Even with missing nine games to injury last season, Ramone Green has now played 36 games and counting in his Nixa career.
Over that four-year span, the Eagles senior running back has fumbled only once, yes just once, and hasn't coughed the ball up at all dating back to his sophomore year.
It was more of the same Friday, despite conditions that for a half anyway were out of the norm.
Rain that fell in the first half didn’t hinder Green, as he finished with two touchdown runs and no fumbles in Nixa’s 29-15 Class 6 District 3 semifinal victory versus Ray-Pec. The game's start was delayed by more than two hours due to the weather.
“We’re going to come out here and regardless if it’s raining or pouring, we’ve got to use our hands,” Green said. “I take a lot of pride in holding onto the ball. I’ve got to focus on ball security. We knew it was going to be rainy, but I didn’t worry about (the rain) much and stuck to my morals. Adversity is gong to hit you, it’s how you respond to it.”
With an eye on the weather forecast all week, Nixa coach John Perry had the Eagles’ ball-handlers simulate what playing with a wet ball would be like.
“We buy these rubber balls and dump them in water and spray them,” Perry said. “Those rubber ball are really slick. You really have to concentrate to catch it, throw it and handle it. We want to put our players in adverse conditions in practice so that when we come in during games it’s easy.”
Green took pride in keeping his streak without a fumble going another week.
“We worked on ball security all week and my running back coach makes me focus on it,” Green said. “It’s important to me. As a running back, it’s about protecting the ball. It’s like second nature to me.”
"He’s a great teammate who knows the fastest way to get beat Is to turn the ball over, so he’s not going to turn it over,” Perry said. “He’s strong. He’s not going to let it go.”
Green rushed 38 times for 252 yards.
Al the while, Ray-Pec defenders couldn’t deliver a hard hit of much consequence on Green. His elusiveness served him well, even when he was tackled.
“I like to set my defenders up and get them to where they are flat on their feet so they can’t take a clean hit on me,” Green said. “I think I do very well setting defenders up. You play teams like Ray-Pec and you’ve got to separate yourself. I try to do the little things the best.”
Nixa (10-1) reached 10 wins for the first time in 11 years en route to earning a berth in the District final against Lee’s Summit North (10-1).
By beating Ray-Pec, the Eagles have beaten every team they have played at least once over the course of Perry’s three-year tenure. The Panthers downed Nixa two years ago.
Nixa spotted Ray-Pec (6-5) a 6-0 lead, before Green returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown.
It was a 14-9 Nixa lead at the half.
While Green was able to hold onto the ball, both teams had two turnovers in the first half. The Eagles had a punt blocked inside their own 10-yard line, but the Panthers didn’t take advantage, fumbling at the Nixa one-yard line.
Officiating also make the game sloppy. The referees called 15 penalties in the first half alone and 22 for the game. They finally got tired of throwing their flags, calling only one penalty in the fourth quarter.
Nixa’s passing game got on track late. At the 10:13 mark of the fourth quarter, Connor Knatcal found Noah Engelman for a 20-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-seven to put the Eagles up 27-9.
Nixa’s defense held up well against the likes of Ray-Pec wide receivers Jaidyn Doss and Jaden Reddell.
“It was like Jaden this and Jaden that, there were like three or four of us out there,” said Eagles defensive end Jayden Antonelli, who had a tackle for a loss and a quarterback sack. “They had some really good athletes. The defense knew we had to step up and we did. I feel like we made a good stride tonight, it’s like a whole new chapter for us.”
Antonelli was able to provide pressure on Ray-Pec’s offensive backfield, despite the wet turf.
“The guys I was going against were really good. I had to find some things that worked and figured out how to get around them a couple times,” Antonelli said. “Every once in a while, you would slip. But you’re not going to be successful every time. You couldn’t focus on slipping. You had to leave it behind you and make the next play.”
Safety Spencer Ward, who had an interception, felt the conditions helped Nixa’s edge in the running game loom even larger.
“I took it as an advantage,” Ward said. “They’re a 50-percent pass team, but in the first half they were going to go with the run, which is not their strong suit with their D-I athletes.”
Perry was thrilled to see his players rise to the occasion.
“I could tell our kids this week were more excited about playing than they have been the last several weeks because of who we were playing,” Perry said. “That team had their respect. They were excited to play them. Competitors love to compete.”
