With one less game to this point, Nixa’s rushing attack this season has already exceeded its ground game from a year ago.
The Eagles have 3,075 rushing yards and 46 rushing touchdowns in their 11-0 COC and Class 6 District 5 championships season. They finished with 2,982 rushing yards and 45 rushing touchdowns while going 10-2 last season.
Here’s more Nixa numbers entering the Eagles’ Quarterfinal clash with Rockhurst on Friday:
Junior running back Dylan Rebura could join 2023 grad Ramone Green among Nixa’s all-time rushing leaders. Green is the Eagles’ career leader with 4,331 yards rushing. Rebura has 1,771 career rushing yards. He has run for 1,249 yards this season, had 485 as a sophomore and 37 as a freshman. …
Quarterback Nate Uber has as many interceptions, one, in 94 pass attempts this season as he had while throwing two passes last season. …
Uber ran the ball six times for 43 yards in Nixa’s last three games. Prior to that, he had four carries for minus nine yards all season. …
Offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell's pancake blocks total is up to 85. Fellow lineman Jacob Lile has 57. …
Nixa has scored 50 points or more in three straight games. …
Wide receiver Wyatt Vincent’s average of 26.6 yards a catch triggers a terrific trivia question sure to stump even the most ardent Nixa fan. During the coach John Perry era covering 2020-2023, only one Nixa receiver has a higher average yards per catch. Can you name him and most importantly, name the year? We’ll give you the answer in a few paragraphs.
Linebacker Eli Frazier is on the verge of topping the Eagles defense’s 100-tackles club. He currently has 143 tackles this season, tied with Steven Ward’s total from 2020. Other members of the triple digits fraternity from the past four years are Jaden Aven (139 in 2021), Spencer Ward (142 last year and 136 this year), Tanner Grant (129 in 2022), Ty Hartman (126 in 2022), Parker Mann (116 this year), Riley Childs 106 (in 2020) and Cody Breeden (100 in 2021). …
Defensive end Jayden Antonelli has made 30 career stops in the opposing offensive backfield. He has 16 sacks and 14 TFLs. …
Even after collecting four interceptions last week versus Joplin, Nixa’s defense has a modest eight picks on the season. A year ago, the Eagles had 12 interceptions and in 2020 they had 14 picks (led by Kolyn Eli with five). …
Nixa has six fumble recoveries this season, compared to eight a year ago and 12 in 2020. …
Trivia answer: If you guessed Kael Combs, you’re wrong. He averaged a career-best 19.1 yards a catch as a junior in 2021. Michael Sportsman had a big year in 2020 while posting six touchdowns among his 12 catches. His average yards per catch was 19.4. If you guessed Rylan Michel in 2023 or 2022, you’re also wrong. The answer is Michel in 2021, when he averaged a career-high 28.1 yards per reception as a sophomore. …
Vincent averaged 15.4 yards a catch last season. …
Michel's career totals include 87 catches for 1,514 yards. Someone with access to the program's school records needs to find out where those stats stand. …
Elsewhere in the Class 6 Quarterfinal field, defending Class 6 state champion Christian Brothers College is back in the Elite Eight, despite allowing 62 points over its last two games. CBC won both by scoring 72. …
The Nixa-Rockhurst winner will play the Liberty North-Oak Park winner.
