Class 6 District X
COC League
School Colors: Cardinal Red, Navy and Silver
Head Coach: Curtis Jasper (49-19, 7th season)
Assistant coaches: Nick Reid (DC), Alan Linden (STC) and Jacob Hewitt (OC)
“A big part of what we do in building our culture are a lot of things we do off the field. Last year, we were unable to do most of those things. Seeing the impact on our culture further supports how important the things we do off the field are for our program.”
Joplin finished last season with a 6-5 overall record. Like a lot of teams, it just felt like a weird year for the Eagles. They came out and beat Webb City 41-40 in week one, before dropping four of their next six games. “The ability to play all of our regular-season games through a global pandemic without having to cancel any of them was a highlight of the season,” says head coach Curtis Jasper, “The biggest challenge was working through all of the necessary precautions, limiting our ability to do things we normally do.” The team loses some great players, including eight who moved on to play at the next level: Alex Curry (SEMO), Nathan Glades (MSSU), Trayshawn Thomas (MSSU), Scott Lowe (MSSU), Keaton Renfro (Missouri S&T), Davis Ramsey (William Penn), Dominick Simmons (Evangel) and Keaton Huff (Evangel).
QB Always Wright (Sr) 6’4″, 170 lb – 1st team All-District
WR Bruce Wilbert (Sr) 6’1″, 180 lb
WR Landen Atherton (Sr) 6’3″, 190 lb
WR Terrence Gibson (Jr) 6’5″, 205 lb
OL Dawson Phillips (Sr) 6’3″, 225
OL Dontrell Holt (So) 6’5″, 290 lb
DL Donovahn Watkins (Sr) 6’1″, 250 lb – 2nd team All-COC
DL Gunner Price (Sr) 6’0″, 250 lb
DE Joe Jasper (Sr) 6’3″, 200 lb
LB Robert Kelly (Sr) 6’0″, 175 lb
DB Donovyn Fowler (Sr) 6’0″, 150 lb
DB Korey Read (Sr) 6’2″, 180 lb
DB Evan Overstreet (Sr) 6’2″, 165 lb
DB Luke Vieselmeyer (Sr) 5’11”, 150 lb
OL Zach Harthan (Sr) 6’2″, 285 lb
OL Stone Karcher (Sr) 6’5″, 240 lb
OL Jett Steele (Sr) 6’5″, 260 lb
WR All Wright (So) 6’2″, 165 lb
RB Quin Renfro (So) 6’0″, 175 lb
RB Drew VanGilder (Jr) 5’10”, 180 lb
LB Johnny Williams (So) 5’11”, 180 lb
LB Draven VanGilder (Jr) 5’10”, 185 lb
WR Hudson Moore (Jr) 6’6″, 172 lb
LB Jaxon Walker (Sr) 6’0″, 200 lb
8/27 @ Webb City
9/3 vs. Nixa
9/10 @ Ozark
9/17 vs. Carl Junction
9/24 vs. Willard
10/1 @ Republic
10/8 vs. Carthage
10/15 @ Branson
10/22 vs. Neosho
Coach Jasper is a culture-builder. That’s pretty clear. He’s done an unbelievable job since coming to Joplin. COVID-19 really threw a wrench in his ability to do the things he felt like he needed to do in 2020 to build the culture and the team he wanted to build. “One of our biggest goals this season is to refocus on the process of making a great team,” Jasper says, “Last year, we knew we were playing week-to-week with the possibility of COVID shutting down the season at any time. We were forced to focus on getting to play the games themselves, rather than focusing on the process of preparation and building our culture.” This Joplin team has a senior class that is deep in both numbers and talent. “Most of them have been with the program for four years,” Jasper says of his seniors, “We have good depth at most positions, which makes all players better due to the competition for spots.” Very rarely do I ever type a quote from a coach saying “we have good depth at most positions.” It’s a good spot for Joplin to be in. Jasper says some of those seniors, Landen Atherton, Joe Jasper, Evan Overstreet, Korey Read and Luke Vieselmeyer, will be on-field leaders for this program in 2020. “They are all multi-sport athletes who put work into the football program year round, both on and off the field,” Jasper says of that group. There’s no reason to think that Joplin won’t bounce back and have a nice season. I’m a Curtis Jasper believer. There will be several new assistant coaches and a new offensive coordinator at Joplin. If those are smooth transitions, the team can be a little more consistent and Jasper can do what he’s always done and sprinkle in a little chemistry, they’ll win some games and still be fun to watch.
