Missouri
Nixa football falls short to De Smet in Missouri Class 6 championship
COLUMBIA — The final chapter in Nixa football’s storybook season ended with a runner-up finish.
Nixa football (13-1) fell 35-20 to De Smet (12-2) in Friday night’s Missouri Class 6 state championship game at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.
The season will go down as Nixa’s best in program history. It was their first appearance in a decade and their second overall.
John Perry, who finished his fifth year as Eagles coach, told his team during their first meeting that they’d one day be the best team in Missouri. He got his team and community to believe but came up one win short.
Friday night won’t mark the end of Nixa’s story as it returns key players at quarterback and the offensive line heading into 2025. The Eagles will lose Dylan Rebura after one of the best rushing seasons in state history, along with defensive standout Parker Mann and others. They will return Jackson Cantwell, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2026 class, quarterback Adam McKnight and others.
Nixa football couldn’t put together game-tying drive
Down eight with 4:21 left in the game, Nixa had the ball at its own 35. The Eagles drove deep into De Smet territory, where it faced a fourth-and-2 with just over a minute to go.
McKnight dropped back but couldn’t find an open receiver. He was sacked by De Smet’s Hudson Brewer, who forced a fumble, which Quincy Byas recovered.
Needing a stop that would have given them the ball with seconds remaining, De Smet running back Jayden McCaster broke a tackle and outran the Nixa defense for a 70-yard score to put the game out of reach.
De Smet football scored 14 unanswered to start second half
After going into halftime tied at 14, the Spartans scored 14 unanswered in the third quarter.
De Smet pulled trickery for its first score, going with a Statue of Liberty play when facing third-and-goal from the Nixa 2. McCaster ran it in.
After a Nixa three-and-out, the Spartans found the endzone 52 seconds later after McCaster broke away for a 46-yard run. Duff punched in a one-yard touchdown two plays later to double up the Eagles.
Nixa didn’t lie down. A nine-play, 64-yard drive concluded with Rebura running in his second touchdown of the game from four yards away to bring the game within eight.
De Smet football made right adjustments to slow down Nixa rush attack
The Eagles had 84 rushing yards through their first two drives. They had 107 for the remainder of the game.
De Smet made solid adjustments, moving around different members of a defensive line with a four-star defensive end and a defensive tackle signed with Eastern Michigan.
Rebura finished with 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the team finished with 3.4 yards per carry.
Missouri linebacker signee Jason King finished with 18 tackles, eight being solo. The Spartans had eight tackles for a loss.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A man is dead after an argument inside a south Kansas City home escalated into a shooting overnight, police say.
The Kansas City Police Department says it responded to the 11500 block of Belmont Ave. just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, June 21, after reports of a shooting.
Officers indicate that they arrived to find an unresponsive man inside a vehicle parked in front of a residence. They rendered aid until EMS arrived and took over.
However, the victim was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to authorities.
Investigators say the victim was inside the home when an argument broke out with one or more people. The confrontation continued as he left the home and got into a vehicle – where he was shot.
One person of interest was detained at the scene. Detectives note that they are not looking for any additional suspects at this time.
The shooting is the latest instance of violence in Kansas City on the first official weekend of summer. On Friday night, one person died and five others were injured in a shooting on 19th Street between Paseo and Vine.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — “It’s difficult to call the Battle Line Rivalry a true rivalry when Arkansas has won just twice since Missouri joined the SEC.”
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has made this one matter even more for the Tigers during his time in Columbia due to his Natural State roots.
The Alma native is 5-1 against his home-state with three victories coming by seven points or less.
Silverfield has watched the Razorbacks from just across the river in Memphis, and has noticed a pattern in most of the losses over the years. Turnovers have been a major issue in this series through the years.
Whether it was the Alex Collins fumble in 2014, a blown 24-7 halftime lead in 2016, a 48-45 shootout loss in 2017, allowing Missouri to drive 60 yards in 43 seconds for a walk-off field goal by Harrison Mevis in 2020, or letting Brady Cook sprint 30 yards untouched during the Snowmaggedon game in 2024, the Razorbacks have been allergic to holding onto fourth quarter leads against the Tigers.
The biggest curse of all was Arkansas’ game against Missouri was scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend, which effectively replaced the Battle of the Golden Boot against LSU. Despite not playing on an annual basis prior to joining the SEC, this game became quite the underrated rivalry not only in the SEC, but nationally with eight games coming down to the final possession from 2005-2013.
Talent Advantage: Missouri
When it comes to talent on the field, this might be Drinkwitz’s deepest team since his arrival at Missouri in 2020. The Tigers have a total of 43 former 4-star prospects and 25 who were rated as 3-stars during their recruitment, according to the Razorbacks on SI offseason Tracker.
Between Austin Simmons at quarterback, Ahmad Hardy in the backfield, Ben Norfleet at tight end and wide receiver Donovan Olugbode there is plenty of firepower to create mismatches in space. Then, Missouri’s defense is fairly deep with linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez, safety Santana Banner and defensive lineman Darris Smith.
The Tigers can bring the heat to opposing backfields, field a standout secondary and always seem to have instinctive, hard hitting linebackers. Drinkwitz’s best year came in 2023 with an 11-3 overall record but have yet to officially breakthrough in the SEC.
And with this roster, it’s either time for the Tigers to solidify its place among SEC brethren in 2026 season, or continue its slow path back to mediocrity within the league.
A talent advantage alone won’t always win teams ball games, but one that plays disciplined and understands how to control momentum throughout a game can find ways to win.
The Razorbacks have held the talent edge several times over the years, but still suffered defeat in 2016, 2017 and 2022. Since Missouri joined the SEC, their teams have played with confidence that kept them in games they had no business winning.
Former National Championship winning coach Urban Meyer once said, “Leave no doubt” when it comes to winning at the Power Conference level. Maybe it’s Arkansas’ turn to have a coach whose players are ready to run through a wall for in Silverfield this fall.
The Silverfield Mindset
There’s something to be said about a coach who can motivate his team for the biggest of challenges and overcoming talent deficiencies.
Any team can have the Jimmys and Joes but it all comes down to execution, and that’s something that Arkansas has struggled with over the past several years. Silverfield believes a lot of Arkansas’ struggles came down to a culture of losing, which is something he’ll have to cleanse it of this offseason.
“We’ve had one Power Four win at home the last three years,” Silverfield said in an appearance on McElroy And Cubelic In The Morning radio show earlier this spring. “We have to play more disciplined football. Arkansas has not done a great job with penalties, pre-snap, post-snap, dead ball. Taking care of the football, ball security. That’s been part of some of the failures here.”
Silverfield understands Arkansas’ quickest path to improvement begins with eliminating self-inflicted mistakes. After all, the program is just 17-49 in one possession games since 2012.
Arkansas was close last season to being a very good team last year, but weren’t able to do the small things needed to win games.
The Razorbacks finished last season ranked No. 125 in turnover margin (-11), No. 121 in third down defense (45%), No. 99 in sacks allowed, No. 126 in penalties (7.8 per game) and No. 112 in total penalties showed that a change in leadership was sorely needed.
And the truth is, the Razorbacks might’ve found the right man for the job going into 2026. Arkansas has been close time and time again.
With this game being played on Halloween this fall, it’s possible Arkansas can practice its Houdini act and put the struggles against Missouri behind them once and for all.
Hogs on SI Season Preview Series
North Alabama: Why Week One Matters More Than It Should
Utah: Silverfield Doesn’t Know What Razorbacks Are, Utes Will Provide Answers
Georgia: Razorbacks Might Not Beat Georgia, But Offer Test Kirby Smart Didn’t Expect
Texas A&M: Can Hogs’ Rebuilt Defense Slow Down Marcel Reed?
Tennessee: Razorbacks Must Reclaim Homefield Advantage Against Tennessee
Vanderbilt: Arkansas Might Be Catching Vanderbilt at Right Time in 2026
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