Tigers win big versus Joplin to earn their first District final appearance in nine years
Published 8:18 am Saturday, November 7, 2026
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Hoping to be targeted more in Ozark’s passing attack, tight end Hendrix Haymes has done something about it by finding another gear in practices.
Haymes caught two touchdown passes for the second straight game to highlight the Tigers’ 49-28 Class 6 District 5 semifinal victory versus Joplin on Friday.
All this after he had just one touchdown pass through the first eight weeks.
“I feel like my routes have been crisper in practice,” Haymes said. “My practice habits have carried over, mostly with combination moves and reading defenders and going with a certain move. If you can’t run a play right, blitz right or stunt right on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, you’re not going to be able to run it right on a Friday.
“I’m human, not every single (practice) is 100 percent,” he added. “But I think my coaches would agree with me that in most practices I’m bringing energy to the table and doing what I can to try to lead this team to a District championship.”
Ozark (5-5) climbed all the way to .500 after a 2-4 start to this season and will play in the Tigers’ first Class 6 District championship and first District title title of any kind since 2017.
Ozark never trailed against Joplin while putting together a complete game on both sides of the ball.
The 49 points is a season-high for the Tigers.
Haymes had second-quarter touchdown catches of 54 and 14 yards from quarterback Caden O’Donnell. The 14-yard TD came with :23 remaining in the first half.
Haymes has been happy to have his number called in the Ozark huddle.
“(Coaches) have leaned toward me the last couple of weeks. I’m glad they have,” Haymes said. “I’ve always wanted them to lean toward me and make plays. I’ve been reading defenses better and ‘OD’ is finding me in the holes of the defense.”
Haymes could be in line to become Ozark’s first all-state selection since 2025 grad Parker Elliott. He’s making himself a candidate for post-season awards as both a tight end and defensive end.
Haymes would be thrilled to be in the same category as Elliott, a player he admired as a freshman and sophomore.
“Parker was a dawg flying around everywhere and was an all-around great player,” Haymes said. “He had the intensity and fire I wanted to be like.
“Maybe if we can make it out of Districts, I can get something better than all-District. All-State would be nice,” he added. “I’ve doubled my production on offense and defense — receiving yards, touchdowns, tackles and TFLs.”
Haymes had a TFL and a tackle at the line of scrimmage Friday, but had to fight off frustration from being called for two face-mask penalties. He didn’t think he grabbed a face mask on either play.
“It’s been very common for me to get a face- mask penalty on plays that aren’t really face-mask,” Haymes said “It’s been frustrating. I’ve got to lead with my chest and not my hands. I think (refs) are assuming guys like me with big hands and long arms are (grabbing a facemark) and they’re trying to protect quarterbacks. As long as we win, that’s all I care about.”
Ozark scoring parade began on the opening kickoff. Westin Samson returned the kick 85 yards for a touchdown.
Samson, who is Ozark’s leading receiver, has only been a part of the Tigers’ kick-return team since Week Eight. This was the first kick that was booted toward him. He ran to his left, stiff-armed a Joplin would-be tackler and raced along the Ozark sideline to the paydirt.
“It was a surreal feeling, having my teammates on the sideline right by me and scoring in front of the home crowd,” Samson said. “The guys up front had great blocks. They blocked perfectly for me. At the 30(-yard line), I saw a big gap and had just one man to beat. From there, it was the end zone.
“I’m grateful (coaches) gave me the opportunity,” he added. “A couple guys went down (with injuries) and they knew I could do it, if they needed me to. I think it was a good decision. The ball came to me and I made the most of it. ”
Samson actually knew most of the week he would have a chance very early in the game to make a big play. By design, Ozark went to him a deep pass on its first play from scrimmage Friday and he responded with a 43-yard catch from O’Donnell.
“We’d been drawing that one up all week, We knew that was going to be our first play,” Samson said. “From last week’s (Joplin) film, we saw something and thought we could attack it. It worked out perfectly.”
Ozark has leaned heavily on the run in recent weeks, but the Tigers showed they won’t forget about putting the ball in the air.
“We have great running backs who bring defenders down to the box, so they make it easy on us,” Samson said. “When we need to throw, we definitely can. Caden is great and we have great receivers.”
O’Donnell was actually lined up as a wide receiver quite often Friday, as Ozark broke from its huddle in the ‘Wildcat’ more often than not in the second half.
Jett Easley responded with a four-touchdown night.
“We stuck to our bread and butter and what was working,” Easley said. “They knew what was coming, but our O-line and interior blocking was great and I found holes. We did better than what they do.”
Defensively, Ozark received a lift from cornerback Braylen Howard. He had a pair of interceptions.
The Tigers move on to meet Nixa (10-1) at Nixa next week.
“We’ve got to prepare like we’ve never prepared,” Haymes said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Ozark 49, Joplin 28
Joplin 7 7 0 14 – 28
Ozark 14 14 0 21 – 49
Scoring
O – Samson 85 kickoff return (Scott kick)
O – Easley 3 run
J – Tilton 17 run (Nichols kick)
O – Haynes 54 pass from O’Donnell
J – McCadney 4 run (Nichols kick)
O – Haymes 14 pass from O’Donnell (Scott kick)
O – Easley 1 run (Scott kick)
J – Rhone 37 pass from McCadney (Nichols kick)
O – Easley 2 run (Scott kick)
J – Hurrell 2 run (Nichols kick)
O – Easley 1 run (Scott kick)
