Two unbeaten teams with top-three state rankings will battle it out Friday in front of what could be the biggest crowd anywhere in Missouri. Republic’s football season takes a jump in weight class Friday night, when the third-ranked Tigers from Class 5 visit the second-ranked team in Class 6, the Nixa Eagles. Kickoff at Nixa is set for 7 p.m.
Republic coach Ryan Cornelsen isn’t reticent about acknowledging the size of the challenge in front of his Tigers.
“Obviously, they’re really good. They’re the real deal, and they’ve been for the last couple years,” Cornelsen said. “There’s a lot of kids that play their whole high school career and will never play in a stadium that’ll be as packed as this one, especially a regular-season game. We respect what they’ve done, but we also respect what we’ve done to get here to make this game a big game in the state of Missouri. That part makes it exciting.”
Nixa has won its first two games by beating Carthage 42-13 and surviving a 30-27 game at Joplin. The Eagles’ offense runs through quarterback Adam McKnight, who has completed 23 of 27 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns — and run for 205 yards and three more scores on just 20 carries. Running back Jax Adams has been nearly as productive, with 176 rushing yards and four touchdowns to go with 105 receiving yards. Carter Mabe leads the receivers with 10 catches for 143 yards. Add it up, and Nixa has gained 389 yards on the ground and 380 through the air — almost perfectly balanced.
“It starts with their quarterback. He’s a really good football player,” Cornelsen said. “They’ve also got another running back — they always seem to find those guys that are quick and fast — and all four receivers are capable of making plays. So offensively, they’re obviously very dynamic, very balanced. Defensively, again this year, just massive bodies. They’re big and athletic kids. Even at the safety — I’ve been really impressed with both their safeties.”
Republic hasn’t given anyone much reason to doubt it, either. The Tigers shut out Lebanon 35-0 in week one, then beat Kickapoo 54-10 behind 508 rushing yards. Through two games, the defense hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown — Kickapoo’s only scores came on a field goal and a special teams breakdown. Nolan Lashley leads the ground game with 224 yards and eight touchdowns, and Keiran Govan has turned 11 carries into 185 yards.
Game page →Linebacker Trenten Coleman, who had 11 tackles against Kickapoo, said the film shows a different kind of opponent this week.
“I think their physicality is more than what the past two teams we’ve played, but I think we’re ready for that,” Coleman said. “I think we’re gonna play aggressive. I think we’re gonna play hard. Relentless to the ball every play.”
Senior nose guard Ekene Chukwu says a stage like this one is why he plays.
“I enjoy the hype. I like when people watch me play and watch me do my job correctly,” Chukwu said. “I like hearing my name on the speakers. I like hearing my teammates’ names on the speakers, because we’re all doing our job exactly as we should be doing it.”
Republic has met Nixa in week one the past couple of seasons. Cornelsen said the move to week three allows a different kind of preparation.
“Anytime you get film on people, it’s nice. They’ve got a lot of formations, and they’re capable of doing a lot of things, so I don’t know that you can say, ‘OK, this is what they’re going to do,'” he said. “But I like when we get to this point, where now there’s film on teams and we create a plan and try to execute that plan.
“We’ll have to play extremely well. The margin of error for us is really small,” Cornelsen said. “But to me… that’s what it’s about. Most importantly, we take another step forward. We’ll find out a lot about ourselves, and we’ll be better off for playing in games this big moving forward.”
Coleman, for one, isn’t treating it like just another September game.
“This has been on my calendar for a while,” he said. “I’m ready.”
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