ADVERTISEMENT

COC Large 2016

S

sw5890

Well-Known Member
Aug 18, 2015
2,287
1,667
113
There has been relatively little discussion about the COC with the first games a couple days away. Not nearly the hype and expectations of last season…more wait and see.

Newcomer CJ seems to be the team with the highest expectations and the KOAM/OZone previews have both put confidence in the bulldogs to immediately jump in at or near the top of the conference. In spite of playing one close game against WC last year, I still think they have to prove themselves before being favored in this league. They might come in and quickly do that - but they haven’t yet. Whether they do or don’t, I think they are a great add to the conference.

WC is allegedly “rebuilding” but in my opinion has to be the favorite until someone proves otherwise. Carthage lost a great senior class and Ozone seems to have counted them out, but I heard they had 96 kids come out for football and they have some key positions returning, including the QB that lead them through the majority of the regular season. They, like WC and some others may start out a little rocky but could be pretty solid by districts.

Ozone as usual gave a lot of love to Nixa. I do expect them to be good, possibly a contender just not an obvious choice above the rest. Ozone also seemed to think Willard is going to be formidable but again I think it’s hopeful thinking, like last year. Neosho didn’t get much attention from KOAM or Ozone but they have been quietly gaining traction and I expect them to catch a few top teams with their guard down. Republic has been scratching to break through as well so they could be the big surprise of the season.

I imagine Ozark and Branson will remain at the bottom at least for another season.

I gathered that Ozone expects a 3 way race of WC, CJ, and Nixa but I think it’s much more wide open than that, IF it’s not Webb.
 
I know cj has high hopes but i see them as a 4-5 win team. Wins over branson ozark and republic. Losses to webb pitt and nixa. Willard neosho and carthage being toss ups
 
Stated back in the spring I thought Republic would be surprise COC champ. I'm going to back off on that after seeing Webb City at the jamboree, already they look better than I thought they would be, but I still don't see them being as dominate this year. Probably a lot more close wins that usual.

Predictions are conference record.

1st. Webb City 7-1: I still think CJ pulls the upset in week 1, loses to Webb in playoff rematch. Close wins(7-14 points) against Carthage, Republic, and Neosho, blowouts over Nixa, Willard, Ozark, and Branson.

2nd. Republic 6-2: Losses to WC, Carthage

3rd. Carl Junction 6-2: Carry over from WC win leads to a loss against Republic, lose a tight one at Carthage. Ws over the rest.

4th. Carthage 5-3: Losses to WC, Nixa, and Neosho.

5th. Neosho 4-4: Losses to WC, CJ, Republic, Willard

6th. Nixa 4-4: Losses to WC, CJ, Republic, Neosho,

7th. Willard 3-5: Losses to WC, CJ, Carthage, Republic, Nixa,

8th. Branson 1-7: Losses to all, beat Ozark

9th. Ozark 0-8: Losses to all.
 
With the regular season over, it's interesting to look back at my predictions...though it was lacking the hype and some of the star performers of last year, I thought it was a great season with a lot of surprises and memorable games for several teams.

The teams at the top weren't quite as good as last year and the bottom teams were all improved, which made things exciting. Plus, with WC playing "down" to the level of everyone else (no disrespect meant by that to them or the rest of the conference) it really opened up the race and made things fun week to week and had a lot of people second guessing their predictions. First time I can remember the title race being something anyone cared or talked about outside of Webb City.

As far as each team:

Carthage - Predictions were all over the board, but most seemed to expect them a few notches from the top. They graduated much of last years's class 5 semifinal team, but returned a QB who lead the tigers undefeated through most of the regular season and much of districts. I expected to see them somewhere +/- 1 game from the middle of the pack. I don't think anyone expected them to finish alone in first place though. Great regular season for the tigers. I agree with other's comments that Guidie's coaching was outstanding, leading his team to victories over some teams that on paper were more capable.

Webb City - As many expected they were down, but I don't think anyone expected them to lose 3 games. I figured IF they lost any, it might be just CJ or possibly a surprise by Neosho or someone. Cardinals continue to show intermittent signs of improvement. I'm sure they will continue to be a top team, especially if some underclassmen are getting some significant playing time. Don't count them out of post season just yet either.

CJ - Big miss here. I was a CJ naysayer that expected them to come into the COC Large and struggle, but I should have bought into the hype. Opening with a huge home win against rival WC for the first time in decades, they didn't dominate quite as much as perhaps many projected, but weren't far off. I think CJ has the best chances for a playoff run of any COC team. This first season has proved them to be an excellent addition to this conference.

Nixa - Nixa finished just about how I expected. Many anticipated a showdown for the title between Nixa and CJ to end the season but I think a lot of that was the Springfield media over-hyping Nixa. Not that I know anymore than anyone else, but I just didn't see it. It was one of the few things I correctly predicted this season.

Republic - I thought Republic was going to come out strong this year. They played some good games last year, which I thought they might build upon. Apparently they were more dependent on that Jerney Jones kid than I realized.

Willard - An oddity for sure. They ended up more competitive than I expected, though their record was worst than I expected. They have been a tough team to predict because they look good playing very close games week in and week out, but struggle to actually win.

Ozark - The big surprise this season for me was Ozark. In spite of a couple peculiar losses, they had a great season beating CJ on the road, getting their first win (ever?) against WC (a rare one at Cardinal Stadium nonetheless) and handing Carthage their only regular season loss.

Branson - Branson was about as expected. Definitely improved, but still had a hard time competing in the league.

Neosho - I thought Neosho might be a force this year after steadily improving the last couple seasons and I saw them as a possible late season stumbling block for Carthage. They definitely gave some teams fits, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a couple key games to finish at the top of the pile. Still a program headed in the right direction.

I'm eager for the addition of Joplin next year. They've become a pretty good C6 team and I'm looking forward to watching some Jasper county matchups at Joplin's historic stadium. Now if we could only change the name from Central Ozarks Conference to something more relevant like maybe resurrect the name Southwest Conference. Or maybe put a twist on it... Southwest Power Conference. Or the Southwest 10.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mizzoutiger13
sw5890 said:
With the regular season over, it's interesting to look back at my predictions...though it was lacking the hype and some of the star performers of last year, I thought it was a great season with a lot of surprises and memorable games for several teams.

The teams at the top weren't quite as good as last year and the bottom teams were all improved, which made things exciting. Plus, with WC playing "down" to the level of everyone else (no disrespect meant by that to them or the rest of the conference) it really opened up the race and made things fun week to week and had a lot of people second guessing their predictions. First time I can remember the title race being something anyone cared or talked about outside of Webb City.

As far as each team:

Carthage - Predictions were all over the board, but most seemed to expect them a few notches from the top. They graduated much of last years's class 5 semifinal team, but returned a QB who lead the tigers undefeated through most of the regular season and much of districts. I expected to see them somewhere +/- 1 game from the middle of the pack. I don't think anyone expected them to finish alone in first place though. Great regular season for the tigers. I agree with other's comments that Guidie's coaching was outstanding, leading his team to victories over some teams that on paper were more capable.

Webb City - As many expected they were down, but I don't think anyone expected them to lose 3 games. I figured IF they lost any, it might be just CJ or possibly a surprise by Neosho or someone. Cardinals continue to show intermittent signs of improvement. I'm sure they will continue to be a top team, especially if some underclassmen are getting some significant playing time. Don't count them out of post season just yet either.

CJ - Big miss here. I was a CJ naysayer that expected them to come into the COC Large and struggle, but I should have bought into the hype. Opening with a huge home win against rival WC for the first time in decades, they didn't dominate quite as much as perhaps many projected, but weren't far off. I think CJ has the best chances for a playoff run of any COC team. This first season has proved them to be an excellent addition to this conference.

Nixa - Nixa finished just about how I expected. Many anticipated a showdown for the title between Nixa and CJ to end the season but I think a lot of that was the Springfield media over-hyping Nixa. Not that I know anymore than anyone else, but I just didn't see it. It was one of the few things I correctly predicted this season.

Republic - I thought Republic was going to come out strong this year. They played some good games last year, which I thought they might build upon. Apparently they were more dependent on that Jerney Jones kid than I realized.

Willard - An oddity for sure. They ended up more competitive than I expected, though their record was worst than I expected. They have been a tough team to predict because they look good playing very close games week in and week out, but struggle to actually win.

Ozark - The big surprise this season for me was Ozark. In spite of a couple peculiar losses, they had a great season beating CJ on the road, getting their first win (ever?) against WC (a rare one at Cardinal Stadium nonetheless) and handing Carthage their only regular season loss.

Branson - Branson was about as expected. Definitely improved, but still had a hard time competing in the league.

Neosho - I thought Neosho might be a force this year after steadily improving the last couple seasons and I saw them as a possible late season stumbling block for Carthage. They definitely gave some teams fits, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a couple key games to finish at the top of the pile. Still a program headed in the right direction.

I'm eager for the addition of Joplin next year. They've become a pretty good C6 team and I'm looking forward to watching some Jasper county matchups at Joplin's historic stadium. Now if we could only change the name from Central Ozarks Conference to something more relevant like maybe resurrect the name Southwest Conference. Or maybe put a twist on it... Southwest Power Conference. Or the Southwest 10.
Click to expand...
FYI Joplin will enter the year after next.
 
sw5890 said:
With the regular season over, it's interesting to look back at my predictions...though it was lacking the hype and some of the star performers of last year, I thought it was a great season with a lot of surprises and memorable games for several teams.

The teams at the top weren't quite as good as last year and the bottom teams were all improved, which made things exciting. Plus, with WC playing "down" to the level of everyone else (no disrespect meant by that to them or the rest of the conference) it really opened up the race and made things fun week to week and had a lot of people second guessing their predictions. First time I can remember the title race being something anyone cared or talked about outside of Webb City.

As far as each team:

Carthage - Predictions were all over the board, but most seemed to expect them a few notches from the top. They graduated much of last years's class 5 semifinal team, but returned a QB who lead the tigers undefeated through most of the regular season and much of districts. I expected to see them somewhere +/- 1 game from the middle of the pack. I don't think anyone expected them to finish alone in first place though. Great regular season for the tigers. I agree with other's comments that Guidie's coaching was outstanding, leading his team to victories over some teams that on paper were more capable.

Webb City - As many expected they were down, but I don't think anyone expected them to lose 3 games. I figured IF they lost any, it might be just CJ or possibly a surprise by Neosho or someone. Cardinals continue to show intermittent signs of improvement. I'm sure they will continue to be a top team, especially if some underclassmen are getting some significant playing time. Don't count them out of post season just yet either.

CJ - Big miss here. I was a CJ naysayer that expected them to come into the COC Large and struggle, but I should have bought into the hype. Opening with a huge home win against rival WC for the first time in decades, they didn't dominate quite as much as perhaps many projected, but weren't far off. I think CJ has the best chances for a playoff run of any COC team. This first season has proved them to be an excellent addition to this conference.

Nixa - Nixa finished just about how I expected. Many anticipated a showdown for the title between Nixa and CJ to end the season but I think a lot of that was the Springfield media over-hyping Nixa. Not that I know anymore than anyone else, but I just didn't see it. It was one of the few things I correctly predicted this season.

Republic - I thought Republic was going to come out strong this year. They played some good games last year, which I thought they might build upon. Apparently they were more dependent on that Jerney Jones kid than I realized.

Willard - An oddity for sure. They ended up more competitive than I expected, though their record was worst than I expected. They have been a tough team to predict because they look good playing very close games week in and week out, but struggle to actually win.

Ozark - The big surprise this season for me was Ozark. In spite of a couple peculiar losses, they had a great season beating CJ on the road, getting their first win (ever?) against WC (a rare one at Cardinal Stadium nonetheless) and handing Carthage their only regular season loss.

Branson - Branson was about as expected. Definitely improved, but still had a hard time competing in the league.

Neosho - I thought Neosho might be a force this year after steadily improving the last couple seasons and I saw them as a possible late season stumbling block for Carthage. They definitely gave some teams fits, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a couple key games to finish at the top of the pile. Still a program headed in the right direction.

I'm eager for the addition of Joplin next year. They've become a pretty good C6 team and I'm looking forward to watching some Jasper county matchups at Joplin's historic stadium. Now if we could only change the name from Central Ozarks Conference to something more relevant like maybe resurrect the name Southwest Conference. Or maybe put a twist on it... Southwest Power Conference. Or the Southwest 10.
Click to expand...
What were the final standings?
 
sw5890 said:
With the regular season over, it's interesting to look back at my predictions...though it was lacking the hype and some of the star performers of last year, I thought it was a great season with a lot of surprises and memorable games for several teams.

The teams at the top weren't quite as good as last year and the bottom teams were all improved, which made things exciting. Plus, with WC playing "down" to the level of everyone else (no disrespect meant by that to them or the rest of the conference) it really opened up the race and made things fun week to week and had a lot of people second guessing their predictions. First time I can remember the title race being something anyone cared or talked about outside of Webb City.

As far as each team:

Carthage - Predictions were all over the board, but most seemed to expect them a few notches from the top. They graduated much of last years's class 5 semifinal team, but returned a QB who lead the tigers undefeated through most of the regular season and much of districts. I expected to see them somewhere +/- 1 game from the middle of the pack. I don't think anyone expected them to finish alone in first place though. Great regular season for the tigers. I agree with other's comments that Guidie's coaching was outstanding, leading his team to victories over some teams that on paper were more capable.

Webb City - As many expected they were down, but I don't think anyone expected them to lose 3 games. I figured IF they lost any, it might be just CJ or possibly a surprise by Neosho or someone. Cardinals continue to show intermittent signs of improvement. I'm sure they will continue to be a top team, especially if some underclassmen are getting some significant playing time. Don't count them out of post season just yet either.

CJ - Big miss here. I was a CJ naysayer that expected them to come into the COC Large and struggle, but I should have bought into the hype. Opening with a huge home win against rival WC for the first time in decades, they didn't dominate quite as much as perhaps many projected, but weren't far off. I think CJ has the best chances for a playoff run of any COC team. This first season has proved them to be an excellent addition to this conference.

Nixa - Nixa finished just about how I expected. Many anticipated a showdown for the title between Nixa and CJ to end the season but I think a lot of that was the Springfield media over-hyping Nixa. Not that I know anymore than anyone else, but I just didn't see it. It was one of the few things I correctly predicted this season.

Republic - I thought Republic was going to come out strong this year. They played some good games last year, which I thought they might build upon. Apparently they were more dependent on that Jerney Jones kid than I realized.

Willard - An oddity for sure. They ended up more competitive than I expected, though their record was worst than I expected. They have been a tough team to predict because they look good playing very close games week in and week out, but struggle to actually win.

Ozark - The big surprise this season for me was Ozark. In spite of a couple peculiar losses, they had a great season beating CJ on the road, getting their first win (ever?) against WC (a rare one at Cardinal Stadium nonetheless) and handing Carthage their only regular season loss.

Branson - Branson was about as expected. Definitely improved, but still had a hard time competing in the league.

Neosho - I thought Neosho might be a force this year after steadily improving the last couple seasons and I saw them as a possible late season stumbling block for Carthage. They definitely gave some teams fits, but couldn't quite get over the hump in a couple key games to finish at the top of the pile. Still a program headed in the right direction.

I'm eager for the addition of Joplin next year. They've become a pretty good C6 team and I'm looking forward to watching some Jasper county matchups at Joplin's historic stadium. Now if we could only change the name from Central Ozarks Conference to something more relevant like maybe resurrect the name Southwest Conference. Or maybe put a twist on it... Southwest Power Conference. Or the Southwest 10.
Click to expand...
Hold on a second,,,has joplin even ever WON a game against a Class6 school??? At best I would say they are a average class5 program at best
 
sw5890 said:
Webb City - As many expected they were down, but I don't think anyone expected them to lose 3 games. I figured IF they lost any, it might be just CJ or possibly a surprise by Neosho or someone. Cardinals continue to show intermittent signs of improvement. I'm sure they will continue to be a top team, especially if some underclassmen are getting some significant playing time. Don't count them out of post season just yet either.
Click to expand...

I'm not writing the season off just yet but on the 2nd or 3rd offensive series WC had a Soph QB that completed passes to a Soph and a freshman WR (who later had a td reception) setting up a TD run by a Soph RB. Probably as many underclassmen playing significant time as WC has had in a lot of years.
 
Rock Hard Corn Frog said:
I'm not writing the season off just yet but on the 2nd or 3rd offensive series WC had a Soph QB that completed passes to a Soph and a freshman WR (who later had a td reception) setting up a TD run by a Soph RB. Probably as many underclassmen playing significant time as WC has had in a lot of years.
Click to expand...
You Webb guys think they'll keep running 3 QBs in the playoffs??
 
mizzoutiger13 said:
You Webb guys think they'll keep running 3 QBs in the playoffs??
Click to expand...

Best I can guess if that the coaches will play whoever best takes care of the ball but that probably applies at RB just as much as QB. I don't know that playing 3 QBs is by any design though it probably does pay off down the road if younger players get to play early in the game.
 
wcfanfourever said:
Hold on a second,,,has joplin even ever WON a game against a Class6 school??? At best I would say they are a average class5 program at best
Click to expand...
OK let me re-phrase that.... strike the C6 from the statement. You are correct, they do not have a good resume against Class 6 teams. But by the same token, they rarely have the opportunity to play a C6 team until districts, which as pointed out in another thread - that district is loaded. But I do think they will fit in well with the COC Large, which is pretty comparable to their current conference except with geography that actually makes sense.

I must have been mistaken on the year. I thought I read that Joplin was joining for the 2017 season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mizzoutiger13
sw5890 said:
OK let me re-phrase that.... strike the C6 from the statement. You are correct, they do not have a good resume against Class 6 teams. But by the same token, they rarely have the opportunity to play a C6 team until districts, which as pointed out in another thread - that district is loaded. But I do think they will fit in well with the COC Large, which is pretty comparable to their current conference except with geography that actually makes sense.

I must have been mistaken on the year. I thought I read that Joplin was joining for the 2017 season.
Click to expand...

In the OC Joplin's closest road game is Hillcrest. In the COC Joplin will have 4 opponents within 15-20 minutes drive. Nixa will likely be Class 6 in a few years so really Joplin will just be trading one Class 6 opponent in Kickapoo with another in Nixa.
 
Correcting one of the posts above: Ozark did beat CJ, but it was a home win for the Tigers.

CJ is currently undefeated at home over the past four seasons, with at least 1 to 3 more to play there this year.
 
Mister_Wizard said:
Correcting one of the posts above: Ozark did beat CJ, but it was a home win for the Tigers.

CJ is currently undefeated at home over the past four seasons, with at least 1 to 3 more to play there this year.
Click to expand...

Should be more than 1. If CJ loses to Mac County it will be the greatest upset of all time.
 
AC100 said:
Should be more than 1. If CJ loses to Mac County it will be the greatest upset of all time.
Click to expand...
Hard to argue that. And if they stay undefeated at home this year, there's a pretty good chance they'd show up in Springfield for their first ever championship game appearance.
 
Mister_Wizard said:
Hard to argue that. And if they stay undefeated at home this year, there's a pretty good chance they'd show up in Springfield for their first ever championship game appearance.
Click to expand...

So what are their chances to host a quarter or semi final game?
 
That's the way I see it too. District 5 winner, if CJ, would head to Harrisonville or the home of the district 6 champ.

Webb or Camdenton would probably host Harrisonville I think since neither hosted the district 'ship, assuming CJ wins their first two district games.

Long way to go. At this point would just love to see CJ in the district final, and then make it over that hump. Seems our season has ended on Webb's home field for like seven straight years or something similar.
 
Mister_Wizard said:
That's the way I see it too. District 5 winner, if CJ, would head to Harrisonville or the home of the district 6 champ.

Webb or Camdenton would probably host Harrisonville I think since neither hosted the district 'ship, assuming CJ wins their first two district games.

Long way to go. At this point would just love to see CJ in the district final, and then make it over that hump. Seems our season has ended on Webb's home field for like seven straight years or something similar.
Click to expand...
Now that I look at it closer there's not a single scenario for CJ to host to Quarter. But if they win that, very good odds for hosting the semi. But CJ has a tough enough order to cash in first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

bullitpdq68

Ky3 story tonight at 10 over Athletic governing bodies.

Replies
6
Views
1K
FOOTBALL
The Last Black Man In Missouri
The Last Black Man In Missouri
ChaoticFanatic

Surprises of the Season

Replies
99
Views
11K
FOOTBALL
revno
revno
trumanbulldog42

Chiefs NOT helped by refs!

Replies
55
Views
2K
FOOTBALL
r14veer
R
MoSooner69

Where does this end?

Replies
9
Views
1K
FOOTBALL
J. Kane
J. Kane
G

WC Radio

Replies
11
Views
813
FOOTBALL
hitch_and_go
hitch_and_go
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back