District 5
No. 5 Ozark 13, No. 4 Waynesville 12
District semifinals schedule
Class 1, District 1
No. 8 Miller @ No. 1 Marionville
No. 5 Ash Grove @ No. 4 Cabool
No. 7 Pierce City @ No. 2 Portageville
No. 6 Charleston @ No. 3 Thayer
Class 2, District 4
No. 4 Mountain View @ No. 1 Fair Grove
No. 3 Strafford @ No. 2 Forsyth
Class 2, District 5
No. 5 Diamond @ No. 1 Lamar
No. 3 Butler @ No. 2 Adrian
Class 3, District 5
No. 4 Eldon @ No. 1 Ava
St. James or Salem @ No. 2 Mountain Grove
Class 3, District 6
No. 4 Cassville @ No. 1 Seneca
No. 3 Reeds Spring @ No. 2 Mount Vernon
Class 4, District 6
No. 5 Hillcrest @ No. 1 Bolivar
No. 3 McDonald County @ No. 2 West Plains
Class 4, District 7
No. 4 Grandview @ No. 1 Nevada
No. 3 Carl Junction @ No. 2 Harrisonville
Class 5, District 5
No. 5 Washington @ No. 1 Helias Catholic
No. 3 Capital City @ No. 2 Camdenton
Class 5, District 6
No. 4 Branson @ No. 1 Lebanon
No. 3 Willard @ No. 2 Republic
Class 5, District 7
No. 4 Belton @ No. 1 Webb City
No. 3 Carthage @ No. 2 Raytown South
Class 6, District 5
No. 5 Ozark @ No. 1 Nixa
No. 3 Joplin @ No. 2 Kickapoo
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: Springfield area high school football district quarterfinal scores
