Scouting tonight’s Backyard Brawl:
Nixa has won three straight Backyard Brawls and overall owns a four-game winning streak against Ozark. Last year, the Eagles beat the Tigers 51-7 in the Backyard Brawl and 35-7 at Districts. ...
With a win tonight, Nixa (8-0) will earn the No. 1 seed and first-round bye in Class 6 District 5. Ozark (1-7) will receive either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed. Currently, Kickapoo (6-2) is the second seed, Joplin (5-3) the third and Waynesville (2-6) the fourth. ...
Eagles running back Dylan Rebura is 130 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards on the season, while his backfield mate, Malachi Rider, is 155 yards from 1,000. …
Ozark running back Jack Bowers is averaging 102.6 yards rushing a game. He’s missed two games due to injuries. …
Nixa offensive linemen Jackson Cantwell and Jacob Lile combined for 33 pancake blocks last week at Republic. Cantwell had 22 and Lile 11. For both, it was a season-high. …
Ozark quarterback Peyton Russell is averaging 21.6 pass attempts a game and 9.5 yards per reception. …
Nixa’s Spencer Ward collected 10 tackles and 72 yards rushing to help beat Republic. Since the beginning of his junior season, he’s been in on 250 tackles. …
Ozark linebacker Parker Elliott tops the Tigers with 98 tackles, while safety Peyton Bullinger has 71. Elliott has 45 solo stops. Linebacker Frankie Munoz had a hand in 10 tackles last week against Branson. …
Nixa wide receiver Rylan Michel is averaging 18.6 yards a touch. He’s averaging 19.7 yards on 23 receptions, 15.6 yards on six punt returns and 22.2 yards on six kick returns. …
Ozark running back Rory Banks, a sophomore, has 111 yards rushing and is averaging 6.9 yards a carry. …
Ozark’s receiving corps includes 10 players with at least one reception. Sam Clark leads the group with 46 catches for 600 yards. …
Nixa’s defense is yielding an average of 15.5 points a game. Since 2014, only the 2020 Eagles defense’s average of 14.4 is lower.
