The Class 6 No. 5-state-ranked Nixa Eagles hosted the Carthage Tigers in a week three clash in the Central Ozark Conference on Sept. 8 at Eagle Stadium.

The Eagles jumped out to a quick 14-point lead on its first two possessions of the game, but Carthage slowed its momentum and carried a 21-14 lead into the break.

Nixa made the needed adjustments at the half, and the Eagles defense forced a critical turnover in the third quarter, made big stops down the stretch, and came away with the 34-28 victory, advancing to 3-0 on the year.

Game Scoring Plays:

Spencer Ward scored the game's opening touchdown on the first play of the game. Ward lined up in the shotgun, faked the handoff to the running back, found a clear field on the left side, and ran it to the endzone for an 80-yard TD 12 seconds into the contest.

RB Dylan Rebura took the handoff in the shotgun, found the gaps in the Carthage defense, and scored the TD on a 63-yard run with 9:01 remaining in the first quarter. View the TD here.

Carthage scored its first TD of the game on a 3-yard run with 2:01 left in the first quarter, trimming its deficit to one score. The extra-point attempt was no good.

End of the first quarter score: Nixa 14, Carthage 6.

With 9:04 remaining in the second quarter, Carthage scored on a 7-yard throwing TD, making it a one-point game in Nixa's favor, 14-13.

The Tigers took the lead with another 7-yard TD pass and converted the 2-point attempt with 41 seconds remaining in the first half. 

Halftime score: Carthage 21, Nixa 14.

From 15 yards out, RB Malachai Rider bursted through the gaps between his lineman and scored his first TD off the game, tying the ball game at 21-21 at the 7:25 mark in the third quarter. View the TD here.

Following Nixa's scoring drive, the Eagles defense forced a Carthage fumble on the Tigers 30-yard line, setting up the host in prime scoring position. The Eagles eventually got into the red zone behind the running game and Rider followed behind his lineman who created an easy 7-yard TD, regaining the lead for Nixa with 4:51 remaining in the third. View the TD here. 

End of the third quarter score: Nixa 28, Carthage 21.

Carthage tied the game at 28-28 with a 1-yard TD run.

It was Rider again who regained the lead for the Eagles and scored the game's final and winning TD on a 31-yard run out of the shotgun. The extra-point attempt was no good and the Eagles led 34-28 with 2:42 left in the game. View the TD here.

Eagles linebacker Eli Frazier made a game-clinching sack on a fourth-and-long attempt by Carthage deep its own territory with roughly a minute left to seal the victory. View the sack here.

It was a tightly contested matchup that saw Nixa gain 386 yards on offense to Carthage's 317. 

The win marks the Eagles second-straight victory over Carthage and sets up a week four road contest at Branson (1-2), who defeated Carthage 28-14 in week two but fell to Joplin (35-14) in week one, and Willard (21-6) in week three. Dating back to the previous ten years, Nixa owns a 12-0 record against the Pirates and has scored 40-plus points in the last four outings while holding Branson to under 20. 

Top Nixa Performances:

Dylan Rebura had 11 carries for 186 yards and a TD.

Malachi Rider had 14 carries for 117 yards and three TDs.

Spencer Ward had two carries for 84 yards and a TD.

Eli Frazier had 15 tackles and two sacks. 

View game photos here.

View video highlights here.