What to know about the Ozarks' opponents in the high school football state championships

Southwest Missouri will have plenty of interest in four different state championship games in Columbia this weekend.

The region hasn't had four teams play in state championships since 2019 when Webb City, Carthage, Ava and Joplin each qualified. An immediate Springfield-area program hasn't made a championship since Nixa qualified in 2014.

Here's a little bit to know about each team our local programs will take on.

Marionville vs. North Platte

Class 1 state championship on Friday at 3 p.m. in Columbia

Marionville will go for its first state championship in 20 years and it will go up against North Platte, which is making its first finals appearance since 1998.

North Platte is 12-1 this season and hasn't lost since the third game, a 23-14 defeat to East Buchanan, which won a district title at the Class 2 level but fell to Bowling Green in the quarterfinals. The same Bowling Green team was shut down by Lamar on Saturday afternoon.

More: Republic football secures its first state title appearance after thriller vs. Webb City

The Panthers have found their offensive stride while having played solid defense all season. In the postseason, the Panthers have scored 42 or more points each game. Their 54-34 win over Milan this past week saw quarterback Colton Kirkham contribute to four touchdowns. He's been their top rusher with Liam Servaes rushing for over 800 yards and Dylan Armstrong adding about 600.

The 34 points allowed by the Panthers were the most against them this season. They've frequently gotten to the quarterback with 28 total sacks while intercepting 16 passes as a team.

Lamar vs. Valle Catholic

Class 2 state championship on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Columbia

We could have had a Lamar vs. Fair Grove state championship but Valle Catholic decided to ruin that for us.

The Warriors are coming off a 51-26 win over Fair Grove last week in the state semifinals. They've scored 43 or more points since Week 7 when they shut out Ste. Genevieve 31-0. Valle Catholic's lone loss came in Week 1 in a 34-21 defeat to Class 6 Seckman.

Valle Catholic is seeking its 16th state championship trophy and will try to do so with a pair of big-play threats in its backfield. Quarterback Grant Fallert ran for over 150 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for two scores and over 130 yards against the Eagles. Running back Alex Viox ran the ball for 183 yards and found the endzone three times.

More: Southwest Missouri high school football state semifinals takeaways and scores

Defensively, the Warriors have been as good as anyone having allowed 11.5 points per game this season. The 26 they allowed last week against Fair Grove were the most they've allowed since a 48-34 win at Central (Park Hills) in Week 6 — a team that will play in the Class 3 state championship.

Seneca vs. Central (Park Hills)

Class 3 state championship on Friday at 11 a.m. in Columbia

Undefeated Seneca will go up against 10-3 Central (Park Hills) in the Class 3 title game. The Rebels had a three-game losing streak in the middle of the regular season. Two of their three losses came to teams that played in state semifinals.

Central has scored 34 or more points in all but one game. On its current seven-game winning streak, Central has averaged just over 49 points per game.

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A 48-43 win over defending Class 2 state champion Blair Oaks got the Rebels to this point. Quarterback Casen Murphy, an Arkansas State baseball signee, threw five touchdowns to different receivers to advance the Rebels to their first state title game.

Central's defense has allowed 23.1 points per game this season. It allowed 48 in each of its two losses against teams that qualified for state semifinal games.

Republic vs. Cardinal Ritter

Class 5 state championship on Friday at 7 p.m. in Columbia

Southwest Missouri will get a crack at Cardinal Ritter in the state championship for the second year in a row.

Cardinal Ritter defeated Reeds Spring 46-7 in last year's Class 3 state title game. The Lions were promoted to Class 5 this year. They haven't lost a game since the 2021 Class 3 semifinals — giving the Lions 27-straight victories.

The Lions, once again, have a stacked roster with Division I talent. Junior running back Jamarion Parker is a four-star committed to Arkansas. He rushed for 153 yards and three scores in a 52-22 semifinal win over Central (Cape Girardeau). Junior wide receiver Dejerrian Smith, who holds multiple Power 5 offers, caught five passes for 130 yards and three scores in the victory.

Cardinal Ritter also features three-star quarterback Carson Boyd, the younger brother of MSU wide receiver Ryan Boyd, and three-star safety Tyron Steed. Its defense is allowing 12.9 points per game this season

The Lions' closest game came in a one-point victory over Helias Catholic in Week 4 — the same Crusaders team that Republic beat 28-21 to advance to the state quarterfinal on Nov. 18.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, 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

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield area high school football state championship opponents