Friday Night Lights in the Ozarks

Nothing quite beats the pageantry of Friday Night Lights: players tearing through the cheerleaders’ hand painted team banner, the band marching onto the field and the electricity of the crowd cheering from the stands. Whether you’re an alumni looking to cheer on your hometown team, a proud parent looking for a player on the field or a transplant community member wanting to get in on the action, there’s no better time to be a 417-lander than football season.

With long-standing rivalries this season is sure to keep you on your toes as teams go head to head. Like Glendale and Kickapoo high school, both powerful adversaries, with Kickapoo beating them out the past two years after a five-year losing streak.

Also long-standing rivals, Ozark High School and Nixa High School have faced off year after year. After losing to Nixa twice last season, once of which was in the semifinals, Ozark maintains a positive outlook. “Football and life are all about improving daily,” says Ozark High School head football coach Jeremy Cordell. “The most important thing we can do is build resilient and independent young men through the game of football that will be great future leaders.” While Ozark and Nixa may be considered classic rivals due to their proximity to each other, Nixa is gearing up for the season and is also focused on their games against Republic and Carthage. “We believe we are going to be very good again and look forward to kicking off 2024,” says Nixa High School head football coach John Perry.

After battling their way to the state championship game last year, Republic High School just might be the team to beat. “Coming off a state championship game appearance last year, there is a lot of excitement around Republic Football,” Republic High School Activities and Athletics Director Trevyor Fisher says. Republic beat Webb City High School before losing to Cardinal Ritter College Prep from St. Louis.

Also new this season is the conference realignment with the disbandment of the Ozark Conference as local teams joined the Central Ozark Conference and the newly-formed Ozark Mountain Conference. The shift created a handful of new matchups, like Central and Parkview high school facing off for the first time since 2019.

Regardless of the victory of well-deserved wins and the sting of hard-fought losses, high school football is truly about the community it builds. At games in southwest Missouri this looks like PTA members selling raffle tickets to raise money for schools, clubs and organizations working the concession stands and charities hosting activities. You’re sure to see all of this and more as the community rallies behind their favorite teams.