At least one veteran in-the-know connoisseur of COC contests on every venue has made a bold call on Carthage junior Luke Gall.
“He might be the COC Player of The Year on offense and the Player of The Year on defense,” the insider stated.
Gall will be among a slew of stars showcasing their talents at Eagle Stadium in tonight’s showdown matching traditional power Carthage (8-0) and rapidly-rising upstart Nixa (7-1).
In addition to the Eagles vying to earn a piece of the COC championship with Carthage and Joplin (7-1), contenders for All-COC consideration will be all over the field.
At a handful of positions at the least, the game will feature the best the COC has to offer.
Gall, along with teammate Micah Lindsey and Caden Kabance and Nixa’s Jaden Aven, Kael Combs and Connor Knatcal appear well on their way to Player of The Year consideration.
Gall has been an impact player since his freshman season. He’s been at his best this year, rushing for 1,463 yards and 23 touchdowns at running back and posting five quarterback sacks and 14 tackles for a loss among his 69 stops at linebacker.
Little wonder COC historians are trying to recall if a gridiron great ever has been named both the league’s Offensive Player of The Year and Defensive Player of The Year.
However, Gall actually doesn’t top the Tigers in sacks or TFLs. Lindsey has been a constant presence in opposing offensive backfields. He has 22 TFLs and eight sacks.
With Lindsey and Gall combining for 36 TFLs, Carthage has yielded a mere 98 points all season.
Kabance has taken over where former Carthage quarterback Patrick Carlton left off. In his first season as the Tigers’ starting signal-caller, Kabance has ran for 939 yards and passed for 572.
Aven is a huge reason why Nixa has outscored its opposition 167-63 over the third and fourth quarters. He threw a game-winning halfback option touchdown pass against Ozark and rushed for three second-half touchdowns versus Webb City, not to mention his exploits defensively.
Aven has burst to stardom by leading the Eagles with 92 tackles, four TFLs, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Knatcal was an unknown backup QB prior to Nixa’s jamboree in August. Now, he’s putting together one of the most prolific passing seasons the Eagles have ever seen. Knatcal has completed 82-of-148 passes for 1,454 yards, with 20 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Combs has made the game look way too easy by hauling in 10 touchdown catches among his 31 receptions for 666 yards. Even while factoring the nine yards he lost in his one running play on the season, he’s averaging 20.5 yards every time he touches the ball.
Another star could be on display for Nixa.
Tonight could mark the return of running back Ramone Green. He has been out since suffering a broken collarbone in Week Two at Joplin.
Green was in uniform, but not going through practices with the Eagles as of Tuesday. He rushed for 147 yards on 19 carries at Carthage last season.
