The Nixa Football team is hoping to win the state Class 6 championship Friday night, December 6, in Columbia. The Eagles, who were undefeated in their regular season, will take on the De Smet Jesuit Spartans, who are 11-2 for the season, at the University of Missouri’s Faurot Field.
The team has made great strides since Eagles Coach John Perry joined the program in 2020, going from a record of 5-6 in 2019 to the winning program today.
Perry is quick to praise his students’ hard work and his staff for the team’s success.
"High quality kids that are led by high quality coaches that have put in a great deal of effort on extremely determined, extremely focused, and they're pretty good at this thing called football," he said.
But Perry obviously gets a lot of the credit, too. His can-do, positive attitude has made a big difference for the team, which, Friday night, will try to win the state championship.
He said they’re ready and excited to be part of it.
"You know, we want our kids to have a fun time," said Perry, "we want them to take it all in, you know, and then, when 7 o'clock gets here, it's just a football game. Like, let's just go play the exact same way we've been playing all year long."
Other area schools are in the state championship finals in Columbia this weekend as well. In Class 2 state finals, Lamar will face Fair Grove Friday at 3, and in Class 3, Seneca will play Blair Oaks Saturday morning, December 7, at 11.
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