JOPLIN, Mo. — After getting a week off, second-seeded Joplin made the most of its opportunity to play one more time in front of the home crowd—albeit on a wet evening with constant rain—after beating third-seeded Kickapoo 21-7 in the Class 6 District 5 semifinal round.
Joplin advances to take on top-seeded Nixa in the district title on the road at 7 p.m. next Friday.
The Eagles used a big play early to get the initial lead before Kickapoo tied the game early in the second period. Joplin took the advantage back with less than five minutes to play in the first half and was the only team to cross the goal line in the second half to seal the win.
QB Daniel Rose completed 13-of-19 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown, while WR Davin Thomas caught six passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. RB Toryn Jones rushed the ball 15 times for 133 yards for Joplin.
Joplin found the big play to take the initial lead after Thomas broke loose for an 82-yard touchdown reception on a pop pass to go up 7-0 near the five-minute mark in the opening quarter.
Kickapoo tied the game with 10:28 left in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown run from Morgan Nicholls.
Joplin got back into the end zone with 4:11 left in the first half when Jones scored from a yard out on third-and-goal to make the score 14-7.
Joplin forced Kickapoo into a fumble on the first possession of the second half as the Chiefs were driving into Eagles’ territory.
Joplin put the game away in a rainy and cold second half when Jones found paydirt from 12 yards out to push the advantage to 21-7 with 3:18 left in the game.