Springfield area Week 6 high school football predictions Strafford @ Fair Grove

My best year of making picks continued with a 24-3 week in Week 5 to give me a record of 117-18 (86.7%) for the season. Here are my picks for the sixth week of the season.

We have a potential Mid-Lakes Conference championship this week going on in Fair Grove. It also happens to be one of the best rivalry games in the area.

The key to the game will be whether Strafford can contain junior star Kellen Lair or not. He has 22 touchdowns through five games and is coming off a four-touchdown game a week ago in which he played two-and-a-half quarters. He’s fast and can take over a game all by himself.

Strafford is capable of pulling off the win as it’s blown out its last two opponents and is playing great on both sides of the ball. Jourdyn Edelstein is one of the best quarterbacks in the area and has some great weapons in guys like Silas Morton, Cody Voysey and Ryder Ross.

It’s been a few years since this rivalry meant this much. It should be a great night in Fair Grove. Fair Grove 37, Strafford 30

Joplin @ Republic

One of these teams will likely be knocked out of the Central Ozark Conference title race with a loss.

Two of the league’s best will meet with Joplin coming off its loss to Nixa last week. Joplin is getting healthier with running back Quin Renfro’s return last week. Republic held on in a win over up-and-coming Willard behind the arm and legs of quarterback Wyatt Woods.

At the end of the year, Republic would have been the pick. But the Tigers have been turning the ball over way too much in recent weeks to feel comfortable with that pick. I’m going with Renfro and the Eagles getting the win on the road but wouldn’t be surprised by a Tigers pick if they don’t turn the ball over. Joplin 37, Republic 31

Camdenton @ Bolivar

Camdenton opened some eyes last week with its 34-0 win over West Plains — you just don’t see the Zizzers ever lose like that.

Kade Durnin has been putting up some of the best numbers in the area and it seems to be a different weapon having a great game alongside him each night. The offense is explosive and the defense is starting to click.

Bolivar has one of the more dangerous backfields in the area which has been behind its resurgence. Drake Durham is an awesome high school quarterback and Trenton Patke is one of the more fun backs in the area to watch.

I believe in Camdenton’s improvement. The Lakers know they’re in a great spot to turn some heads again when they have a trip to Lebanon coming up in Week 8 for a potential Ozark

Conference title game. Camdenton 46, Bolivar 41

Central Ozark Conference

Neosho @ Branson — The Pirates have more wins than they did a year ago and are one of several COC teams to show improvement. They haven’t won two games in a row since the first half of the 2020 season. Branson 28, Neosho 24

Carl Junction @ Nixa — Coming off a tough win at Joplin, Nixa will need to keep rolling when it has the likes of Willard and Republic coming up over the next two weeks. Nixa 44, Carl Junction 20

Carthage @ Ozark — Carthage is starting to look better after its 0-3 start. Getting back to .500 against Ozark, which has had some recent struggles offensively, would be the safe bet. Carthage 28, Ozark 14

Joplin @ Republic — See above.

Webb City @ Willard — Is this the week Willard gets its marquee win? The Webb City has been too good in recent weeks for us to feel comfortable calling an upset here. Webb City 28, Willard 20

Ozark Conference

Lebanon @ Glendale — A lot of eyes will be on Glendale’s quarterback situation this week but the Lebanon situation still features Gavin Smith at quarterback and Jax Glendenning running the ball — two of the area’s very best. Lebanon 52, Glendale 20

Camdenton @ Bolivar —See above. Waynesville @ Hillcrest — The Tigers have had a couple of poor offensive performances against two of the best defenses in recent weeks. Look for them to put some more points up Waynesville 27, Hillcrest 17

Rolla @ Parkview — The Bulldogs had a brutal four-game stretch to start the season before getting their first win. Look for that to turn into a two-game winning streak. Rolla 28, Parkview 14

Kickapoo @ West Plains — West Plains goes from getting shut out to playing against one of the better defenses in the area. It won’t be a shut out again but a win will be tough to come by. Kickapoo 31, West Plains 21

Big 8 East

Marshfield @ Aurora — The Houn Dawgs’ schedule was brutal to start the season but they’ve put together two blowout wins in a row. The Jays stayed close with Reeds Spring for a bit but ended up allowing 63 points at home.

Aurora 34, Marshfield 31

Hollister @ Logan-Rogersville — The Wildcats found a way to win despite some of their limitations on offense following their starting quarterback’s injury. The Tigers have struggled this year.

Logan-Rogersville 31, Hollister 17

Catholic @ Mount Vernon — Nevada was a bit too much for Mount Vernon but it should be able to get back on the right track this week. Mount Vernon 31, Catholic 13

Big 8 West

Nevada @ Cassville — The Tigers have rolled against some of the best teams in the area and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that continues this week at Cassville. They can’t afford to overlook the Wildcats with Lamar coming to town next week. Nevada 44, Cassville 17

McDonald County @ Lamar — It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mustangs win one of these games but our rule in which we won’t pick against Lamar stands for this week. Lamar 28, McDonald County 17

East Newton @ Monett — If you can say that a team is better than its 0-5 record, the Cubs might be it. They haven’t had an easy game on what could be the most loaded schedule in the Ozarks. Monett 17, East Newton 14

Big 8 crossover

Reeds Spring @ Seneca — Seneca got back to shutting teams out after allowing 14 to Lamar. It’s doubtful Seneca will hold the Wolves scoreless when this was a track meet a year ago. Seneca 45, Reeds Spring 31

Mid-Lakes Conference South Central Association

Thayer @ Cabool — The Bobcats have been playing well and they’ll need this one while making a last-ditch effort to challenge Ava in the SCA. Thayer 24, Cabool 18

Ava @ Houston — This game lost its luster with Houston’s loss to Thayer last week. The Bears would have been favorites going into this one either way. They have yet to allow more than 14 points this year or score fewer than 38. Ava 41, Houston 21

Mountain View @ Mountain Grove — The Panthers have gotten better throughout the season. This feels like it can go either way. Mountain View 28, Mountain Grove 25

Willow Springs @ Salem — Salem hasn’t won since the final week of the 2021 regular season. The Willow Springs defense has been 23 points worse than Salem’s so far. Let’s go with Salem getting its first win in a while. Salem 17, Willow Springs 14

Southwest Conference

Marionville @ Pierce City — The Comets average more points this season than it did during last year’s undefeated run. Marionville’s also allowing 5.4 points per game and hasn’t allowed more than one touchdown in a game yet. Marionville 38, Pierce City 8

Miller @ Sarcoxie — The Bears will set up a battle between the two undefeated Southwest Conference teams next week against Marionville. Sarcoxie 30, Miller 17

Others

Buffalo @ Butler — The Bison have been playing better in recent weeks. This will be the best opponent they’ve played since a 42-20 loss to Forsyth in Week 2. We don’t pick games with outof-area teams

Forsyth @ Diamond — This game can go either way. Diamond has had a good defense when it’s not playing teams like Marionville and Ash Grove. Forsyth fell 56-13 in its first real test of the season against Fair Grove. Forsyth 34, Diamond 31

Warsaw @ El Dorado Springs — The Bulldogs fell in a tough matchup with Butler last week after beating Versailles for their first win of the year. We don’t pick games with out-of-area teams

Central @ St. Dominic — Every team on Central’s schedule has taken a big jump forward while the Bulldogs have been rebuilding from a really good group a year ago. They now play a really tough St. Dominic team that hasn’t lost this year. We don’t pick games with outof-area teams

Sherwood @ Stockton — Stockton played four straight great games to start the year but struggled at home against Fair Grove last week. This should be a bounce-back week for the Tigers.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield NewsLeader. You can contact him at 417-3716987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He’s also the host of the weekly “Wyatt’s World Podcast” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms