With fireworks being shot off behind him Friday, Jaden Aven was asked about the improbability of himself, a senior linebacker, throwing the winning touchdown pass in the Backyard Brawl.
He actually didn’t think it was so improbable. But he did think it was improbable that Nixa coach John Perry would ever ask him to put up the pigskin with the game on the line, or any time for that matter.
“I have dreamed of this,” Aven said. “I’ve been telling coach to let me throw the ball. I like throwing it. A lot of times in practices, I’ll be next to him and say, ‘Look at this.’ I’ll bomb the football downfield. He’ll just look at me, laugh and walk away.”
Turns out Perry took Aven seriously after all. He subbed Aven in on offense and called for a halfback option midway through the fourth quarter. Aven was never going to run with the ball. He proceeded to complete a 42-yard touchdown pass to wideout Kael Combs that put the Eagles on top for good in their 35-21 triumph over Ozark.
Aven reared back with the ball as far as he could, unleashed it at the 50-yard line and delivered a tight spiral. Combs outfought a Tiger defender for the ball at the 2-yard line and landed in the end zone for a 28-21 Nixa lead.
“I didn’t know we were going to call that play. I thought we were going to run ‘Freaks’ where me and John (Gholson) come in on offense,” Aven said. “But they said, ‘Jaden, you’re going to pass it.’ So, I took my gloves off and tried to dry my hands as fast as I could. I was a little bit nervous. But we all did our part, made the play and we got it done.
“I feel blessed,” he added.
“I knew Jaden could sling it pretty far,” Combs said. “I told him, ‘Throw it as far as you can and I’ll go get it.’ The play worked. I didn’t expect coach Perry to call it because it’s a pretty risky play. But I knew he had trust in us. I trusted Jaden and I knew he trusted me. So, I thought it was going to work. I’m super happy for Jaden. He deserves it.”
Combs’ 6-foot-3 frame certainly came in handy on the play.
“I was behind (the defender), so I had to reach over him and grab it,” Combs said. “He was trying to pull me down, but I reached for the touchdown.”
“Kael wasn’t really open,” Perry said. “Kael just did Kael things. He jumped over the guy and caught it.”
Perry’s play-call came after not one, but two Nixa timeouts at the 8:12 mark of the fourth quarter.
“The two timeouts were jacked up,” Perry said. “We couldn’t get the right personnel on the field. I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, how can we mess this up?’ But I was proud we got it off.
“That’s my favorite play in the history of football,” he added. “We run that once a year when we really need it and have for a long time.”
Ozark coach Chad Depee is obviously a fan of the halfback option, as well. He called for it at the 5:56 juncture of the first quarter and former quarterback Jace Easley found wideout Jace Whatley alone in the end zone for the Tigers’ first score, a 16-yard touchdown.
Ozark’s halfback option triggered a wildly entertaining first quarter, leading to one of the most competitive Backyard Brawls in recent years.
The Tigers, who were down 28-0 at the end of the first quarter a week ago against Republic, put themselves up 21-14 at the end of the first quarter at Nixa.
Ozark received an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Jake Beets. He later added a four-yard touchdown run.
On the kickoff, Easley received the ball and deftly handed it off to Beets, who charged to the end zone untouched.
"We put that in this week and ran it a few times in practices, but never ran it full-go,” Beets said. “I thought it was about a 50-50 shot whether it would work or not. But sure enough, everyone did their assignments and it worked.
“I saw only one (defender) on left three-quarters of the field,” he added. “Everyone thought Jace was running with the ball. That was amazing.”
The underdog Tigers (1-5) played spirited ball that was acknowledged by their coach and the Eagles.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Depee said. “They put in a week’s worth of work. I’m proud they were willing to challenge themselves to be better. I’m proud of our improvement and proud of the guys’ resolve. These guys are hungry to continue to get to playing our best football. We’re not there, yet. But they’re working at it. Tonight, they came out with a lot of great energy. They made impact plays and made a whale of a game of it.”
“I knew they were going to play their best against us,” Combs said. “This is the biggest rivalry around here. They played really well.”
“I thought they outcoached us tonight, no doubt about it,” Perry said.
Nixa running back Spencer Ward kept the Eagles in it early on. He had touchdown runs of 65 and 60 yards in the first half and went on to enjoy his first game reaching the 200-yard rushing mark, as he ran for 218 yards and three scores.
On both of his first-half touchdowns. Ward jetted outside after seeing no room to run inside.
“I had to bounce it out because they crashed in,” Ward said. “(Offensive lineman) Sam Brower gave me good hook-blocks to help me get outside and I did my thing.”
Such decision-making is part of Ward’s maturing process into a lightning-bolt of a star sophomore.
“That comes with experience,” Ward said. “(A month ago), I probably would have known what I needed to do. But I’m not sure I would have done it. It’s something you read, practice and can see by watching film. I still could have made a couple more reads on a couple runs.”
Nixa’s offense otherwise endured plenty of struggles. The Eagles threw three interceptions and another pick was called off due to a penalty. Starting signal-called Connor Knatcal was replaced by Nate Uber late in the second half. Knatcal made a return in the second half, but was replaced by Austin McCracken at the finish.
“Connor couldn’t get it going tonight for whatever reason,” Perry said. “We went with Nate, who has been practicing really well. Nate did some good things for a young kid getting thrown in the game. We know McCracken can do anything and he got some snaps.”
Ozark’s offense couldn’t have asked for a better start to the second half by driving deep into Nixa territory and taking nearly six minutes off the clock. But the Tigers were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the Eagles’ one-yard line.
“We would have liked for a couple of things to go our way and it’s tough to go home not being the victors,” Depee said. “There are should-haves, could-haves and would-haves. There are situations we would have liked to go our way. You’ve got to play with the cards you’re dealt and execute. For a lot of the game we did.”
Aven was a hero on defense, as well. He and his defensive cohorts shut out Ozark over the final three quarters. Nixa’s linebackers repeatedly shined.
“We’ve got really good linebackers,” Perry said. ‘They have played really well all season long. The boded up tonight and did a lot of good things.”
“We got our heads together mentally and told ourselves we weren’t going to let them score on us again,” Aven said. “We made sure we did our assignments and got it done.
“One of our bad habits is we underestimate a lot of teams,” he added. “Once we got that fixed, I think you’ll see the full potential out of Nixa.”
Gholson made his usual share of plays along the line of scrimmage, despite limping around the field in between plays with a twisted ankle nearly the entire game.
“Gholson is a tough kid, he’s a warrior,” Aven said. “He’s one of the toughest kids I know. He fights through a lot of pain. He knows how to get over it and keep going.”
“We tried to take him out, but he kept putting himself back in,” Perry said. ‘If we had 11 like him, we’d never lose a game.”
