Joplin's defense shines in 34-3 win over Branson

Derek Shore, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·3 min read

Aug. 27—Joplin linebacker Draven VanGilder is not a fan of the term "rebuilding" when it pertains to the defensive side of the ball for his team.

Even though the Eagles graduated nine of 11 starters from last year, Joplin's defense shined in its home opener on Friday night, holding Branson's offense at bay in a 34-3 win at Junge Field.

The Eagles are 1-0 to start the 2022 campaign.

"I think we showed we're not rebuilding at all," VanGilder said. "We are putting younger guys in there that are really filling their roles. They played really well on the field. I feel like the younger guys stepped into their roles and handled adversity really well. I don't think rebuilding is the word. I think restocking may be the word."

Joplin couldn't have authored a better start to its season. The Eagles scored 27 unanswered points in the first half before a 26-yard field goal from Branson's Dane Efird with 2:15 to play in the second quarter.

Stepping in for all-state quarterback Always Wright, Hobbs Gooch guided Joplin's offense to a fast start. The junior signal caller hooked up with Davin Thomas in the flat, who sprinted down the sideline for a long 76-yard TD pass as the Eagles drew first blood at the 5:10 mark in the first quarter.

After Quin Renfro punched in a 2-yard TD run four minutes later, Gooch fired a 13-yard strike to Drew VanGilder, who found paydirt as Joplin increased its lead to 21-0 with 8:26 to play in the first half.

Thomas capped a monster first half by hauling in another TD pass — this one for 13 yards from Gooch with just over three minutes left in the opening half.

A sophomore, Thomas amassed 137 yards through the air with five catches in the first half.

The Eagle defense continued to flex its muscle in the second half, pitching a shutout in the process.

Terrance Gibson accounted for Joplin's final score of the night in the third quarter. The 6-foot-5 senior wideout caught a short pass from Gooch and scampered 64 yards for paydirt.

"We have playmakers, there's no doubt about that," Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. "We saw it in the jamboree and we saw it tonight. We just have to work on the consistency. We'll get better."

Added VanGilder, "A couple of our wide receivers and corners are track athletes. They are extremely fast and they can move, shimmy. It's insane to see what they can do with the ball in their hands. I love to see how it pans out."

Gooch completed 14 of 17 passes for 297 yards, including four touchdowns and two interceptions. Drew VanGilder and Renfro combined for over 100 yards on the ground in eight carries apiece.

Gibson finished with two catches for 73 yards, while Whit Hafer hauled in two passes for 32 yards.

Joplin's defense limited Grimm to 82 yards on 11 carries. Branson's sophomore quarterback Luke McCormick, who played the first half and part of the second, went 2 for 5 through the air with 26 yards (22 of them on a pass to Grimm).

"We got a win. There's a lot of ugly that we have got to clean up," Jasper said. "Our defense played really, really well tonight. They flew to the ball. I thought we played pretty physical against a team that had a really good fullback (Cade Grimm) and were going to pound him. I thought we did a really good job of fitting him up and pushing him back."

The Eagles play at Willard next Friday.