Scouting Nixa's season-opening contest Friday versus Webb City:
The opening kickoff has been pushed back to 8 p.m. due to heat. All five COC contests will begin at 8 …
It’s ‘Senior Night’ already at Eagles Stadium. …
Webb City leads the teams’ series 20-2, but Nixa has won their matchups the last two seasons. …
Both teams may keep the ball on the ground the great majority of the time. In Nixa’s 42-19 win at Webb City last season, the Eagles averaged 7.8 yards a carry and the Cardinals 6.7. …
A dubious stat from the teams’ contest last season was they combined for 25 penalties for 179 yards. Be prepared for more of the same. Officials are notorious for throwing yellow flags at anything and everything in Week One. …
Ryan McFarland is the new head coach at Webb City. He is a 2001 Webb City grad, a former Cards assistant and was Seneca’s head coach from 2016-2020. …
Webb City’s headliners are running backs Brecklin Galarado and Omari Jackson. Last season, Galarado had 1,260 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns, while Jackson ran for 614 yards.
Jackson carried the ball 19 times for 162 yards against Nixa, before suffering an ankle injury in Week Two. …
Nixa’s Dylan Rebura, Spencer Ward and Kevon Lewis all ran for more than 100 yards and averaged at least 6.9 yards a carry last season. Rebura has been sidelined most of the pre-season with an ankle injury…
The Cardinals have five returning starters along their offensive line and they are all seniors. All-State center Shaun Hunt is their alpha male. …
Nixa's O-line is special, too. The Eagles boast 6-foot-3, 270-pound guard Jacob Lile and 6-8, 300-pound tackle Jackson Cantwell, who of course has received offers from Georgia, Alabama, etc.
Another reason the teams are likely to minimize their throws is they’re both breaking in new starting quarterbacks and both sides could have multiple men behind center. Nixa’s QB competition is between seniors Nate Uber and Drew Blevins. Webb City’s QB candidates are senior Braden McKee, junior Jackson Lewis and sophomore Gabe Johnson. …
The Eagles’ top returning passer is wide receiver Rylan Michel, who had a 10-yard pass last year. Uber was 1-of-2 for seven yards passing and Blevins 0-for-1. …
It seems only a matter of time before Johnson will be at the controls of the Cards’ offense. He had 108 yards rushing as a freshman and also saw varsity action as a frosh in basketball and track. …
Webb City’s punter, Alex Dunne, is a transfer from Lee's Summit North. He was at Nixa last November, when the Broncos beat the Eagles 24-10 in the Class 6 District 3 final. …
Webb City faces COC title contenders Nixa, Republic and Joplin over the first four weeks. …
Nixa defensive end Jayden Antonelli recorded seven tackles for a loss and eight quarterback sacks last season, as the Eagles' defense totaled 38 TFLs and 13 sacks.
