Week 6 Southwest Missouri high school football takeaways and scores
There weren't too many surprises across the Ozarks this week but Week 6 helped set up what's to come as we move closer to highly-anticipated late-season matchups. Here's what you should know after the sixth week of the year.
Republic's win over Joplin sets up stakes for highly-anticipated COC matchup with Nixa in Week 8
Republic was having turnover problems throughout the last few weeks. In this giant Central Ozark Conference bout, the Tigers were the ones taking the ball away as they forced four Joplin (3-3) turnovers to come away with a 38-15 win.
The victory keeps Republic in contention for at least a share of the COC title when it has Nixa (6-0) visiting in two weeks. The Tigers won in overtime, 36-35, in Nixa a year ago which forced the Eagles to share their COC title. With Branson and Carl Junction remaining on the schedule, there's a chance the Week 8 matchup can lead to Republic earning a share of the league with Webb City (5-1) also in the mix.
Republic won with a vintage Ryan Cornelsen offense in which the Tigers possessed the ball for nearly three-quarters of the game. They rushed for 413 yards with quarterback Wyatt Woods going for 214.
More: What it took for Fair Grove football to avenge its loss to Strafford from a year ago
Camdenton made itself the biggest Ozark Conference challenger to Lebanon
The hottest team in the Ozark Conference (that isn't Lebanon) has been Camdenton and it announced itself as a potential challenger to the Yellowjackets' promised crown.
Camdenton's 34-15 win at Bolivar sent a bit of a message as the Lakers won their fourth straight game in dominant fashion. The Lakers host Hillcrest (0-6) next week.
Star quarterback Kade Durnin threw for four touchdowns and rushed for one in the win. Kyle Eidson was on the receiving end of two of the scores as Durnin has been one to spread the ball out to several standout receivers.
Lebanon has been a handful for every team it's played. It won 44-21 at Glendale on Friday night which was the most points the Yellowjackets have allowed all year. They have West Plains next week before hosting Camdenton in Week 8.
More: Southwest Missouri's top high school football performers of Week 6
Marionville, Sarcoxie set up Week 7 matchup for Southwest Conference lead
We're looking at a possible conference championship next week in Sarcoxie where we will see if the Bears can finally get past the Comets.
Marionville and Sarcoxie each moved to 6-0 on Friday night. The Bears put up big offensive numbers like they have in five out of six games this year. The Comets held Pierce City to three points and have yet to allow more than eight in a game through six weeks.
Sarcoxie has had opportunities at the Southwest Conference crown late in the year but has run into the Marionville buzzsaw. Both teams were 6-0 last season when they played and Marionville won 44-6. The year before, the Bears were 5-1 going up against undefeated Marionville which won 62-24. Marionville has won the last four games between these two with Sarcoxie's last win in the series coming in a 21-18 thriller in 2019.
The Bears have surely been chomping at the bit to get this opportunity again. We'll see if Marionville's reign continues or if Sarcoxie can take down what has been a giant.
More: 2023 Southwest Missouri high school football conference standings
Quick takeaways before Week 7
West Plains was better than it was a week ago but couldn't hold on against Kickapoo. The Chiefs scored 35 unanswered to win the game 49-35. The Zizzers have a trip to Lebanon next week.
Glendale quarterback Kylan Mabins saw his first extended action of the season late in a loss to Lebanon. He entered the game with about six-and-a-half minutes remaining while down 23 points. He threw a deep ball for a 47-yard touchdown and played in the next series for the Falcons. It seems likely he'll continue to get more time with Glendale visiting Parkview next week.
Webb City found itself down 13 early at Willard and trailed at halftime. The Cardinals outscored the Tigers 29-0 after the break to stay alive in the Central Ozark Conference race. The Cardinals have Carthage, Neosho and Branson to finish the regular season.
Fair Grove clinched a share of the Mid-Lakes Conference title with its 49-14 win over Strafford. The Eagles can win it outright in two weeks when they play Clever (0-6).
There wasn't much movement across the Big 8 leagues. Reeds Spring was blown out by Seneca in a cross-league game and everything stayed the same atop each conference. There's a good chance both leagues come down to Week 9 games with Reeds Spring playing Mount Vernon and Seneca playing Nevada.
Ava hosting Thayer in South Central Association play next week will be the conference's biggest game of the season. The Bears have a one-game lead over the Bobcats who have gotten better and appear to be the SCA's last hope of knocking undefeated Ava off.
Week 6 results
Kickapoo 49, West Plains 35
Lebanon 44, Glendale 21
Waynesville 48, Hillcrest 7
Rolla 67, Parkview 42
Mount Vernon 40, Catholic 0
St. Dominic 43, Central 6
Nixa 47, Carl Junction 0
Republic 38, Joplin 15
Webb City 43, Willard 16
Carthage 34, Ozark 20
Fair Grove 49, Strafford 14
Logan-Rogersville 27, Hollister 0
Seneca 54, Reeds Spring 21
Aurora 35, Marshfield 0
Branson 41, Neosho 34 F/OT
Camdenton 34, Bolivar 15
Forsyth 27, Diamond 20 F/OT
Nevada 44, Cassville 21
Ava 59, Houston 31
Lamar 49, McDonald County 21
Marionville 31, Pierce City 3
East Newton 26, Monett 21
Stockton 26, Sherwood 22
Thayer 28, Cabool 12
Mountain View 35, Mountain Grove 26
Salem 42, Willow Springs 12
Sarcoxie 47, Miller 34
Skyline 28, Clever 15
Butler 24, Buffalo 7
Warsaw 37, El Dorado Springs 8
Week 7 schedule
Rolla @ Kickapoo
Glendale @ Parkview
Hillcrest @ Camdenton
Catholic @ Cassville
Skyline @ Central
Willard @ Nixa
Fair Grove @ Buffalo
Republic @ Branson
West Plains @ Lebanon
Bolivar @ Waynesville
Joplin @ Carl Junction
Webb City @ Carthage
Lamar @ Nevada
Forsyth @ Strafford
Aurora @ Reeds Spring
Logan-Rogersville @ Marshfield
Monett @ McDonald County
Mount Vernon @ Hollister
Seneca @ East Newton
Marionville @ Sarcoxie
Houston @ Willow Springs
Ash Grove @ Clever
Stockton @ Diamond
Mountain View @ Cabool
Mountain Grove @ Salem
El Dorado Springs @ Sherwood
Principia @ Miller
Thayer @ Ava
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 scores, takeaways from Week 6
