Jackson Cantwell essentially felt the best description of his blocking in the first half Friday was his last name.
But the Nixa offensive tackle showed why every college coach in the country knows his name by doing everything well during a dominant second half.
Repeatedly running left behind Cantwell was the right route for the Eagles to take while avoiding Carthage’s upset bid and claiming a 34-28 triumph.
After trailing for the first time this season while facing a 21-14 halftime deficit, Nixa reeled off three touchdowns in the second half.
The second half may prove to be a breakthrough for Cantwell toward his quest to fulfill his vast potential. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound sophomore wasn’t ready afterward to call it his best game, yet, but admitted it was a good one.
“It's one of my better ones so far,” Cantwell said. “I’m going to have to watch the film. That's when I will know if it's my best. I do feel like I had a pretty solid game. I think I can build off of it.
"Ironically, I didn't feel so great about the first half,” he added. “I felt I could have played more physical and been a little faster to the point of contact. I turned it up in the second half when we started to come alive as an offense. I feel the intensity that me and some of my teammates brought helped us get to the end zone and get the win.”
It was obvious only a few minutes into the second half that Cantwell was fired up. On one blocking assignment, he manhandled Carthage defensive end Orey Bader, shoving him far from the line of scrimmage and toward the Nixa sideline and nearly onto the lap of coach John Perry.
“I pushed (Bader) about 15 yards,” Cantwell said. “That kind of flicked the switch in me right there. I knew if I went hard and kept blocking that guy, that eventually he would fold. That's the kind of intensity I brought for the rest of the second half. I think a lot of our guys played with that kind of intensity.”
“Jackson drug (Bader) 5-10 yards and then he started working on his discus technique when he about threw him into us,” Perry said. “He had a great game.”
Nixa was one-dimensional offensively. It didn’t matter. Carthage’s defense surely picked up on Eagles running backs Dylan Rebura and Malachi Rider piggy-backing on Cantwell’. But it didn’t matter.
Rider ran for three touchdowns in the second half and Rebura set up one score with a 55-yard run.
“I love it when (the run) is to my side. That’s what I look for,” Cantwell said. “My best blocks are when I'm coming down and (defenders) are running right at me. It sparks something inside of me to go an extra ounce harder because (the coaches) are relying on me to make a play happen.”
“I don't care how slow I go, I'm right behind him the whole time,” Rider said of Cantwell. “If I need to bounce outside, I'm going to Jackson's side. I had so much room I could do whatever. I can always trust him. I can trust any of our linemen. But I know with him, he's going to get a pancake every time.”
Passing game nonexistant
Nixa went to the air just twice in the second half and threw incompletions on both passes.
“We've got to do a better job mixing it a little bit and getting the ball to Rylan (Michel) and Wyatt (Vincent),” Perry said. “But it's hard to call a pass play when you call it and you either line up wrong or you drop (the ball) or you throw it in the ground, especially when you hand it off and you get, 10, 10 and 30 yards. You've got to do what you can do.”
Carthage (0-3) tied the score at 28-all with 3:35 remaining, when wideout Landyn Collins scored from one yard out on fourth-and-goal. Collins also had two touchdown catches on the night.
The Eagles needed less than a minute to regain the lead, as Rider ran behind Cantwell and nearly went untouched into the end zone from 31 yards out and 2:42 to play.
Nixa (3-0) was blanked in the second quarter, but started the night with a 65-yard touchdown run by Spencer Ward and a 64-yard touchdown run by Rebura.
"I'm thinking about a touchdown every time we touch the ball,” Rider said. “I believed, we all believed. We knew we were going to be alright.”
Nixa’s defensive effort was highlighted by defensive end Jayden Antonelli forcing a Carthage fumble and a pair of sacks by linebacker Eli Frazier.
Antonelli assists Nixa offense
Antonelli knocked the ball out of Collins’ hands for a lost fujble in Carthage territory to set up Nixa’s second touchdown of the third quarter.
"They're a good team. Props to them. But they made some mistakes and we capitalized,” Antonelli said. “In the first half, we let up a little and that hurt us. In the second half, we completely changed our mindset and won the ball game.”
Down goes Frazier, er Carlton
Trailing 34-28, Carthage still had a chance to win and two-plus minutes to try to cover 75 yards. But an errant center snap on first-and 10 from the Tigers' own 25-yard line resulted in a loss of 17 yards. On fourth down, Frazier sacked quarterback Brady Carlton to clinch the outcome.
Frazier blitzed his way right past the Carthage offensive line.
“It was pretty much perfect timing,” Frazier said. “I got excited. But I saw the running back come to block me and thought, 'Oh baby, I need to get around him.' I dipped and ripped and got under him and went and got the quarterback. It was amazing."
“I love me some Eli," Perry said. 'He's hard-nosed and tough. Sometimes he will blitz when he's not supposed to blitz. That was a good time to blitz. That was a big one."
Upon sacking Carlton, Frazier grabbed Carlton’s towel and flung it in the air as he held up his arms in celebration.
“I was so emotional. I was so happy,” he said. “We put the hammer down and showed them who we are.”
Frazier also made Nixa fans happy who are fans of McDonald’s Big Mac. A new promotion at Eagles Stadium calls for, ‘Buy one Big Mac, get one free at Nixa’s McDonald’s’ the day following an Eagles game that includes a sack by the good guys.
Count Frazier in.
“Big Macs are amazing,” Frazier said. “Tomorrow, I'll pull up to McDonald's and get me some.”
Nixa 34, Carthage 28
Carthage 0 21 0 7 - 28
Nixa 14 0 14 6 - 34
Scoring
N — Spencer Ward 65 run (Braden Kahmke kick)
N — Dylan Rebura 63 run (Kahmke kick)
C — Brady Carlton 3 run (kick no good)
C — Landyn Collins 3 pass from Carlton (Luis Fuentes kick good)
C — Collins 6 pass from Carlton (Jackson Hettinger pass from Carlton)
N — Malachi Rider 14 run (Kahmke kick)
N — Rider 10 run (Kahmke kick)
C — Collins 1 run (Fuentes kick)
N — Rider 31 run (kick no good)
