Springfield Catholic players jog during warm ups prior to the game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

The Sun sets in between storm clouds to the West of a scheduled game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

Fair Grove fans wait in the stands during a weather delay of a game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

Lightning caused delays in a multitude of Springfield area high school football games Friday night.

Coaches in two games opted to postpone their games to Saturday. Parkview and Waynesville are postponed to Saturday at 3 p.m. at JFK Stadium in Springfield, while Fair Grove and Springfield Catholic will now play Saturday at 7 p.m.

Fair Grove High School coaching staff watches clouds on the horizon before a scheduled game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

Catholic coach Steve Hancock and Fair Grove coach Bill Voorhis sat through a one-hour lightning delay followed by 10 minutes of discussion on what to do between the two coaching staffs.

“Neither one of us wanted to get started and then have to stop in the middle of the ballgame,” Hancock said. “It looked like it was going to be 9 o’clock before we got started, and they just said there is another front coming through at 10.”

Hancock said attempting to complete the game on Friday night with lightning in the area and more storms on the way would be a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

“I’ve been through this before. I’ve been through it where you get started and then you play 30 minutes, then you’d be down 30 minutes, and then you end up having to go home after that,” Hancock said.

Voorhis agreed with Hancock.

“We felt like it was the best decision to get the game done in its entirety of time, to make sure (Saturday),” Voorhis said. “It seemed like the best decision at the time.”

Voorhis said delays in the middle of play can impact the outcome of the game, which he didn’t want to happen.

“You want to make sure the kids decide the game, not outside circumstances like weather,” Voorhis said.

Springfield Catholic quarterback Tyson Riley (8) warms up prior to the scheduled game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

Fair Grove (3-0) and Catholic (2-1) are the Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors.

Missouri State High School Activities Association rules for all outdoor sports state that if any official spots lightning, athletes must clear the playing area and play may not resume until at least 30 minutes after lightning was last spotted.

“There’s not much you can do,” Hancock said.

Thunderstorms also caused delays for Camdenton at Kickapoo Carthage at Central, Buffalo at Marshfield, Nixa at Republic, East Newton at Aurora, Marionville at Ash Grove, Houston at Cabool and Reeds Spring at Rogersville. Other games saw their kickoffs moved back.

Fair Grove’s players spent their hour of delay time in the locker room with a stereo blaring. Voorhis said this was to keep up a pregame atmosphere.

“I think we’ve got a pretty mentally tough team, a lot of seniors, so I wasn’t worried about our kids not being focused, but it can be tough, especially for some of those young kids having to get geared up and having to wait,” Voorhis said.

Week 4 high school football scoreboard

Friday, Sept. 9

Kickapoo 42, Camdenton 0 FINAL

Glendale 48, Lebanon 28 FINAL

Hillcrest 42, West Plains 28 FINAL

Carthage 57, Central 6 FINAL

Ozark 28, Branson 16 FINAL

Nixa 24, Republic 6 FINAL

Webb City 55, Willard 7 FINAL

Reeds Spring 45, Rogersville 18 FINAL

Marshfield 18, Buffalo 13 FINAL

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

Bolivar 55, Hollister 13 FINAL

Stockton 20, Strafford 12 FINAL

Ash Grove 38, Marionville 8 FINAL

Lamar 49, Monett 34 FINAL

Holden 35, Lighthouse Christian 6 FINAL

Aurora 27, East Newton 7 FINAL

Skyline 62, Pleasant Hope 13 FINAL

Joplin 43, Rolla 30 FINAL

Carl Junction 35, Neosho 20 FINAL

Mt. Vernon 42, Seneca 13 FINAL

Lockwood 37, Archie 30 FINAL

Jasper 37, Miller 14 FINAL

Mountain Grove 53, Willow Springs 0 FINAL

Mountain View-Liberty 28, Ava 20 FINAL

Pierce City 62, Pleasanton (Kansas) 12 FINAL/TUESDAY

Cassville 33, McDonald County 22 FINAL

Houston 34, Cabool 14 FINAL

Sarcoxie 35, Liberal 0 FINAL

Butler 35, Van Horn 13 FINAL

Lafayette County 35, El Dorado Springs 6 FINAL

Nevada 28, O’Hara 24 FINAL

8-man

Greenfield 54, Pleasanton 6 FINAL

Saturday, Sept. 10

Cedar Ridge, Arkansas at Diamond, 2 p.m.

​Waynesville at Parkview, 3 p.m.

• Postponed from Friday

Game of the Week, brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors: Fair Grove at Springfield Catholic, 7 p.m.

• Postponed from Friday

Fair Grove quarterback Jayden Kensinger threw one pass from scrimmage Saturday night, but he certainly made it matter.

Fair Grove (4-0) football players debrief with their coaches moments after squeaking past Springfield Catholic 21-20 on Saturday, Sept. 10 at Swisshelm Field.

Kensinger’s lone attempt was a 46-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Mauldin that proved to be the game winner in a 21-20 Eagles win at Springfield Catholic. Fair Grove, the No. 8-ranked Class 2 team in Missouri, improved to 4-0 with the win.

Kensinger came on as a substitute for senior starter Brayden Lumley to throw one pass. The junior described his thought as the ball left his hand and sailed down the right sideline with just more than two minutes to play.

“’Go get it, Isaac,’” Kensinger said to himself. “I’ve been playing with that kid since Mighty Mites. I knew if I threw it out there, (Mauldin) would adjust to it and go get it, and that’s what he did.”

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

Lumley went 6-of-7 passing for 45 yards, but Fair Grove coach Bill Voorhis decided to turn to a secret weapon of sorts.

“Jayden throws the deep ball well all the time in practice, and Brayden had been throwing the ball well this game too,” Voorhis said. “We had that play in our back pocket for about four months now. It’s the first time we’ve ran it all year.”

The Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors was delayed 24 hours due to thunderstorms in Springfield on Friday night. For those in attendance, it proved worth waiting for.

Kensinger also completed a pass on a two-point conversion when Fair Grove faked trying an extra point kick. He found Joshua Thompson open and appeared poised in doing so.

“Being a backup is hard. You’ve got to go out, you’ve got to play Monday on JV, and you’ve got to come back and play scout team on Tuesday,” Kensinger said. “You’ve just got to be ready no matter what. When your time comes, you’ve got to step up and do your job for what they need you for.”

Mauldin also did his part.

“Isaac is the fastest kid in our conference, so if anybody is going to run it down, it’s going to be that guy,” Voorhis said.

Catholic (2-2) took a 20-15 lead just three plays before Kensinger’s bomb to Mauldin sealed the win. The Fightin’ Irish went on a five-play, 50-yard drive that ended on an eight-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyson Riley. The sophomore rushed 21 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The Irish got 100 yards on 20 carries from fullback Ramilo Avila.

Coach Steve Hancock said the loss was hard to stomach for an improving Catholic team.

“Our kids really believe in themselves. They went into the ballgame thinking and knowing that they had an opportunity to win, and so when you get so close and don’t get it done, it’s heartbreaking,” Hancock said.

Catholic’s defense held back a Fair Grove offense that had been putting up an average of 58 points per game going into the fourth game of the season.

“We hadn’t really hadn’t faced much adversity this year,” Fair Grove senior running back Dalton Cloyd said. “We got a little frustrated, but we handled it pretty well, I thought. We didn’t ever stop.”

Cloyd was limited to 74 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries, and 60 of those yards were on one play. Cloyd also returned the game’s opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown and had an interception on defense.

“Dalton is a special player. We are blessed. Dalton has worked and earned and become this guy,” Voorhis said. “He has made himself into the player that he is.”

Both Game of the Week teams go on the road for their next games Friday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

Catholic visits Bolivar (1-3), which picked up its first win of the season Friday at Hollister. Hancock expects his team to dust off the loss.

“I’m very proud of our kids, the way they battle. I think our kids are physical, I think they play the game the right way,” Hancock said.

Fair Grove goes to Stockton (2-2), recent winners over Strafford 20-12. The Eagles aim to keep their momentum going.

“That’s just us going forward to our goals. That’s where we want to be, that’s where we’re going to keep heading. Just keep winning one game at a time,” Cloyd said.

Fair Grove 21, Springfield Catholic 20

At Swisshelm Field, Catholic

Fair Grove 7-0-8-6—21

Catholic 0-6-8-6—20

First quarter

Fair Grove—Dalton Cloyd 94-yard kickoff return (Anthony Guynn kick)

Second quarter

Catholic—Ryan Miller 24-yard field goal

Catholic—Miller 20-yard field goal

Third quarter

Catholic—Tyson Riley 6-yard run (Riley run)

Fair Grove—Dalton Cloyd 3-yard run (Joshua Thompson pass from Jayden Kensinger)

Fourth quarter

Catholic—Tyson Riley 8-yard run (run failed)

Fair Grove—Isaac Mauldin 46-yard pass from Kensinger (pass failed)

If you want any chance of sitting in the grandstand, you’d better plan to come early.

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

Undefeated Kickapoo and undefeated Glendale play out the next chapter of a football rivalry that started in 1971 Thursday night at Glendale’s Lowe Stadium. The “Southside Showdown” as it is nicknamed was a no-brainer to be named Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors.

Both teams are 4-0, both hold state rankings in their classes, and both should want nothing more than to hang a defeat on their south Springfield rival.

As he began preparing his team to take on the Falcons, Kickapoo coach Kurt Thompson did his best to stress to his players that adequate preparation is more important than the hype surrounding a rivalry game.

“I know our kids are excited about it, but they better be excited every time. Our season is halfway over after Thursday night’s game,” Thompson said.

Kickapoo quarterback Chris Lawson enters the game with a 69.4 percent completion percentage, 698 passing yards and 10 touchdown passes in four games. Senior wide receiver Robbie Merced has 16 receptions for 218 yards and four touchdowns.

Kickapoo’s statistics are impressive, but they aren’t quite the video game-like numbers produced from a Glendale offense that scores an average of 52.5 points per game and has put up 532.5 passing yards per game.

“We know they are very well coached. We know their schemes create problems for us,” Thompson said.

Junior quarterback Alex Huston completed 132 of his 190 passing attempts for 2,091 yards, 25 touchdowns and three interceptions. Senior Luke Montgomery owns nine of those touchdowns with 646 receiving yards.

Glendale High School quarterback Alex Houston (7) gets ready to throw the ball during second quarter action of the Falcons game against West Plains High School at Lowe Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 2, 2016.

Even with that much firepower, coach Mike Mauk isn’t taking the Kickapoo defense lightly.

“You look at (Kickapoo’s) defense, they have very good athletes. You don’t see any weakness. They have big, strong linemen, linebackers that run like defensive backs, and very athletic corners in their secondary,” Mauk said.

Kickapoo went 9-0 in the Ozark Conference last season.

“I thought they were very good last year, I think they’re even better this year,” Mauk said of Kickapoo.

Kickapoo holds an advantage of 25-22 in the all-time history of the Southside Showdown. The rivalry began when Kickapoo High School opened in 1971, drawing over more than 80 percent of its early population from Glendale.

News-Leader Game of the Week

Presented by Murney Associates, Realtors

Kickapoo (4-0) at Glendale (4-0)

Thursday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m.

Lowe Stadium, Glendale High School

Kickapoo received a first place vote in the latest round of state high school football rankings.

Fair Grove fans wait in the stands during a weather delay of a game between Springfield Catholic High School and Fair Grove High School at Springfield Catholic High School in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 9, 2016. The game was postponed due to severe weather in the area.

The Chiefs remain No. 4 in the Missouri Media Rankings for Class 6 for another week, but one of the 14 reporters polled chose the Chiefs (4-0) as No. 1.

Kickapoo plays at Glendale (4-0) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors. The Falcons were selected as the No. 7 team in Class 5 for a second consecutive week.

Unbeaten Nixa is the No. 5 team in Class 5 behind Chaminade, Battle, Staley and Liberty.

A loss to Class 2 No. 1 Lamar did little damage to Monett’s standing in the Class 3 poll, but the Cubs do slide down one position to No. 5.

Sticking with the theme of staying put, the Class 2 votes placed Mountain Grove at No. 4 and Fair Grove at No. 8. Fair Grove got a scare Saturday night at Springfield Catholic, but the Eagles prevailed with a 21-20 win in the News-Leader Game of the Week to improve to 4-0.

Missouri Media Rankings after Week 4

The Missouri Media Rankings are decided by the polling of 14 sports reporters from across Missouri. First-place votes are in parenthesis.

CLASS 6

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. CBC (11), 3-1, 137, 1

2. Blue Springs (2), 3-1, 127, 2

3. Kirkwood, 3-1, 98, 5 3

4. Kickapoo (1), 4-0, 95, 4 

5. Rockhurst, 4-0, 71, T7 

6. Jefferson City, 3-1, 68, 3

7. Hazelwood Central, 4-0, 64, 6   

8. Eureka, 4-0, 41, T7

9. SLUH, 3-1, 33, 9

10. Lee’s Summit, 3-1, 17, NR

Dropped out: No. 10 Raymore-Peculiar

Also receiving votes:  Raymore-Peculiar (3-1), 16; Park Hill (2-2), 2; Blue Springs South (2-2), 1  

CLASS 5

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Chaminade (12), 3-1, 136, 1

2. Battle (2), 4-0, 124, 3

3. Staley, 3-1, 110, 2

4. Liberty, 4-0, 97, 5

5. Nixa, 4-0, 85, 5   

6. Fort Zumwalt North, 3-1, 67, 6

7. Glendale, 4-0, 62, 7

8. Liberty North, 2-2, 38, 8

T9. Park Hill South, 3-1, 19, NR  

T9. Timberland, 4-0, 19, NR

Dropped out: No. 9 Jackson, No. 10 Vianney

Also receiving votes:  Vianney (1-3), 8; Pattonville (1-3), 3; Jackson (3-1), 2

CLASS 4

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Kearney (14), 4-0, 140, 1 

2. Parkway North, 4-0, 115, 3

3. Platte County, 3-1, 110, 6

4. Carl Junction, 3-1, 100, 4

5. St. Dominic, 4-0, 77, 5

6. Harrisonville, 3-1, 64, 2 

7. Hannibal, 3-1, 56, 7 

8. Webb City, 2-2, 49, 8

9. Ladue, 3-1, 32, 9

10. Hillsboro, 4-0, 14, NR

Dropped out: No. 10 Raytown South

Also receiving votes: Raytown South (2-2), 7; St. Joseph Lafayette (4-0), 6 

CLASS 3

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Maryville (12), 4-0, 138, 1

2. Blair Oaks (2), 4-0, 126, 2

3. John Burroughs, 3-1, 111, 3 

4. Center, 4-0, 90, 5 

5. Monett, 3-1, 80, 4

6. McCluer South-Berkley, 4-0, 70, 6

7. Park Hills Central, 4-0, 52, 8

8. Richmond, 4-0, 46, 9

9. Mexico, 2-2, 26, 7

10. Osage, 4-0, 22, 10

Also receiving votes: Odessa (3-1), 5; Southern Boone (4-0), 4   

CLASS 2

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Lamar (14), 4-0, 140, 1

2. Mt. View-Liberty, 4-0, 123, 2

3. Centralia, 4-0, 114, 3

4. Mountain Grove, 4-0, 94, 4

5. Trinity, 4-0, 78, 6

6. Malden, 4-0, 70, 7

7. Lutheran North, 3-1, 48, 5

8. Fair Grove, 4-0, 43, 8

9. Macon, 4-0, 29, 10

10. Lawson, 3-1, 15, NR

Dropped out: No. 9 Brookfield

Also receiving votes:  South Callaway (4-0), 10; Brookfield (2-2), 6

CLASS 1

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Valle Catholic (14), 4-0, 140, 1

2. Marceline, 4-0, 123, 2

3. Hamilton-Penney, 4-0, 114, 3

4. Lincoln, 4-0, 98, 4

5. Lockwood, 4-0, 82, 5

6. Polo, 4-0, 67, 6 

7. Hayti, 4-0, 48, 8

8. Cass-Midway, 4-0, 47, 7

9. Westran, 4-0, 33, 9

10. East Buchanan, 3-1, 17, 10

Also receiving votes:  Monroe City (3-1), 1 

American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performers of the Week

Here are the high school varsity American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performers of the Week for the week of Sept. 5-10.

The football team defense from Springfield Catholic High School was named an American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performer of the Week for Sept. 5-10, 2016.

Samantha Hall

Hurley volleyball

Hurley’s defensive machine had 29 digs in a three-set win over Sparta. The Tigers’ libero also had 30 digs in a 32-30, 25-11 win over Crane. Hall has consistently put up big numbers all season for a Hurley team that plays in Class 1 District 7.

Charlotte Waddelow

Bolivar softball

Waddelow hit four singles and a double in Bolivar’s absolutely wild 17-16 marathon win over Buffalo on Sept. 6. The two teams combined for 31 hits with a total of eight players logging multi-hit games. Bolivar trailed by as many as six runs at one point but pulled off a comeback win.

Bella Drennan

Republic volleyball

Drennan set for 22 assists on Thursday night in a 25-19, 25-14 win over Marshfield. Republic improved to 8-3 on the season and hopes to repeat as Class 4 District 12 champions, but that won’t be easy with the likes of Carl Junction, Carthage and Webb City in the field.

Birdie Hendrickson

Rogersville volleyball

Hendrickson contributed on the attack and on defense as Rogersville’s volleyball team continues rolling. Hendrickson had 11 digs and 11 kills in a 25-14, 25-16 win over Branson that boosted the Wildcats to an overall mark of 10-2 on the season.

Fightin’ Irish defense

Springfield Catholic football

Catholic recorded 11 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a 21-20 loss to Fair Grove on Saturday night. What’s more impressive is that the Irish defense limited a Fair Grove offense that had been posting 52.5 points per game to just 14 points from scrimmage.

Varsity sports coaches, would you like to nominate one of your players to be an American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performer of the Week? Email your nomination to News-Leader high school sports reporter Rance Burger (rburger@news-leader.com) by 5 p.m. each Monday.

Game of the Week

Kickapoo’s leading rusher has a call sign.

Kickapoo senior running back Maverick McGee has scored 22 touchdowns in his varsity football career.

Through four games, senior Maverick McGee carried the football 59 times for 539 yards and 11 touchdowns. Kickapoo is 4-0, McGee averages 9.1 yards per carry, and he is aware that his name is unique.

“A lot of people think it’s an awesome name, but there are also people that are like, ‘man, what were your parents thinking when they named you that?’” McGee said with a chuckle.

Not much, as it turns out. At least that’s the explanation they gave to Maverick.

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

“They just said it was something different. I wasn’t named after anything, they just like the name. It flowed with McGee,” he said.

Dictionary.com offered up several definitions of the word “maverick,” but they don’t really fit McGee’s personality. Chiefs coach Kurt Thompson described McGee as a team player, and a leader who is “vocal when he needs to be,” and quiet when it’s time to listen to coaches.

“He’s just a very smart kid, intelligent young man. He just shows up. You never worry about Maverick, you know where he’s going to be and know he’s going to be on time, and know he’s doing things right on and off the field,” Thompson said.

McGee agrees with Thompson’s assessment.

“I’m not a rebel or stray cow or whatever definition you can come up with,” McGee said.

Kickapoo visits rival Glendale, also 4-0, Thursday at 7 p.m. in the News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors. McGee said the Chiefs are fired up to play the Falcons.

Game of the Week: Southside Showdown is a clash of unbeatens

“I think we’re all extremely excited to be here, and that fact that Glendale is also 4-0 makes it that much better,” McGee said. “There isn’t a soul that’s not pumped about this game.”

McGee describes the Southside Showdown rivalry as equal parts friendly and fierce.

“We love the (Glendale) kids, but not during football season. During football season, we don’t talk to them, we don’t associate with them at all. I mean, it’s fun. It makes the sport fun to have rivals like that,” McGee said.

As a junior, McGee shared the Kickapoo backfield with Malachi Stout, now on the football team at NCAA Division I Arkansas State. Stout rushed for 1,474 yards and a school record 33 touchdowns in 13 games, and Kickapoo went 12-1 and reached the Class 6 playoff semifinals for the first time ever.

Even with Stout chewing up carries, McGee managed to gain 892 yards and score eight rushing touchdowns. He also picked up 291 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

This season, McGee is Kickapoo’s leading man in the ground game and could be a threat to Stout’s single-season touchdown record at Kickapoo.

“(McGee) is getting more touches. Last year we had to spread all of them out, and now he’s getting the majority of touches at running back and doing a fantastic job with it,” Thompson said. “He’s doing what we expect him to do.”

Senior Devin Kruse joins McGee in the starting running back spots.

“Devin has done a fantastic job,” Thompson said. “He’s that kid that has waited until his senior year and run with it. He was a good JV player for us last year and at that other running back spot has done fantastic.”

Kruse has carried 24 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

“We are a great pair because Devin is a completely different back than I am,” McGee said. “Devin is kind of like Malachi where he can find the holes and he can make people miss just because of his quickness and his agility.”

And if you were wondering, yes, McGee is familiar with Tom Cruise’s character nicknamed “Maverick” in the 1986 movie “Top Gun.,” even though the film hit theaters 13 years before McGee was born. And, yes, McGee has heard all of the jokes people can come up with related to “Top Gun.”

“They always come up to me, they’re like, ‘hey, do you have a brother named Goose or something?’ I do not, but that’s funny,” McGee said.

Maverick McGee Football Highlights Junior Year Kickapoo High School

Kickapoo running back Maverick McGee has 11 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown through the first four games of 2016.

At the midway point of the 2016 high school football season, some teams are beginning to distance themselves from their competition in the district standings.

Kickapoo High School linebacker Travis Vokolek (2) and safety Cole McCarville (22) celebrate after the Chiefs defense forced a turnover during a 2016 game against Parkview. The Chiefs are 4-0 and hold the top spot in Class 6 District 4.

Teams are assigned a point total based on a Missouri State High School Activities Association formula that factors wins and losses, strength of schedule and point differentials. The point system and standings are used to seed district playoffs at the conclusion of the ninth week of the season. In Class 5 districts with six teams, the teams with No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive opening-round byes in the playoffs.

Class 6 District 4

1. Kickapoo 4-0, 48

2. Rockhurst 4-0, 45

3. Raymore-Peculiar 3-1, 38.33

4. Lee’s Summit 3-1, 36.67

5. Lee’s Summit West 2-2, 33

6. Joplin 2-2, 31.67

7. Park Hill 2-2, 29.33

8. Lee’s Summit North 0-4, 12.42

Class 5 District 4

1. Glendale 4-0, 52.17

2. Ozark 3-1, 39.92

3. Lebanon 3-1, 37.17

4. Central 0-4, 16.17

5. Branson 0-4, 15

6. Waynesville 0-4, 10.33

Class 5 District 5

1. Nixa 4-0, 42.67

2. Carthage 3-1, 37.33

3. Neosho 3-1, 34.75

4. Parkview 2-2, 31.08

5. Willard 1-3, 24.08

6. Republic 1-3, 21.25

Class 4 District 5

1. Carl Junction 3-1, 50.67

2. Camdenton 2-2, 38.42

3. Webb City 2-2, 37.5

4. Hillcrest 2-2, 35.92

5. Bolivar 1-3, 29.08

6. Marshfield 2-2, 26.33

7. West Plains 1-3, 25.17

8. McDonald County 0-4, 14

Class 3 District 3

1. Osage 4-0, 46.5

2. Owensville 4-0, 44.92

3. Springfield Catholic 2-2, 36.33

4. Rogersville 2-2, 34.5

5. Buffalo 2-2, 32.33

6. St. James 2-2, 30.83

7. Sullivan 0-4, 26.42

8. Eldon 1-3, 25.83

Class 3 District 4

1. Reeds Spring 3-1, 42

2. Cassville 3-1, 41

3. Monett 3-1, 40.67

4. Seneca 2-2, 32.67

5. Mt. Vernon 2-2, 30.17

6. Hollister 2-2, 29.25

7. Aurora 1-3, 23.5

8. East Newton 0-4, 12

Class 2 District 3

1. Mountain View-Liberty 4-0, 54.7

2. Mountain Grove 4-0, 51.33

3. Diamond 3-1, 41.69

4. Ava 2-2, 39.58

5. Willow Springs 3-1, 35.17

6. Houston 1-3, 26

7. Strafford 1-3, 25.75

8. Cuba 0-4, 19.5

Class 2 District 4

1. Lamar 4-0, 58.83

2. Fair Grove 4-0, 50

3. Cole Camp 3-1, 37.42

4. Versailles 2-2, 33.58

5. Stockton 2-2, 28.92

6. California 1-3, 26.58

7. Warsaw 0-4, 17.83

8. El Dorado Springs 0-4, 17

Class 1 District 2

1. Ash Grove 4-0, 51.58

2. Thayer 1-2, 43.5

3. Pierce City 2-1, 37.77

4. Sarcoxie 3-1, 37.64

5. Cabool 0-4, 29.42

6. Marionville 1-3, 28.17

7. Pleasant Hope 0-4, 24.5

8. Miller 1-3, 22.67

Class 1 District 3

1. Cass-Midway 4-0, 44.33

2. Lockwood 4-0, 42.61

3. Drexel 3-1, 33.5

4. Adrian 2-2, 32

5. Archie 0-4, 24.42

6. Liberal 1-3, 24.17

7. Jasper 1-3, 23.95

8. Rich Hill 0-4, 18.67

Class 1 District 4

1. Lincoln 4-0, 43.91

2. Crest Ridge 4-0, 43

3. Skyline 2-2, 39.17

4. Tipton 1-3, 31.5

5. Appleton City 2-2, 27.92

6. Windsor 1-3, 18.42

7. Lone Jack 0-4, 15.33

8. Osceola 0-4, 14.5

Week 5 schedule

Thursday, Sept. 15

Kickapoo at Glendale

Friday, Sept. 16

Reeds Spring at Central

Parkview at Camdenton

Lebanon at Hillcrest

Ozark at Republic

Neosho at Nixa

Carthage at Willard

Branson at Carl Junction

Springfield Catholic at Bolivar

Rogersville at Marshfield

Fair Grove at Stockton

Strafford at Pleasant Hope

Ash Grove at Butler

Lighthouse Christian at Jasper

Buffalo at Hollister

Ava at Salem

Lincoln at Marionville

Miller at Pierce City

Rolla at Waynesville

West Plains at Joplin

McDonald County at Mt. Vernon

Monett at Aurora

Diamond at Lockwood

Skyline at Summit Christian Academy

Mountain Grove at Cabool

St. James at Cassville

Mountain View-Liberty at Willow Springs

Seneca at East Newton

Southeast (Cherokee, Kansas) at Sarcoxie

Thayer at Houston

Nevada at Smith-Cotton

Slater at El Dorado Springs

8-man

Marmaton Valley (Moran, Kansas) at Greenfield

The Glendale Falcons are on the way to renaming their school “Wide Receiver High.”

Glendale wide receiver Von Oeser (8) catches a touchdown pass between two Hillcrest defenders during the first quarter of a game at Lowe Stadium.

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s no secret that wide receiver is one of the most coveted positions on a Glendale team in its third season of running a five-wide receiver, hurry up offense where receptions, yards and touchdowns are so bountiful it’s as if they came from a cornucopia of football statistics.

Glendale hosts rival Kickapoo (4-0) Thursday in the News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors. Both teams are unbeaten and ranked in the state polls, but senior wide receiver Von Oeser is doing his best to keep a cool head.

“There’s always going to be hype, but I just try to ignore it and play my best game like I do every week,” Oeser said.

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

CBS Sports picked Glendale vs. Kickapoo as one of its MaxPreps Top 10 Games of the Week.

“The hype makes for an exciting game, fun to play,” senior wideout Jeremy Almeida said. “The amount of people and knowing how big this game is gets me excited.”

Oeser remembers when coach Mike Mauk first arrived at Glendale and explained his offensive, pass-heavy philosophy to the players.

“I had started out as a quarterback, so immediately my thoughts were, ‘I’m going to love this offense,’” Oeser said.

However, Oeser was a sophomore playing behind senior quarterback Alex Austin. The coaching staff moved Oeser to defense to play in the secondary. His offensive days weren’t done.

“The next year I ended up at receiver and I just fell in love with it,” Oeser said. “It wasn’t hard at all, it’s a very simple scheme and process. Just run your route as hard as you can and catch the ball, that’s all you’ve got to do.”

Oeser leads the Falcons in receptions with 32 and joins 2015 all-state award winner Luke Montgomery and Almeida in a trio of seniors who lead Glendale’s receiving corps in yardage and touchdowns.

Game of the Week: Southside Showdown is a clash of unbeatens

Montgomery leads the team with 646 yards and six touchdowns on 28 receptions. As a junior, Montgomery set single-season state records for receptions (123) and receiving touchdowns (27). Almeida is next with 17 receptions for 317 yards and four touchdowns.

“I can’t even explain how fun it is when you catch the ball and run; that’s all I want to do,” Almeida said. “In middle school all we did was run the ball. When I found out we could throw, it was bread and butter. I’m a receiver, that’s all I wanted.”

Glendale went 2-8 in 2014, the first season with the offense, and put up 4,129 passing yards. Junior quarterback Alex Huston arrived in 2015 and passed for 5,608 yards, and Glendale’s win total jumped to five.

This season, Huston has 2,091 passing yards. Glendale is 4-0 and holds the No. 7 Class 5 ranking in the state. According to the website MaxPreps.com, Huston leads the nation in passing yards. The senior trio of wide receivers are more experienced in the concepts of the Glendale offense, and with more confidence in their scheme, Glendale’s scoring average climbed from 2015’s average of 48.72 to a four-game average of 52.5.

Glendale High School quarterback Alex Huston (7) gets ready to throw in the Falcons’ game against West Plains on Sept. 2.

Oeser noted the improvement in Glendale’s crop of wide receivers.

“It’s off the charts. We’ve all grown so much as players individually, and just as a team, our camaraderie and our team bonding has really improved a lot,” Oeser said.

Some of the success, Mauk said, comes from the receivers working consistently on their coordination with Huston.

“They’re always working on that chemistry and trying to make sure they understand what the other one is doing. I think that when you work at something as hard as they work it, then you continue to get better at it,” Mauk said.

Due to the pedal-to-the-metal pace of Glendale’s offense, receivers are taught to read defenses on the fly.

“All of our routes are based on what the defense does, so we’re continually recognizing — or at least trying to recognize — where (defenders) are at and what they’re doing,” Mauk said. “You don’t try to do too much, you just try to be good at what you do.”

Glendale wide receiver Corbin Lukes catches a touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Huston (not pictured) against West Plains at Lowe Stadium in Springfield.

Ozark junior running back Curt Gracey leads the 3-1 Tigers into Republic for a game Friday night.

We found a new way to look at the Friday night slate of high school football games, and it emphasizes the word “school.”

Each Friday Sept. 16, 2016 game is plotted by taking the home’s team MSHSAA point total along the horizonal axis and matching it with the visiting team’s point total on the vertical axis.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association uses a point system to determine how teams are seeded for the district playoffs. The formula to assign each team’s score factors in wins and losses, strength of schedule (how many wins and losses each team’s opponents have), and point differential across all games played (capped at +/-13).

Hooray for football and algebra coming together.

We used a scatter plot to compare every Friday matchup on one interactive chart:

https://plot.ly/embed.js

So how do I read this thing?

Each game is plotted by taking the home team’s MSHSAA point total along the horizontal axis and matching it with the visiting team’s point total on the vertical axis. Each dot on the graphic represents a game, and you can find your favorite team by hovering your cursor over the dots. Mobile users, tapping the graph will take you to an interactive version of the graph.

First, take a look at the dotted line that runs through the chart. The line is used to illustrate how closely two teams match up in terms of their point total through four games. The closer a game is to the line, the closer the two team’s point totals are. If a game is plotted far away from the line, that means one team holds a lopsided advantage over its opponent in the point standings at this time.

Second, check the upper right corner of the map. The closer two teams are to the upper right corner, the higher their cumulative point total will be. For example, Ash Grove (4-0) and Butler (4-0) combined for this week’s highest point total of 103.75 points, which is why their game is plotted closer to the upper right corner of the chart than any other game.

Remember all that hype for the Thursday night game between Kickapoo and Glendale? The chart says it was justifiable, as the game has the second-highest cumulative point total of the week with 100.17 points, and it plots near the upper right corner. There you have it, mathematical reasoning behind why we made it the News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors.

With a little help from the chart, we picked five Friday night games we are excited for:

Ash Grove (4-0) at Butler (4-0)

Fans of the unbeaten Ash Grove Pirates may not be excited about spending at least an hour and 45 minutes to get to Butler, but they should be rewarded with an exciting game upon arrival. The Pirates will try to be the first team to test a Butler Bears squad that has outscored opponents by an average of 34 points per game. Ash Grove will need big nights from linebacker Josh Pipkin, safety Parker Soper and the rest of the defense to prevail.

Buffalo (2-2) at Hollister (2-2)

Remember the 45-degree line? This game between Buffalo and Hollister falls right on it, which means there’s a lot of unpredictability to this matchup. Hollister started the season 2-0 and then took losses to Rogersville and Bolivar. Buffalo went 2-1 but suffered a narrow 18-13 defeat last week at Marshfield. Buffalo runs a spread that features quarterback Kyle Cooley, steady possession catches from Austin Starkey, the big play potential of Cody Gilette and Gage “spell check’s worst nightmare” Obernuefemann at running back.

Lebanon (3-1) at Hillcrest (2-2)

Hillcrest pulled off a 42-28 upset at West Plains that stunned the Zizzers and the Hornets equally, or at least that’s the way Hillcrest coach John Beckham told the story Monday at the Springfield Quarterback Club luncheon.

“After the game when we were shaking the hands of the West Plains players, they had this look of shock on their faces like, ‘how did we lose to these guys?’” Beckham recounted. “When I got all of our kids huddled up I looked at them, they were just as surprised.”

Lebanon comes off a loss to Glendale and will be without leading rusher John Berry for a second week due to a knee injury.

Diamond (3-1) at Lockwood (4-0)

Lockwood is unbeaten and putting up 44.25 points per game from its I-formation offense led by lightning quick running back Kyle Bouldin and the powerful fullback Ethan Bates running behind an offensive line anchored by the 5-foot-10, 260-pound guard Skylar Neill. Diamond’s games have not been for the faint of heart. Three have been decided by 10 points or less.

Ozark (3-1) at Republic (1-3)

Admittedly, we put down the chart for a second and picked up some non-mathematic human intervention. Republic looks to snap a three-game losing streak having lost three consecutive games to state-ranked teams in Carl Junction, Webb City and Nixa. Ozark is 3-1 with quality wins over Carthage, Carl Junction and Branson.

Fans of the ground game will want to catch this one. Ozark runs the flexbone offense, while Republic runs a traditional single wing offense. This will be an old fashioned exchange that comes down to blocking, tackling and a few well-timed cutbacks.

High school football schedule for Friday, Sept. 16

Reeds Spring at Central

Parkview at Camdenton

Lebanon at Hillcrest

Ozark at Republic

Neosho at Nixa

Carthage at Willard

Branson at Carl Junction

Springfield Catholic at Bolivar

Rogersville at Marshfield

Fair Grove at Stockton

Strafford at Pleasant Hope

Ash Grove at Butler

Lighthouse Christian at Jasper

Buffalo at Hollister

Ava at Salem

Lincoln at Marionville

Miller at Pierce City

Rolla at Waynesville

West Plains at Joplin

McDonald County at Mt. Vernon

Monett at Aurora

Diamond at Lockwood

Skyline at Summit Christian Academy

Mountain Grove at Cabool

St. James at Cassville

Mountain View-Liberty at Willow Springs

Seneca at East Newton

Southeast (Cherokee, Kansas) at Sarcoxie

Thayer at Houston

Nevada at Smith-Cotton

Slater at El Dorado Springs

8-man

Marmaton Valley (Moran, Kansas) at Greenfield

Glendale’s flying Falcon air show is still unbeaten.

Glendale (5-0) stunned rival Kickapoo 40-20 Thursday night on the high school gridiron in a rivalry game known as the “Southside Showdown.” The Falcons put up 566 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air to drop the previously unbeaten Chiefs at Glendale’s Lowe Stadium.

Senior wide receiver Von Oeser had 13 receptions for 168 yards and two touchdowns on his senior homecoming night.

“It’s very important and significant to me in my senior year, for sure,” Oeser said.

Senior Jeremy Almeida had 14 receptions for 176 yards and a touchdown. Luke Montgomery caught 11 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Glendale’s seniors celebrated the turnaround of a team that had two wins two years ago and five wins last year. The players were mobbed by the Glendale student body after the game.

Oeser watched the celebration in the east end zone from about 30 yards away.

“It feels pretty good, to be honest. It feels pretty good,” Oeser said. “We just came in thinking we were going to play the best game that we possibly could, we didn’t think of any outcome of the game.”

Glendale’s Jeremy Almeida looks to get by Kickapoo’s Adrian Davis at Glendale on September 15, 2016.

Glendale junior Alex Huston was 47-of-70 passing with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Huston added a rushing touchdown and demonstrated the slickness of an escape artist to avoid sack attempts throughout the night.

“(Huston) demonstrates good poise in the pocket,” Glendale coach Mike Mauk said. “I think our offensive line does a great job of blocking and protecting, but when things break down (Huston) does a good job of making the first guy miss and then he’s aware of where guys are at and where our guys are up the field.”

Huston has now passed for 2,657 yards and 30 touchdowns this season.

Once the butt of jokes about being as stout as a wet paper towel, Glendale’s defense got big plays throughout the night from the likes of Kyle Doran, Brandon Moon, Ian Marshall, Max Penny and others.

“They’re playing together, they’ve got a lot of confidence in themselves,” Mauk said of the Glendale defensive unit.

Kickapoo senior running back Maverick McGee put up 174 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 27 attempts, upping his yardage total to 713 through five games.

“(McGee) is a strong, powerful, very elusive, fast runner. We were able to contain him, we didn’t stop him—I don’t think anybody is going to stop him, but we were able to maintain that lead and put a little pressure on their offense by our offense scoring,” Mauk said.

Kickapoo had four turnovers in the first half, having not committed four turnovers in the first four games of the season.

“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us,” Chiefs coach Kurt Thompson said. “We just have to come back and learn from it and try to get better.”

Kickapoo had been ranked No. 4 in Class 6 in the latest Missouri Media Rankings, but will likely drop with the loss. Glendale, meanwhile, stands to climb from the No. 7 spot in Class 5, and is the sole remaining undefeated team in the Ozark Conference.

“They made plays, we didn’t. They made a lot more plays than we did, and that’s going to be the difference in a good game,” Thompson said.

Glendale plays a second Thursday night game next week, Sept. 22 at Parkview at 7 p.m. Kickapoo plays its homecoming game the same night against Hillcrest at Pottenger Stadium.

Glendale 40, Kickapoo 20

At Lowe Stadium, Glendale

Kickapoo 0-14-6-0—20

Glendale 12-14-14-0—40

First quarter
Glendale—Von Oeser 20-yard pass from Alex Huston (run failed)

Glendale—Max Nichols 11-yard pass from Huston (pass failed)

Second quarter

Kickapoo—Maverick McGee 28-yard run (Joshua Scheiderer kick)

Glendale—Huston 2-yard run (run failed)

Glendale—Oeser 45-yard pass from Huston (Huston run)

Kickapoo—McGee 53-yard run (Scheiderer kick)

Third quarter

Glendale—Jeremy Almeida 6-yard pass from Huston (run failed)

Glendale—Luke Montgomery 9-yard pass from Houston (Almeida pass from Huston)

Kickapoo—Chris Lawson 10-yard run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

None

Lebanon served up the blueprint for how to respond to a loss.

The Yellowjackets (4-1) lost 48-28 to undefeated Glendale last week, but heavy rains and a drive to Springfield didn’t prevent Lebanon from beating Hillcrest 42-6 Friday night at Shumate Stadium. Lebanon’s response to its first loss sat well with coach Will Christian.

“Glendale was for sure the better team that night. It’s interesting how kids sometimes can respond. You can pout, feel sorry for yourself, point fingers, implode,” Christian said. “Us pulling together, and learning from it and making it a positive and not a negative — I thought our kids grasped ahold of that excellently.”

Wide receivers don’t tend to get much love in the flexbone offense Lebanon runs, but senior Jack Ehrhardt made the most of his chances. Ehrhardt had six receptions for 64 yards and three touchdowns.

“Bounce back wins are always good, and we had a good week of preparation,” Ehrhardt said. “We just came out and played to our potential and got a good win.”

Six of quarterback Cole Breeden’s eight completions were to Ehrhardt.

“Jack played at an all-state level. He showed that he was one of the best football players on the field tonight,” Christian said. “I’m just very happy for Jack.”

Breeden finished 8-for-12 passing for 79 yards. He also rushed 11 times and gained 41 yards and a rushing touchdown.

“Cole is a great quarterback. He runs this offense to a T,” Ehrhardt said.

Lebanon typically has three running backs on the field at a time. The flexbone offense is rooted in double and triple option running plays, but Ehrhardt tries to make the most of each pass thrown to him.

“It’s definitely different. You’re not the typical wide receiver catching balls and running routes all the time. You have to block to get the ball, and I like it because the run sets up the pass well,” Ehrhardt said.

Ry Evans led Lebanon in rushing with 84 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The Yellowjackets showed what their offense could do with a 14-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that chewed up 8:10 in the third quarter.

“Running backs like it, I don’t know if receivers like it,” Christian said of the scheme. “Tonight I thought we had good balance. For the most part, we threw the football well tonight and we’re capable of that. Obviously, everything hinges off of our option game in the flexbone.”

Lebanon’s defense held Hillcrest scoreless for the first half, forced two turnovers in the game and forced Hillcrest to punt five times. Coming into the game, Christian was concerned with having to limit Hillcrest wide receivers Josh Powell and Tim Washington.

“I thought defensively we played outstanding tonight,” Christian said. “We were very concerned coming in. The Powell kid is electric and (quarterback Haden Parton) had thrown the ball really well on film the week before.”

Powell had Hillcrest’s lone touchdown when he caught a pass from Parton on a six-yard crossing route.

Hillcrest faces a turnaround one day shorter than normal in the upcoming week. The Hornets are scheduled to play Kickapoo on Thursday night for the Chiefs’ homecoming game at 7 p.m. at Pottenger Stadium.

Lebanon is scheduled to host West Plains on Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. The game has been selected as Lebanon’s homecoming game.

Lebanon 42, Hillcrest 6

At Shumate Stadium

Lebanon 14-15-7-6—42

Hillcrest 0-0-6-0—6

First quarter

Lebanon—Ry Evans 54-yard run (Lakiah Capps kick)

Lebanon—Cole Breeden 1-yard run (Capps kick)

Second quarter

Jack Ehrhardt 10-yard pass from Breeden (Capps kick)

Ehrhardt 13-yard pass from Breeden (Ehrhardt run)

Third quarter

Ehrhardt 3-yard pass from Breeden (Capps kick)

Hillcrest—Josh Powell 6-yard pass from Haden Parton (pass failed)

Fourth quarter

Ty Glendenning 4-yard run (kick blocked)

Prep Sports sponsored by Murney Associates

High school football scores for Friday, Sept. 16

Reeds Spring 48, Central 18 FINAL

Camdenton 48, Parkview 8 FINAL

Lebanon 42, Hillcrest 6 FINAL

Game of the Week, brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors:

Glendale 40, Kickapoo 20 FINAL/THURSDAY

Glendale stands up to Kickapoo in rivalry game

Ozark at Republic (postponed to Saturday at 3 p.m.)

Nixa 31, Neosho 28 FINAL

Carthage at Willard (postponed to Saturday at 7 p.m.)

Carl Junction 19, Branson 3 FINAL

Bolivar 35, Springfield Catholic 7 FINAL

Rogersville at Marshfield (postponed to Saturday at 12 p.m.)

Fair Grove 39, Stockton 7 FINAL

Strafford 39, Pleasant Hope 0 FINAL

Ash Grove 21, Butler 13 FINAL

Lighthouse Christian 24, Jasper 6 FINAL

Hollister 34, Buffalo 20 FINAL

Ava at Salem (postponed to Saturday at 3 p.m.)

Lincoln 46, Marionville 8 FINAL

Pierce City 55, Miller 7 FINAL

Rolla at Waynesville (postponed to Saturday at 1 p.m.)

Joplin 48, West Plains 34 FINAL

Mt. Vernon 53, McDonald County 8 FINAL

Monett 28, Aurora 7 FINAL

Diamond 47, Lockwood 22 FINAL

Webb City 28, Pittsburg 7 FINAL

Summit Christian Academy 47, Skyline 0 FINAL

Mountain Grove at Cabool (postponed to Saturday at 1 p.m.)

Cassville 21, St. James 12 FINAL

Mountain View-Liberty at Willow Springs (postponed to Saturday at 1 p.m.)

East Newton 14, Seneca 0 FINAL

Sarcoxie 52, Southeast (Cherokee, Kansas) 0 FINAL

Thayer 32, Houston 6 FINAL

Smith-Cotton 31, Nevada 13 FINAL

El Dorado Springs 76, Slater 0 FINAL

8-man

Greenfield 54, Marmaton Valley (Moran, Kansas) 0 FINAL

Here are the high school varsity American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performers of the Week for the week of Sept. 12-17:

Glendale junior quarterback Alex Huston (7) threw five touchdown passes in the Falcons’ 40-20 win over rival Kickapoo Thursday.

Katie Hamilton

Republic golf

The 2015 state qualifier got around Greene Hills Country Club with a four-over par 74 to win the Willard Ladies Invitational on Sept. 15. Hamilton’s round of 74 was enough to win the individual standings by five strokes over runner-up Wriley Heibert of Glendale. Republic also won the team title with counted scores from Hamilton, Alexus Mitchell, Rylea Smith and Holly Casagrand for a cumulative score of 356.

Jacob McCrackin

West Plains cross country

The Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin serves as an excellent barometer for high school cross country runners who aspire to run in the state championship race. McCrackin was electric, blazing through five kilometers in 15:16.40 to finish first out of 372 competitors. He defeated the race runner-up by 4.4 seconds.

Nathan Painter

Bolivar cross country

Painter defended his home turf with a first place finish at the Bolivar Invitational on the campus of Southwest Baptist University. What’s more, he crossed the finish line more than 21 seconds ahead of an impressive top four that included returning state qualifiers Shane Burns of Strafford, Dustin Shoemaker of Humansville and Easton Sabala of Hermitage. Painter’s time of 16:46.57 bodes well for the remainder of his senior season.

Alex Huston

Glendale football

Huston connected on 47-of-70 passing attempts for 581 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-20 win over Kickapoo on Sept. 15. The Falcons improve to 5-0 and are the only unbeaten team remaining in the 10-team Ozark Conference. Three of the six receivers Huston completed passes to had more than 10 receptions and more than 100 yards in the game.

Jaime Villegas

Central soccer

Central improved to 10-2 on the season and won its pool in Parkview’s Viking Showdown with victories over Liberty and Northland Christian. Villegas scored the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win over Liberty on Saturday. He followed that up with an avalanche of five goals in Central’s 10-0 dismantling of Northland Christian.

Varsity sports coaches, would you like to nominate one of your players to be an American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performer of the Week? Email your nomination to News-Leader high school sports reporter Rance Burger (rburger@news-leader.com) by 5 p.m. each Monday.

American Family Insurance ALL-USA Ozarks Performers of the Week

The last unbeaten team in the Central Ozarks Conference Large Division will have to overcome a traditional powerhouse in order to stay atop the standings.

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

Nixa (5-0) hosts Webb City (3-2) Friday at 7 p.m. in the News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors.

Webb City won an eighth straight Central Ozark Conference title in 2015 with a 7-0 record against COC Large opponents. Since entering the COC in 2008 Webb City had not lost a single conference game, until this year when Carl Junction and Carthage picked up home wins over Webb City to start the season.

Nixa squeaked out a 31-28 win against Neosho to improve to 5-0 on Friday night. Eagles quarterback Andrew Rivera led a game-winning drive in the final three minutes to secure a comeback win.

Nixa (5-0) hosts Webb City (3-2) Friday, Sept. 24 in the News-Leader Game of the Week.

In order to beat Webb City, Nixa’s defense will have to bog up a Webb City offense very similar to that of the Eagles’ own. Both teams rely on the split-back veer to sustain drives, control the game clock and keep the opposing offense off the field.

In the five games of 2016, Webb City rushed for an average of 259 yards per game with seniors Cameron Baker (81 carries, 495 yards and six touchdowns) and Hunter Vanlue (69 carries, 444 yards and three touchdowns) leading the ground game.

The Cardinals have won 16 straight outright conference championships dating back to 2000 and the defunct Southwest Conference and have won 87 straight conference games dating back to 1999.

From 2010 to 2014, Webb City won five consecutive Class 4 football state championships. The Cardinals reached the 2015 title game last November but fell 17-14 to Kearney at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week

Presented by Murney Associates, Realtors

Webb City (3-2) at Nixa (5-0)

Friday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.

Eagle Stadium,  514 South Nicholas Road, Nixa

High school football rankings after Week 5

Linebacker Kyle Doran (right) and the Glendale Falcons are now the No. 5-ranked Class 5 football team in Missouri after beating Kickapoo 40-20 and improving to 5-0.

The Glendale Falcons are flying upward, way upward in the state high school football rankings.

A 40-20 win over Class 6 Kickapoo sent Glendale (5-0) to the No. 5 spot in the Class 5 Missouri Media Rankings. The Falcons are now the top-rated southwest Missouri Class 5 team, bumping Nixa (5-0) to No. 6.

Meanwhile, Kickapoo (4-1) slips four spots to the No. 8 position in Class 6.

The Class 2 rankings feature a logjam of teams of Springfield area interest. Mountain View-Liberty (No. 2), Mountain Grove (No. 4) and Fair Grove (No. 8) all hold steady in the rankings for another consecutive week. All three teams are 5-0.

Missouri Media football rankings after Week 5

Rankings are decided by the vote of a 14-member panel of sports reporters from across Missouri. First-place votes are shown in parenthesis.

CLASS 6

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. CBC (12), 4-1, 138, 1

2. Blue Springs (2), 4-1, 126, 2

3. Kirkwood, 4-1, 105, 3

4. Rockhurst, 5-0, 101, 5 

5. Jefferson City, 4-1, 75, 6

6. Hazelwood Central, 5-0, 73, 7   

7. Lee’s Summit, 4-1, 44, 10

8. Kickapoo, 4-1, 41, 4 

9. Raymore-Peculiar, 4-1, 38, NR

10. Eureka, 4-1, 19, 8

Dropped out: No. 9 SLUH

Also receiving votes:  Park Hill (3-2), 4; SLUH (3-2), 3; Lee’s Summit West (3-2), 2; Blue Springs South (3-2), 1   

CLASS 5

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Chaminade (12), 4-1, 136, 1

2. Battle (2), 5-0, 123, 2

3. Staley, 4-1, 113, 3

4. Liberty, 5-0, 93, 4

5. Glendale, 5-0, 81, 7

6. Nixa, 5-0, 76, 5   

7. Fort Zumwalt North, 4-1, 64, 6

8. Park Hill South, 4-1, 39, T9  

9. Jackson, 4-1, 19, NR

10. Liberty North, 2-3, 9, 8

Dropped out: No. T9 Timberland

Also receiving votes:  Timberland (4-1), 6; Vianney (1-4), 5; William Chrisman (5-0), 3; Pattonville (2-3), 2; Carthage (4-1), 1

CLASS 4

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Kearney (14), 5-0, 140, 1 

2. Carl Junction, 4-1, 121, 4

3. Parkway North, 4-1, 108, 2 

4. Hannibal, 4-1, 80, 7 

5. Platte County, 3-2, 77, 3

6. St. Dominic, 5-0, 69, 5 

7. Webb City, 3-2, 67, 8

8. Ladue, 4-1, 48, 9

9. Hillsboro, 4-0, 24, 10

10. Smithville, 5-0, 19, NR

Dropped out: No. 6 Harrisonville

Also receiving votes:  Harrisonville (3-2), 17 

CLASS 3

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Maryville (12), 5-0, 138, 1

2. Blair Oaks (2), 5-0, 128, 2

3. Center, 5-0, 100, 4 

4. Monett, 4-1, 90, 5

5. McCluer South-Berkley, 5-0, 78, 6

6. John Burroughs, 3-2, 63, 3 

7. Park Hills Central, 5-0, 58, 7

8. Richmond, 5-0, 57, 8

9. Mexico, 3-2, 27, 9

10. Osage, 5-0, 24, 10

Also receiving votes: Odessa (3-2), 5; Hogan Prep (5-0), 1; Oak Grove (3-2), 1    

CLASS 2

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Lamar (14), 4-0, 140, 1

2. Mtn. View-Liberty, 5-0, 123, 2

3. Centralia, 5-0, 114, 3

4. Mountain Grove, 5-0, 92, 4

5. Trinity, 5-0, 78, 5

6. Lutheran North, 4-1, 66, 7

7. Malden, 5-0, 63, 6

8. Fair Grove, 5-0, 42, 8

9. Macon, 5-0, 27, 9

10. Lawson, 4-1, 16, 10

Also receiving votes:  South Callaway (5-0), 7; Brookfield (3-2), 1; Lexington (5-0), 1

CLASS 1

Rank, team, Rec., Pts., LW

1. Valle Catholic (14), 4-0, 140, 1

2. Marceline, 5-0, 123, 2

3. Hamilton-Penney, 5-0, 114, 3

4. Lincoln, 5-0, 98, 4

5. Hayti, 5-0, 81, 7

6. Cass-Midway, 5-0, 70, 8

7. East Buchanan, 4-1, 49, 10

8. Maysville, 4-1, 23, NR

9. Polo, 4-1, 18, 6 

T10. Monroe City, 4-1, 15, NR   

T10. Lockwood, 4-1, 15, 5

Dropped out: No. 9 Westran

Also receiving votes:  Ash Grove (5-0), 8; Westran (4-1), 6; Wellington-Napoleon (4-1), 5; Thayer (3-2), 5

Nixa has never beaten Webb City at football.

Nixa senior Nicos Oropeza (32) rushed for 130 yards on 30 carries in a 2015 game against Webb City.

The Eagles’ 15th attempt to defeat the vaunted 16-time state champions will happen Friday at Eagle Stadium in the Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors. Nixa (5-0) enters the game ranked No. 6 in the Class 5 Missouri Media Rankings, while Webb City (3-2) enters ranked No. 7 in Class 4.

Nixa coach Richard Rehagen served as an assistant for 13 years prior to accepting a promotion to head coach in 2008, which coincided with Webb City joining the Central Ozark Conference. Webb City has since won all eight meetings between the teams and holds an all-time record of 14-0 against the Eagles.

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

Past clashes

1988: One of Nixa’s best chances to beat Webb City occurred in the very first meeting between the schools on the gridiron. Coach Jerry Kill had just been lured from Pittsburg State University to Webb City High School in 1988. Kill’s Cardinals prevailed 18-12 and went on to win a state championship in 1989. Kill went on to coach three NCAA Division I teams (Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois and Minnesota) and retired in 2015 due to health concerns. Kill is now an associate athletic director at Kansas State.

2013: Only 18, maybe 24 inches separated the Eagles from beating Webb City in 2013. Nixa opted to try to score a go-ahead touchdown in the waning moments of the fourth quarter with the score tied 21-21, but Webb City stuffed the run to force overtime. Logan Tyler kicked a field goal to put Nixa in the lead, but Webb City answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Tyson Roderique to Kiante Hardin for the win.

2015: At first glance, a 31-16 win for Webb City doesn’t look like an impressive showing by the Eagles, but Nixa had some bright spots in its most recent attempt at beating the Cardinals. Nicos Oropeza, now a starting senior running back, gained 130 yards on 30 carries. Quarterback Andrew Rivera, then the backup, came into the game and threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Chase Allen. Apart from the overtime game in 2013, the game marked the closest margin of victory for Webb City over Nixa since the Cardinals joined the COC.

Game of the Week: Undefeated versus traditional powerhouse

Where are they now?

Both Nixa and Webb City have traditions of sending players on to college football. Webb City has held the reputation of producing college players for decades, while Nixa popped onto the big stage more recently.

Nixa celebrated sending its first football player to an NCAA Division I program two years ago, when running back Alec Murphy signed with Mississippi State. Murphy redshirted his first year and is paying his dues on the Mississippi State bench, but did see action in the Bulldogs’ spring game and rushed for a touchdown.

FSU’s Logan Tyler punts the ball during a game against Ole Miss at Camping World Stadium on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016.

This spring, Nixa celebrated two more Division I signings: kicker/punter Logan Tyler to Florida State and tight end Chase Allen to Iowa State.

Tyler has played in three games for Florida State as a true freshman. He has kicked off 26 times for 16 touchbacks, and his yards-per-punt average of 45.54 leads the ACC through three games.

Allen chose Iowa State over 15 other Division I football programs including Michigan and Nebraska, but his family connections to the Cyclones and a desire to study mechanical engineering landed him in Ames. He is presently the No. 3 tight end on the Iowa State depth chart.

How Nixa turned into a college football factory

Webb City’s most notable football graduate is likely Grant Wistrom, a defensive end who went on to University of Nebraska and then nine seasons in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks.

Wistrom was selected as the Rams’ defensive rookie of the year in 1998 and played for a Super Bowl winner in 2000. Wistrom presently lives in Springfield with his family and owns two CrossFit facilities.

Kiante Hardin, the man who caught the game-winning touchdown pass against Nixa in 2013, went on the University of Minnesota to play for Kill. He played in all 13 of the Gophers’ games last season and has logged six tackles and two pass breakups as a defensive back this season.

Finally, offensive guard Trystan Castillo left Webb City as the No. 9 overall football recruit from Missouri. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound offensive guard is second on the Missouri Tigers depth chart at left guard. Castillo was the first member to commit to Mizzou’s 2016 recruiting class.

Webb City vs. Nixa football over the past decade

2015: Webb City 31, Nixa 16

2014: Webb City 47, Nixa 7

2013: Webb City 27, Nixa 24 (OT)

2012: Webb City 49, Nixa 21

2011: Webb City 41, Nixa 7

2010: Webb City 35, Nixa 14

2009: Webb City 42, Nixa 21

2008: Webb City 28, Nixa 7

2007: Webb City 26, Nixa 0

2006: Webb City 35, Nixa 7

Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week

Presented by Murney Associates, Realtors

Webb City (3-2) at Nixa (5-0)

Friday, Sept. 23, 7 p.m.
Eagle Stadium,  514 South Nicholas Road, Nixa

Week 6 of the high school football season offers up several exciting games and intriguing matchups, and the algebraic formulas back this claim.

A scatter plot compares high school football games according to each team’s district standings and state point total.

For the second week in a row, we’re turning to data comparisons to evaluate the week’s slate of high school football games in the Ozarks.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association uses a point system to determine how football teams are seeded for the district playoffs. The formula to assign each team’s score factors in wins and losses, strength of schedule (how many wins and losses each team’s opponents have), and point differential across all games played (capped at +/-13).

Football and algebra have collided like a blitzing linebacker and a fullback at the goal line on fourth-and-1, forming a new and insightful way to examine each game. Using these point totals from MSHSAA, we developed a scatter plot to compare every Friday matchup on one interactive chart:

https://plot.ly/embed.js

So how do I read this thing?

Games are plotted by taking the home team’s MSHSAA point total along the horizontal axis and matching it with the visiting team’s point total on the vertical axis. Each dot on the graphic represents a game, and you can find your favorite team by hovering your cursor over the dots or by tapping the screen on your mobile phone or tablet to pull up a mobile-friendly, interactive version of the graph.

First, take a look at the dotted line that runs through the chart. The line is used to illustrate how closely two teams match up in terms of their point total through the first five weeks of the season. The closer a game falls in relation to the line, the closer the two teams’ point totals are for a given game.

Two teams with high point totals and close comparisons will be plotted closer to the upper right corner of the graph.

With the data in mind, here are five games we are keeping an eye on this week:

Mountain Grove (5-0, 49.5
) at Mountain View-Liberty (5-0, 53.79
)

Running back Trystan Short and quarterback Carter Otwell are both rushing for more than 100 yards per game for Mountain Grove, which the Panthers will need against a Liberty defense that allows just 10.6 points per game. The Eagles will answer with an offense led by all-state dual-threat quarterback Josh Pruett, who passed for 2,543 yards, rushed for 1,015 yards and accounted for a total of 50 touchdowns last season.

Cassville (4-1, 41.86) at Monett (4-1, 41.59
)

The “Barry County Brawl” has all the makings of a classic this season. Losses to Big 8 Conference powerhouse Lamar dot both teams’ otherwise perfect records. Burl Fowler Stadium should be jam-packed with people securing their seats early for a clash of two teams with potent ground games and the ability to sustain drives. The running back battle between Michael Branch of Monett and River Phelps of Cassville will be something to track as the game progresses. Both have shown themselves capable of handling heavy workloads.

Webb City (3-2, 40.16
) at Nixa (5-0, 42.4
)

It is, after all, the Springfield News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors. Nixa puts its undefeated record on the line against the proverbial state championship contenders from Webb City. The Cardinals suffered a pair of regular season Central Ozark Conference defeats for the first time since joining the league in 2008. Nixa has never beaten Webb City in 14 attempts. Eagle Stadium could very well turn into a madhouse should the home team break the streak with a win.

Can Nixa halt their 0-14 drought against Webb City?

Hollister (3-2, 33.75
) at Reeds Spring (4-1, 46.95
)

In a battle of teams that installed AstroTurf for the first time this season, Reeds Spring hosts the Hollister Tigers on the revamped Carl Langley Field at Wolves Stadium. Korey Robinette leads a Wolves rushing attack from the flexbone formation that can give defenses trouble with equal parts power and sleight of hand. Hollister quarterback Jackson Bekemeier passed for 205 yards and two touchdowns to Derek Morris. Bekemeier is already closing in on his passing yardage totals from last season with four regular season games remaining.

Bolivar (2-3, 33.7
) at Rogersville (3-2, 38.1
)

Bolivar’s Lane Loomer rushed for 260 yards against Springfield Catholic to bring his yardage total to 800 in five games. Liberators quarterback Connor Sechler needs 68 passing yards to become the program’s all-time leader. He already holds the Bolivar record for career touchdown passes with 52 and counting. Rogersville will try to stop Loomer with a defense led by linebacker Jaylin Gutierrez, who is also the Wildcats’ leading rusher.

Week 6 high school football schedule

All games at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22

Hillcrest at Kickapoo

Glendale at Parkview

Friday, Sept. 23

Central at Nevada

Springfield Catholic at Buffalo

Willard at Ozark

Republic at Neosho

Webb City at Nixa

Bolivar at Rogersville

Hollister at Reeds Spring

Marshfield at Branson

Strafford at Fair Grove

Marionville at Pleasant Hope

Carl Junction at Carthage

Mt. Vernon at East Newton

Aurora at Seneca

Houston at Ava

Sarcoxie at Diamond

Mountain Grove at Mountain View-Liberty

Lamar at McDonald County

Liberal at Miller

Cassville at Monett

Lockwood at Pierce City

Camdenton at Rolla

West Plains at Lebanon

Joplin at Waynesville

Ash Grove at Skyline

Jasper at Stockton

Cabool at Thayer

Salem at Willow Springs

Lighthouse Christian at Tulsa NOAH

District standings and point totals through five games:

Class 6 District 4

1. Rockhurst 5-0, 45.9

2. Kickapoo 4-1, 42.3

3. Raymore-Peculiar 4-1, 40.85

4. Lee’s Summit 4-1, 39.04

5. Lee’s Summit West 3-2, 37.67

6. Joplin 3-2, 34.1

7. Park Hill 3-2, 34.07

8. Lee’s Summit North 1-4, 18.6

Class 5 District 4

1. Glendale 5-0, 54

2. Lebanon 4-1, 40

3. Ozark 3-2, 35.5

4. Central 0-5, 16.5

5. Branson 0-5, 14.4

6. Waynesville 0-5, 9.5

Class 5 District 5

1. Nixa 5-0, 42.4

2. Carthage 4-1, 38.4

3. Neosho 3-2, 32.7

4. Parkview 2-3, 27.6

5. Republic 2-3, 25.85

6. Willard 1-4 22.9

Class 4 District 5

1. Carl Junction 4-1, 50.8

2. Camdenton 3-2, 41.5

3. Webb City 3-2, 40.16

4. Hillcrest 2-3, 33.8

5. Bolivar 2-3, 33.7

7. West Plains 1-4, 26.7

6. Marshfield 2-3, 24.9

8. McDonald County 0-5, 13.1

Class 3 District 3

1. Osage 5-0, 47.3
2. Owensville 5-0, 44.59

3. Rogersville 3-2, 38.1

4. Springfield Catholic 2-3, 33.55

5. Sullivan 1-4, 31.9

6. Buffalo 2-3, 28.1

7. St. James 2-3, 27.99

8. Eldon 3-3, 27.9

Class 3 District 4

1. Reeds Spring 4-1, 46.95

2. Cassville 4-1, 41.86

3. Monett 4-1, 41.59

4. Mt. Vernon 3-2, 34.4

5. Hollister 3-2, 33.75

6. Seneca 2-3, 27.7

7. Aurora 1-4, 22.09

8. East Newton 1-4, 19.46

Class 2 District 3

1. Mountain View-Liberty 5-0, 53.79

2. Mountain Grove 5-0, 49.5

3. Diamond 4-1, 44.28

4. Ava 3-2, 43.6

5. Willow Springs 3-3, 31.2

6. Strafford 3-3, 28.7

7. Houston 1-4, 22.41

8. Cuba 0-4, 18.8

Class 2 District 4

1. Lamar 4-0, 59.25

2. Fair Grove 5-0, 48.6

3. Cole Camp 4-1, 38.78

4. Versailles 3-2, 35.3

5. Stockton 2-3, 27.2

6. California 1-4, 27.2

8. El Dorado Springs 1-4, 22.7

7. Warsaw 0-5, 17

Class 1 District 2

1. Ash Grove 5-0, 52.7

2. Thayer 2-2, 45.4

3. Pierce City 3-1, 39.5

4. Sarcoxie 4-1, 38.74

5. Cabool 0-5, 29.1

6. Marionville 1-4, 26.1

7. Pleasant Hope 0-5, 23.5

8. Miller 1-4, 20.41

Class 1 District 3

1. Cass-Midway 5-0, 45.5

2. Lockwood 4-1, 39.72

3. Adrian 3-2, 31.3

4. Drexel 3-2, 31.1

5. Rich Hill 1-4, 23.7

6. Archie 0-5, 23

7. Jasper 1-4, 21.99

8. Liberal 1-4, 20.69

Class 1 District 4

1. Lincoln 5-0, 44.67

2. Crest Ridge 4-1, 37.5

3. Skyline 2-3, 35.9

4. Tipton 2-3, 34.3

5. Appleton City 3-2, 31.6

6. Windsor 1-4, 17.8

7. Lone Jack 0-5, 17.5

8. Osceola 0-5, 13

Glendale High School wide receiver Hunter Alstrand (35) is stopped short of the goal line while attempting a two-point conversion during second quarter action of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Glendale High School linebacker Ian Marshall (9) and other Falcons defenders celebrate after the Glendale defense forced and recovered a fumble during second quarter action of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Glendale High School wide receiver Max Nichols (13) catches a long pass from quarterback Alex Houston (not pictured) for a touchdown during second quarter action of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Glendale High School quarterback Alex Houston (7) warms up prior to the start of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Glendale High School wide receiver Jeremy Almeida (88) is slammed to the ground short of the goal line by a Viking defender during first quarter action of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Glendale quarterback Alex Huston’s first half couldn’t have gone much better.

Huston went 21-of-29 passing for 401 yards and six touchdown passes in the first half of the Falcons’ 55-28 win over Parkview Thursday night at JFK Stadium. The junior’s effort gave No. 5-ranked Glendale the early boost it needed to remain undefeated at 6-0.

Huston’s passing totals for the season jump to 200-of-289 attempts for 3,073 yards, 36 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Huston took a sack from Parkview’s Scottie Davis in the third quarter and did not return. Coach Mike Mauk replaced Huston with senior Von Oeser.

“We just wanted to give Von a little bit of work in a key game, in a situation to see what he could do,” Mauk said. “Just out of precaution, we wanted to get (Huston) off and give Von some work at quarterback.”

Luke Montgomery had six receptions for 180 yards and three touchdowns. His fellow senior Jeremy Almeida caught six passes for 115 yards and two first-half touchdowns. Almeida hauled down a 30-yard pass on fourth-and-14 on Glendale’s first drive that Mauk felt was a key play in the game.

“It was really important. Scoring on fourth down-and-long was pretty significant in the outcome of the game, I thought,” Mauk said. “We were able to make some plays that kept us ahead, but (Parkview’s) kids played really hard the whole game.”

Glendale held a 30-0 lead when Parkview scored its first points on a 25-yard touchdown run from Blake Delacruz.

Fumbles proved costly for the Vikings, who fumbled the ball to Glendale four times. Winning the turnover battle 4-1 was key, Mauk said. Glendale couldn’t do much to stop Parkview in a 56-44 Vikings win a year ago.

“They’ve got a very difficult offense to defend and we did a little better job this year than we did last year, but I don’t think we stopped them. I thought we slowed them down enough to win the game,” Mauk said.

Delacruz managed to finish the game with 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

“(Delacruz) had a great game. What I like about him is he faced some adversity with some fumbles, and it made him more determined. He ran with determination almost every time he touched the ball,” Parkview coach Anthony Hays said.

Glendale High School wide receiver Jeremy Almeida (88) runs past Viking defensive back Warren Atkins (9) to score a touchdown during first quarter action of the football game between Glendale High School and Parkview High School at JFK Stadium in Springfield, Mo. on Sept. 22, 2016.

Hays agreed with Mauk’s assessment of the turnovers.

“We wanted to control the clock and control the time of possession, but we got behind too early with turnovers,” Hays said. “We’re a pretty darn good football team when we don’t turn the ball over. We do a lot of positive things, and when we turn it over, we lose.”

Huston passed for 631 yards earlier this season in a 48-28 win at Lebanon, which is believed to be a single-game state record for 11-man football. As a sophomore, Huston completed 65.7 percent of the 664 passes he threw for 5,608 yards and 69 touchdowns.

Montgomery now leads Glendale in receiving with 979 yards on 47 receptions with 10 touchdowns.

Huston should be able to return to the lineup when Glendale returns home and returns to Friday night football Sept. 30 with a game against Rolla (1-4) at Lowe Stadium. Parkview (2-4) plays one more Thursday night game Sept. 29 at Hillcrest (2-4), which will be homecoming for the Hornets.

With the victory, Glendale takes sole possession of the lead in the Ozark Conference standings and in Class 5 District 4 with three regular season games remaining.

Glendale 55, Parkview 28

At JFK Stadium, Parkview

Glendale 22-20-6-7—55

Parkview 0-16-6-6—28

First quarter
Glendale—Jeremy Almeida 2-yard pass from Alex Huston (Huston run)

Glendale—Luke Montgomery 65-yard pass from Huston (Max Nichols pass from Huston)

Glendale—Almeida 52-yard pass from Huston (pass failed)

Second quarter

Glendale—Nichols 37-yards pass from Huston (Almeida pass from Huston)

Parkview—Blake Delacruz 25-yard run (Delacruz run)

Glendale—Montgomery 57-yard pass from Huston (pass failed)

Parkview—Delacruz 58-yard run (Aerion Hawkins run)

Glendale—Nader Leali 20-yard pass from Huston (pass failed)

Third quarter

Glendale—Luke Montgomery 29-yard pass from Von Oeser (pass failed)

Parkview—Mario Sanchez 1-yard run (run failed)

Fourth quarter

Glendale—Oeser 1-yard run (Alex Locke kick)

Parkview—Gage Clark 16-yard pass from Trevor Boice (no attempt)

Prep Sports sponsored by Murney Associates

Week 6 high school football schedule and scores

News-Leader Game of the Week brought to you by Murney Associates, Realtors

All games at 7 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22

Kickapoo 56, Hillcrest 8 FINAL

Glendale 55, Parkview 28 FINAL

Huston passes for 401 yards in one half, Glendale out-passes Parkview

Friday, Sept. 23

Nevada 54, Central 6 FINAL

Springfield Catholic 49, Buffalo 14 FINAL

Ozark 28, Willard 24 FINAL

Neosho 34, Republic 14 FINAL

News-Leader Game of the Week presented by Murney Associates, Realtors:

Webb City 34, Nixa 10 FINAL

Bolivar 55, Rogersville 7 FINAL

Reeds Spring 52, Hollister 13 FINAL

Branson 48, Marshfield 21 FINAL

Fair Grove 28, Strafford 22 FINAL

Marionville 50, Pleasant Hope 0 FINAL

Carthage 35, Carl Junction 28 FINAL

Mt. Vernon 42, East Newton 6 FINAL

Seneca 28, Aurora 21 FINAL

Ava 70, Houston 22 FINAL

Sarcoxie 34, Diamond 18 FINAL

Mountain View-Liberty 33, Mountain Grove 20 FINAL

Lamar 56, McDonald County 0 FINAL

Miller 29, Liberal 28 FINAL

Monett 21, Cassville 20 FINAL

Lockwood 20, Pierce City 18 FINAL

Camdenton 56, Rolla 14 FINAL

West Plains 48, Lebanon 41 FINAL

Joplin 30, Waynesville 15 FINAL

Skyline 36, Ash Grove 12 FINAL

Stockton 20, Jasper 7 FINAL

Thayer 36, Cabool 14 FINAL

Salem 33, Willow Springs 24 FINAL

Lighthouse Christian 49, Tulsa NOAH 7 FINAL