COLUMBIA, MO – Cornerback Josiah Houston called it an ‘identity crisis.’ Defensive end Quincy Byas chalked it up to ‘miscommunication.’
When a prideful De Smet defense was gashed for 305 rushing yards and a robust 9.5 yards per carry in a 25-point loss to Cardinal Ritter on Oct. 18, it knew it had some soul-searching to do.
“That’s why we play teams like Cardinal Ritter,” De Smet coach John Merritt said. “They showed us some areas where we really needed to improve.”
De Smet’s improvement, communication and identity were on full display Friday as the Spartans held an explosive Nixa rushing attack to 3.4 yards per carry and six second half points in a 35-20 victory Friday in the Class 6 Show-Me-Bowl at Faurot Field on the campus of the University of Missouri.
De Smet (12-2), which received 200 rushing yards from senior Jayden McCaster, won its third state title to go along with crowns in 2019 and 2005.
“We’re excited to join that special list,” Merritt said.
The De Smet rush defense had to find its identity in real time after Nixa mounted 12-play and 13-play touchdown drives on its first two possessions, with 24 of the 25 plays coming on the ground.
Nixa senior Dylan Rebura ran the ball 20 times in the first two drives alone, showing uncanny patience, amazing balance and churning out tough yards to keep drives alive.
For the game, Rebura gained 166 yards on 39 carries.
“Those were 166 hard-earned yards,” Nixa coach John Perry said. “We had to work for everything we got because they were so talented on the defensive line and linebacker position.”
The 5-foot-9 Rebura emerged from a pile of bodies and scampered 21 yards to the end zone to complete an impressive opening drive that lasted over seven minutes. A read-option, quarterback keeper by sophomore Adam McKnight was the 13th and final play of the Eagles’ second drive that clicked off six additional minutes.
The chess match in the trenches between Nixa and De Smet favored Nixa early. The Eagles often sent their 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback in motion before directly snapping the ball to Rebura. The tactic allowed McKnight to become an additional blocker and helped Rebura find holes running behind 6-foot-8, 310- pound left tackle Jackson Cantwell.
De Smet countered by placing its top two defensive linemen, Quincy Byas and Titan Davis, across from Cantwell. The trenches became a game of musical chairs, with offensive and defensive linemen shifting positions on seemingly every play.
“We switched up the front a few times,” Merritt said. “We used a lot of different personnel groups, and we kept trying to rotate guys against their big O-Line so they wouldn’t wear us out. I think we used 20 players on defense today and everybody did their part.”
Despite only possessing the ball for five of the 24 minutes in the first half, De Smet matched Nixa score for score. Senior quarterback Dillon Duff rolled right and found Nathan Hatcher from four yards away to complete the Spartans’ only drive of the first quarter. Duff scrambled 38 yards to the end zone on the next possession to tie the game at 14.
“We only had three drives in the first half, so to get (touchdowns) on two of the three was nice,” Duff said.
Nixa closed the half on a 14-play drive that did not result in points. Despite the tie on the scoreboard, the Eagles had run 45 plays to De Smet’s 18 and had furthered their goal of wearing down the De Smet defense.
It was a developing situation that did not go unnoticed by the Spartans’ offense.
“We wanted to come out it the second half and score to give our defense some help,” Duff said.
To open the second half, Duff orchestrated a time-consuming, 12-play drive that began to balance the scales. The Spartans largest gain was nine yards, and they eventually faced a monumental 3rd-and-goal from the three-yard line.
So, Merritt made a play call worthy of the monumental moment – the Statue of Liberty.
Duff dropped back to pass, and McCaster moved into the line of scrimmage. Then, McCaster quickly circled behind Duff and received a behind-the-back handoff which he took around left end and into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“I told the guys earlier in the week that we were going to put in the Statue of Liberty play, and I guaranteed it would be a touchdown,” Merritt said. “We like to play this game called, ‘Things Coach Merritt was right about,’ and I’ll follow up with them on that later.”
Duff was not as ebullient when recalling the unique play call.
“We trust each other,” Duff said after a long pause and with a wry smile.
After the De Smet defense forced a three-and-out, McCaster escaped for his first of several explosive plays with a 46-yard run that set up a short touchdown run by Duff and opened a 28-14 lead for the Spartans.
McCaster gained 144 yards rushing in the second half and added four receptions for 38 yards.
“Coming into this game I had zero doubt. I trusted my linemen and my teammates to put me in position to make plays and it all added up,” McCaster said.
Then, it was time for the defense to show the sum of its growth.
De Smet forced 3-and-outs on three of the first four Nixa possessions and held Nixa to 49 yards rushing in the second half.
“We were trying to fill every (hole) and make them bounce it (outside). After the first two drives, we did a really good job adjusting to that, and over the course of the rest of the game, we were able stop the run,” said senior linebacker Jason King, who led the Spartans with 18 tackles.
Nixa mounted a 9-play touchdown drive near the end of the third quarter that included three completions from McKnight that earned first downs. It ended with a short touchdown run by Rebura, but the extra point attempt hit the left upright and Nixa trailed 28-20.
It set the stage for a final Eagles’ drive that began with 4:30 remaining in regulation.
“We knew it was all or nothing,” Byas said. “We had to come together, pin our ears back and do our job.”
Nixa advanced to the De Smet 17-yard line where the Eagles faced a fourth-and-2. McKnight rolled right and was swarmed by a legion of Spartans led by Byas to end the drive with exactly one minute remaining.
McCaster put a lid on the outcome with a 70-yard run down the left sideline two plays later.
“I’m so proud of our guys. I thought we played a complete game for four quarters. Nixa is big and physical. They really gave us some problems, but we stayed together and we outlasted them,” Merritt said.
For Duff, an early season loss to CBC and the Oct. 18 loss to Cardinal Ritter helped the Spartans find the chemistry to earn a championship.
“To get two early losses, it woke us up and matured us as a team. We realized that we have athletes, but we had to put it all together to win.”
Merritt added, “We talked about what went wrong and agreed that we were going to try to do it better, and it worked out.”
Photo gallery at https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Football/Football-2024/Class-6-Nixa-vs-De-Smet-