Jace Easley and Jake Beets can be seen together around Ozark often, off the field and on. The seniors shared a moment in the Backyard Brawl on Friday they’ll forever treasure.
Beets received a hand-off from Easley on a kick-off in the first quarter and proceeded to race 80 yards for a touchdown, with Easley beside him at the finish.
“I saw that Jake had a wide-open field and saw him cut back toward the middle, so I took off,” Easley said. “I tried to lead-block for him. Running into the end zone with him was my favorite moments in the game.”
Easley had plenty of shining moments to choose from.
The Tigers’ do-everything senior surely earned himself some votes for All-COC consideration at cornerback while picking off two passes. On offense, he converted a halfback option into a 16-yard touchdown pass and kept several Ozark drives alive with third-down catches. On special teams, he converted on four extra-point attempts and cleanly caught all punts and kicks to him.
“Not surprising at all,” coach Chad Depee said of Easley’s efforts. “We’ve known he does a lot of things for us. He wears many hats and is very capable of that, as he showed tonight.”
“I think it was the best game he’s ever played,” Beets said.
“The only other game I can think of is my two interceptions against Branson last year,” Easley said. “But this was definitely the most fun game I’ve ever played in and might just be the best I’ve ever played.”
Cramps in Easley’s legs sidelined him a couple offensive plays in the second half. Otherwise, he was on the field throughout the night.
“I kept cramping on the sideline,” he said. “Then, I caught a pass, ran out of bounds and as soon as I hit the ground I cramped. I was out for a couple plays, but was all right.”
Easley’s move from quarterback to wide receiver three weeks ago has paid great dividends. Brady Dodd has proven capable at quarterback and perhaps most importantly, the move allowed Easley to return to defense.
Easley and Ozark’s pass-coverage gave Nixa absolute fits. In addition to Easley’s two picks, safety Garrett Ballard had an interception and had another pick waved off due to a penalty.
“The guys were prepped up and ready to go,” Depee said. “They kept their focus. Guys did their jobs and trusted their teammates would do theirs. Nothing distracted them. They went out and made plays against some very talented receivers. I’m very pleased with them.”
The 5-foot-9 Easley went one-on-one opposite Nixa 6-3 wide receiver Kael Combs. Combs’ only touchdown came on a halfback option.
“It was a little threatening at first,” Easley said of giving up six inches to Combs. “He’s a really good athlete. I stuck with what I’ve been taught and thought we handled him well.”
