It has happened two years in a row, and at 7 p.m. Friday, when Joplin takes the field at Nixa High School, it will be looking to avoid a third straight season-ending loss at the hands of the Nixa Eagles in the Class 6 District 5 championship.
“That’s the only thing going into this, really. We need to get over the hump,” Joplin’s senior quarterback Daniel Rose said. “It motivates everyone. A lot of us have been there the last couple of years, too. No one wants to have that sick feeling after you lose, again. That’s enough motivation itself that they ended our season two years in a row.”
Joplin (5-5) and Nixa (10-0) have met five times in the last three seasons and Friday night will be the sixth meeting. Nixa has beaten Joplin in each of the five contests, and two of them were the last two district championship games.
“We’ve been working at this for awhile and Nixa’s obviously a very good program. Coach (John) Perry does a really good job there. A lot of these seniors have been on the field for both of those previous district championship games,” Joplin head coach Curtis Jasper said. “This is a game that obviously means a lot to them. So, we’re going to do everything we can to break through that door or get over that hump, whichever terminology you want to use.”
Senior wide receiver Layne Royle talked about the team’s excitement ahead of Friday’s game.
“Practice is really hyped up. I think everybody is ready,” Royle said.
Joplin also fell to Nixa in their 2022 regular season meeting, making six straight losses to the recently successful program. Prior to that, Joplin handed Nixa two losses in the 2021 season.
The teams met at Junge Field in Joplin back in week three of the regular season. That game from two months ago was a tight battle. The 28-14 final was the second closest margin of the past six matchups. The only one closer was the 2023 regular season game in which Joplin fell 35-27.
This year’s regular season game is also the fewest points Nixa has scored on Joplin during its win streak.
Joplin was tied with Nixa at 14 during the start of the fourth quarter before falling behind 21-14. And then, it converted a fourth down on a trick play but the play was called back due to an illegal motion penalty.
“We can take a little bit of confidence in the fact that we were tied with them partway through the fourth quarter,” Jasper said.
Joplin players added this about that regular season contest:
“We realized it meant more to us. Our sideline was going nuts when we scored,” Rose said.
“Everyone was so engaged and so locked in. That’s what we’ve been seeing in practice this week,” Royle said.
It may have seemed and felt like winning that game meant more to them instead of the Eagles on the opposite sideline because it has meant a lot to them all season.
Joplin has been talking about winning this one since before the season began.
“They’ve talked about this, all the way throughout the offseason, how much this would mean to them. I think we’re all headed in the right direction,” Jasper said. “We’re going to give everything we got and leave it all on the field. Wherever the chips fall, they fall. We’ll know we’ve done everything we can do to be successful.”
Joplin is coming off a 28-6 victory over Kickapoo last Friday, a team it defeated 31-7 in the regular season. It’s rushing attack led by Traevian McCadney has led the team most of the season.
“We saw on Friday what we can do when we fly around to the ball and tackle well,” Jasper said. “They (Nixa) have athletes that are going to force us to do that if we want to be successful. If we don’t do that, little plays are going to turn into big plays in a hurry.”
Nixa will be led by senior running back Jayden McCaster, who has 1,586 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns.
For Joplin, McCadney has run for 1,272 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rose has thrown for 1,281 yards and eight touchdowns. Trenton McCadney adds 521 yards rushing and six touchdowns while he’s gained 585 yards receiving and three more scores. Royle has 324 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
