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Neosho @ Springfield Central, 7 p.m.
The fate of the Neosho Wildcats’ football season past this week’s road game at Springfield Central is no longer controlled by themselves, but by the other four teams in Class 5-District 8.
While Neosho prepares for its season finale against Springfield Central in a non-district game, the Wildcats and their fans will also be checking their mobile phones for text messages, twitter feeds, listening to the radio broadcasts or checking the Internet for updates on the scores of the Branson versus Nixa game and the Ozark-Kickapoo battle.
In order for Neosho to claim the second playoff spot in the district, the Wildcats need Branson to beat Nixa by 12 points or more, and for Kickapoo to defeat Ozark.
The Wildcats completed their district schedule last Friday night with a 26-13 victory over Ozark — beating the Tigers by the necessary 13 points to do their part in keeping their playoff hopes alive. Neosho finished its district slate with a 2-2 record, and sits at 4-5 overall heading into Thursday night’s battle against Springfield Central on the road.
The Bulldogs enter the game losers of four-straight games, including a 48-20 loss to Parkview in week 9. Springfield Central, also 4-5 on the season, posted its last win in a 41-22 decision over McDonald County. The Bulldogs have been outscored 254-174 on the season, and play as an independent.
Neosho head coach Jared Schoonover said his team will not be worrying about what Branson does against Nixa on Thursday night. He said the players’ sole focus should be on beating the Bulldogs, ending the season with three-straight wins and finishing the season with a .500 record.
“We are focused on Central,” Schoonover said.
Monett @ East Newton, 7 p.m., Johnston Stadium
Playing in one of the more difficult — if not the toughest district in all of Class 3 — the East Newton Patriots will face another challenge Thursday night as Monett comes to Johnston Stadium.
After back-to-back losses to state-ranked Seneca and No. 1-ranked Cassville, the Patriots will face a Monett team that East Newton head coach Bobby Bishop said, “is better than their record indicates.”
The Cubs enter the game with a 2-7 record, and losers of four-straight games — including back-to-back losses to Cassville and Seneca just like the Patriots. The Patriots will be playing their second game without running back Leroy Williams, who is no longer on the team. Rocky Liveoak will be the featured back for East Newton to end the season. He carried the ball five times for 18 yards in the loss to Cassville.
Neosho @ Springfield Central, 7 p.m.
The fate of the Neosho Wildcats’ football season past this week’s road game at Springfield Central is no longer controlled by themselves, but by the other four teams in Class 5-District 8.
While Neosho prepares for its season finale against Springfield Central in a non-district game, the Wildcats and their fans will also be checking their mobile phones for text messages, twitter feeds, listening to the radio broadcasts or checking the Internet for updates on the scores of the Branson versus Nixa game and the Ozark-Kickapoo battle.
In order for Neosho to claim the second playoff spot in the district, the Wildcats need Branson to beat Nixa by 12 points or more, and for Kickapoo to defeat Ozark.
The Wildcats completed their district schedule last Friday night with a 26-13 victory over Ozark — beating the Tigers by the necessary 13 points to do their part in keeping their playoff hopes alive. Neosho finished its district slate with a 2-2 record, and sits at 4-5 overall heading into Thursday night’s battle against Springfield Central on the road.
The Bulldogs enter the game losers of four-straight games, including a 48-20 loss to Parkview in week 9. Springfield Central, also 4-5 on the season, posted its last win in a 41-22 decision over McDonald County. The Bulldogs have been outscored 254-174 on the season, and play as an independent.
Neosho head coach Jared Schoonover said his team will not be worrying about what Branson does against Nixa on Thursday night. He said the players’ sole focus should be on beating the Bulldogs, ending the season with three-straight wins and finishing the season with a .500 record.
“We are focused on Central,” Schoonover said.
Monett @ East Newton, 7 p.m., Johnston Stadium
Playing in one of the more difficult — if not the toughest district in all of Class 3 — the East Newton Patriots will face another challenge Thursday night as Monett comes to Johnston Stadium.
After back-to-back losses to state-ranked Seneca and No. 1-ranked Cassville, the Patriots will face a Monett team that East Newton head coach Bobby Bishop said, “is better than their record indicates.”
The Cubs enter the game with a 2-7 record, and losers of four-straight games — including back-to-back losses to Cassville and Seneca just like the Patriots. The Patriots will be playing their second game without running back Leroy Williams, who is no longer on the team. Rocky Liveoak will be the featured back for East Newton to end the season. He carried the ball five times for 18 yards in the loss to Cassville.
East Newton had 119 yards total offense against the Wildcats. Bishop said his team learned in the game against Cassville that “we have a lot of work to do to be competitive in the future. We were outmanned in all aspects of the game.”
“Monett has a good football team,” Bishop continued. “They are much better than their record. Coach Dupee and his staff have done a good job this year. Offensively, they are well balanced. They do a good job in both the run game as well as passing game. On defense, they give you a lot of looks; their linebackers play downhill and are good tacklers. They are very athletic in the secondary.”
Bishop said his team will need to run the ball better than they did against Cassville in order to beat Monett.
“Ball control will be critical,” Bishop said. “We must keep the ball in our possession as much as possible and keep their offense on the sidelines. Defensively, we must continue to improve our tackling and get some pressure on their QB. Our kids in the secondary have to do a better job of reading keys and play smarter football.”
Cassville @ Seneca, 7 p.m., Campbell Stadium
It’s Cassville week.
The Seneca Indians and Cassville Wildcats two teams ranked No. 5 and No. 1, respectively, in Class 3 and two teams tied atop the Big 8 Conference standings — will continue their long-standing rivalry Thursday night in front of an expected capacity crowd at Campbell Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Indians, winners of their past eight games, will face a Cassville team that has not lost a game since Aug. 28 at Branson, and are winners of 23 straight.
The Wildcats have their sights set on defending their back-to-back Class 3 state titles by claiming the Big 8 Conference and Class 3-District 11 title with a win against Seneca.
Cassville has had Seneca’s number recently. The Wildcats are 3-0 in the past three meetings with Seneca, including a 17-7 victory in week 10 last season.
Seneca’s last victory over Cassville dates back to a 31-28 win on a late fourth quarter field goal in 2009 at Cassville.
Seneca head coach Rob Townsend said the Seneca and Cassville rivalry has been special through the years, and he expected another good chapter to be written when the teams meet Thursday night — both state ranked, both undefeated in conference play and both gunning for a district title.
“We know that when we play Cassville they are going to be a sound, disciplined football team,” Townsend said.
McDonald County @ Carthage, 7 p.m., Baker Stadium
The McDonald County Mustangs may be facing the toughest two-game stretch to end the season than any other team in Missouri.
After falling to Webb City 55-7 last Friday night at Cardinal Stadium, the Mustangs will hit the road again to face the No. 4-ranked Carthage Tigers at K.E. Baker Stadium in Class 4 district action Thursday night.
Last Friday night, the Mustangs had to contend with the speed of Webb City running back Maddy Johnson and the Cardinals’ high-octane offense in the 48-point defeat.
On Thursday night, McDonald County will now face the speed and strength of bruising running back Brian Poston and a Tigers offense that can also put points up in bunches.
Carthage’s lone loss this season was a 21-13 loss to Webb City in week 8. The Tigers rebounded from that loss to whip Carl Junction 42-7 at Bulldog Stadium in week 9.
Carthage will be playing to secure the second playoff spot in the district, and will be focused on winning the regional playoff game to advance to a possible second showdown with Webb City in the sectional round of the playoffs.
The Mustangs, who are 1-1 in district play, are focused on not entering this game defeated before the first whistle because of last week’s struggles against Webb City and Carthage’s proven track record this season.
The Mustangs enter the game with a 3-6 record.
McDonald County head coach Chris Gwartney described Carthage’s offense as “very tough.”
Lamar @ Diamond, 7 p.m., Wildcat Stadium
The Diamond Wildcats will try to make it two wins in a row in the regular season finale Thursday night against Lamar.
The Wildcats (1-8) are fresh off their first win of the season, a 14-7 decision over McAuley Catholic in district play.
Diamond, with its 1-1 record in district, could make the playoff with an upset win over Lamar.
The Tigers are 6-3 on the season, and 2-0 in district play with wins over McAuley and Sarcoxie.
Lamar can put up points in bunches. The Tigers beat Carl Junction 38-7 in the season opener, and scored 35 and 56 points, respectively, in wins over Mt. Vernon and McAuley. Last week, Lamar shut out Sarcoxie 52-0.
The Tigers have outscored the opposition 235-175.
Diamond head coach Aaron Davied said the win Friday night over McAuley “felt great.”
“I feel like our young football team has been getting better and better as the year has gone on, so it is nice to see that finally pay off with a win,” Davied said.
He also said this week’s test against Lamar will be a tough one.
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