Big-picture thinking, Nixa coach John Perry feels the Eagles’ Week Eight loss to Republic was just what his defense needed.
Since surrendering 36 points and 340 rushing yards to the Tigers, Nixa has allowed a total of 29 points over its last three games. The Eagles stymied Ray-Pec’s offense last week to earn a berth in this week’s Class 6 District 3 final at home versus Lee’s Summit North.
“We checked ourselves after the Republic game and challenged our kids to be more physical,” Perry said. “We wanted to get more people to the football. Since then, we’ve been a more physical team.
“You can learn (more) from a loss than 10 wins,” he added. “Had we won that Republic game, I don’t know if we get better. At the end of the day, we needed that. We looked at ourselves as coaches and asked, ‘How can we be better and not blame the kids?’ We went to work and got better. The kids are playing with great effort.”
All along, Perry has been pleased with the maturity of his players. Even after the Republic game, there was no finger-pointing within the ranks.
“What’s exciting is they play for each other and when you live a life of service, great things happen,” Perry said. “They deserve to have good things happen for them.
“They are confident and walk the walk. They don’t just go out there and talk,” he added. “They work hard every single day of practice. When your best players are your best practice players, you have a chance to be really good. Our guys are great every day. They give us their best on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
“Now, we want to figure out a way to beat Lee’s Summit North,” he added.
The Broncos feature a stout defense, as well.
Lee’s Summit’s defense is led by 6-foot-6, 250-pound defensive lineman William Nwaneri, who has received offers from Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Kansas State, Nebraska and Iowa State.
On the other side of the ball, the Broncos have 6-5, 315-pound offensive lineman Cayden Green and wide receiver Isaiah Mozee.
Green has committed to Oklahoma after receiving 32 D-I offers. Mozee's suitors include Georgia, Arkansas, Notre Dame and Michigan.
The state’s other Class 6 District final matchups will include Christian Brothers College-Marquette, DeSmet-Columbia Rock Bridge and Liberty North-Park Hill South.
