NIXA, Mo–It’s hot and steamy in the Ozarks, a perfect night to kickoff the 2023 high school football season.

Well maybe not perfect, but the season’s a go regardless.

KOLR 10’s Chris Pinson joins us now live from Nixa with our week one game of the week.

Thanks Dan, and boy, you ain’t lying about it being hot and steamy.

Feels like I’m back home in Florida.

But regardless of the heat, the Nixa Eagles are eager to kickoff their season with a statement victory against a storied opponent.

“We’re excited about this group because of how close they are and how hard they’ve worked,” said Nixa coach John Perry.

Over the last three seasons, the Nixa football team is 27-8, but haven’t won a district title since 20-15.

Friday night, the Eagles kickoff a new campaign with hopes of acheiving that goal.

“It’s kinda like a fat kid in a candy store, I mean, you just can’t contain yourself. We’re super excited, full of energy. They’ve been playing against each other for a long time now, so it’s time to play against somebody else and see what we got,” said Perry.

That “somebody else” coach Perry refers to is perrenial powerhouse, Webb City.

The Cardinals have won 16 state championships, including 3 of the last 7.

The Eagles are 2-14 against Webb, but have won the last two games.

“Man, Webb City is Webb City. They’re gonna come in here with the intentions of winning this game. They’re gonna come in here with a lot of pride and a legacy of great football teams and those guys are gonna play their tails off and we understand we’re gonna be in for a dogfight,” said Perry.

“We love it because we can start off the season with a great team win and it sets the tone in the state for everyone on how we play ball,” said senior Spencer Ward.

John Perry’s squad carries 24 seniors.

With Drew Blevins and Nate Uber competing for the starting quarterback job.

Both are expected to play against the Cardinals.

“They know they’re battling and they have to be good and they have to earn the right to play more and we’re excited that they’re both really, really good.”

Which means the offensive line and ground game will need to be on point to give them time to help them adjust to the speed of the game.

“Well I’m hoping with the guys we have leading the offensive line Jacob Lyle, Ethan Cho, Jackson Cantwell I’m hoping we can hand it to anybody, and we have a plethora of guys. At times, I think I can run behind that offensive line. I probably couldn’t get 20 but I could get four,” said Perry.

You gotta love coach Perry, with an o-line that averages 6’3, 285 pounds he knows they’ll be able to protect the pocket and push the pile toward the opposing endzone.