When skies are stormy, dark and gloomy, optimists attempt to see silver linings in that clouds.

Nixa football coach Richard Rehagen found himself searching for silver linings on a glum Friday night. His team moved the ball, they made defensive stops at key times, but the result was nil—a 35-0 home loss to Carthage in the opening game of the 2019 high school football season.

"We've got a fairly young football team. I thought we were learning some things, but I thought there were some things that I really liked. There are some things to build on, for sure," Rehagen said.

Rehagen said Nixa often looked like what it was, a young and unproven group taking on a talent-laden and tested Carthage squad with serious playoff aspirations.

Carthage made it seven consecutive wins over Nixa in a streak dating back to 2015 that includes two district playoff victories. In 2018, Carthage went 11-2 in 2018 and reached the Class 5 playoff semifinals.

Nixa fell behind 21-0 by the end of the first quarter. Carthage got two early rushing touchdowns from senior Tyler Mueller, and the Eagles gave up a touchdown on an 8-yard sweep to Marcus Huntley. The Eagles and Tigers then played through a scoreless second quarter.

"I thought our kids rebounded pretty well. I thought our second quarter was solid, and it didn't have to be being down 21. We had a little adversity right off," Rehagen said.

As Nixa worked to limit the damage Carthage quarterback Patrick Carlton could inflict through the air, Mueller got going on the ground. He gashed Nixa for 156 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

"That's what we wanted to see tonight. We wanted to see those guys up front dominate, and turn Ty loose," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said.

Guide said Carthage's blockers keyed on the defensive ends in Nixa's 4-3 defense. It worked, with Carlton rushing for 75 yards on nine carries to complement Mueller.

"(Nixa) had a couple of kids up front that I was concerned about. That No. 40 [Desean Downs], and the other defensive end, I thought, was good too, No. 59 [Trey Loden]. I knew they were going to be physical kids and athletic kids up front," Guidie said.

For the full game recap, click here.

For game photos, click here.

For the O-Zone video highlights and game recap, click here.