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.