The Neosho Wildcats improved by five wins in the regular season and six overall and made the quantum leap from the bottom of the Central Ozark Conference to fourth, only finishing behind three state semifinal teams.
That improvement was reflected in the all-conference selections of the COC that were officially released after Webb City and Carthage lost their respective semifinal contests.
The Wildcats' selections lined up with their strengths: offensive and defensive lines, linebackers and defensive backs, ball carriers, and other blockers.
On the first team defense, Neosho landed three selections in senior defensive tackle Kipp Box, senior linebacker Tre Letts, and junior linebacker Sam Cook. The Wildcats' defense especially proved stingy down the back stretch of the season and the speed and strength of Box, Letts, and Cook proved vital in their success.
Senior center Ryan Slade cracked the top five big boys in the COC with his first team selection. The Wildcats featured one of the area's best running attacks and the linemen definitely led the way to a 8-4 season.
Senior running back Cade Lyerla found room for the second team and junior quarterback Gage Kelley and senior tight end Drew Osborn earned third team.
Junior free safety Quincey Willis made the second team and sophomore linebacker Drayke Perry earned third team.
Joplin do-everything receiver Zach Westmoreland and Webb City senior running back Durand Henderson shared top offensive player honors, while Webb City senior defensive back Alex Gaskill and Carthage senior linebacker Colton Winder shared top defensive player during another banner season for the COC.
ALL-COC FOOTBALL
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
QB: Patrick Carlton, Carthage
RB: Durand Henderson, Webb City
RB: Isaiah Davis, Joplin
RB: Joe Kennedy, Carl Junction
WR: Zach Westmoreland, Joplin
WR: Alex Gaskill, Webb City
WR: Jayden Morgan, Carthage
TE: Jacob Monroe, Webb City
OL: Andrew Raney, Carthage
OL: Tyler Smith, Joplin
OL: Dylan Wemer, Joplin
OL: Ryan Slade, Neosho
OL: Trenton Sederwall, Ozark
K: Garrett Landis, Joplin
DEFENSE
DL: Oscar Campa, Carthage
DL: Kipp Box, Neosho
DL: Mason Bryant, Carthage
DL: Trenten Thompson, Webb City
LB: Colton Winder, Carthage
LB: Luke Kuehnel, Joplin
LB: Tre Letts, Neosho
LB: Kale Schrader, Carthage
LB: Sam Cook, Neosho
DB: Zach Westmoreland, Joplin
DB: Alex Gaskill, Webb City
DB: Terrell Kabala, Webb City
DB: Jayden Morgan, Carthage
P: Grant Burkett, Webb City
SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
QB: Cade Beason, Webb City
QB: Blake Tash, Joplin
RB: Sean Sample, Nixa
RB: Tyler Mueller, Carthage
RB: Devrin Weathers, Webb City
RB: Cade Lyerla, Neosho
WR: Terrell Kabala, Webb City
WR: Cameron Flood, Republic
TE: Mason Bryant, Carthage
OL: Zak English, Carthage
OL: Matt Miller, Webb City
OL: Maurice Auberry, Joplin
OL: Zetthew Meister, Webb City
OL: Cole Ludien, Carl Junction
OL: Carson Gehring, Willard
K: Marcus Huntley, Carthage
DEFENSE
DL: Tommy Tapia, Willard
DL: Dylan Walker, Webb City
DL: James Boyd, Joplin
DL: Alex Martini, Carthage
LB: Ruben Lenker, Webb City
LB: Logan Ayers, Nixa
LB: Gavin Surber, Webb City
LB: Trent McFall, Nixa
LB: Nic Lewis, Joplin
DB: Teagan Armentrout, Carl Junction
DB: Quincey Willis, Neosho
DB: Sean Sample, Nixa
DB: Jaden Duvall, Republic
DB: Elijah Eminger, Joplin
DB: Blake Schrader, Carthage
P: Johnathan Lancaster, Carthage
THIRD TEAM
OFFENSE
QB: Gage Kelley, Neosho
RB: Garrett Rice, Willard
RB: Nathan Glades, Joplin
RB: Riley Sigman, Republic
WR: Hunter Wood, Branson
WR: Jake Skaggs, Ozark
WR: Kobe Maxwell, Carl Junction
WR: Tucker Downing, Carthage
TE: Gary Clinton, Webb City
TE: Drew Osborn, Neosho
TE: Logan Ayers, Nixa
OL: Landon Ritter, Nixa
OL: Austin Spink, Webb City
OL: Jayden Withrow, Joplin
OL: Brenner Ocana, Carthage
DEFENSE
DL: Jacob Booe, Joplin
DL: Jordan Gold, Republic
DL: Brayden Bond, Webb City
DL: Brady Coggin, Republic
DL: Taylor Cheek, Nixa
LB: Drayke Perry, Neosho
LB: Trey Hoenie, Branson
LB: Austin Joplin, Willard
LB: Logan Emmerth, Ozark
LB: Isaic Shields, Carl Junction
LB: Ethan Pritchard, Ozark
LB: Kade Hicks, Webb City
DB: Ty Werling, Branson
DB: Tallon Heimbach, Willard
DB: Trulyn Kendrick, Carthage
DB: Tyler White, Carl Junction