Missouri High School Football: 5 Intriguing Storylines

Here are five things to keep an eye on throughout the 2025-2026 Missouri high school football season

Nixa's Jackson Cantwell (79) blocks De Smet Jesuit's Titan Davis during the Missouri Class 6 Show-Me Bowl in 2024. Cantwell, a Miami Hurricanes commit, is rated the No. 1 2026 prospect in Missouri. Davis, a Michigan Wolverines commit, is rated No. 2. / David Smith

Akin to opening one small gift before the rest of the big gifts come, it's jamboree week across the state of Missouri, folks. Let's see what we've got inside. It could be anything!

That's how most fanbases feel during this time of year. Hope, desire, dreams of catching lightning in a bottle and going on a deep run in the playoffs. The possibilities are real for everyone until the lights come on and separate the bad from the good and the good from the great.

While there are dozens of things to keep an eye on during the 2025 season, here are five storylines that we think will carry some intrigue from start to finish. Let's take a dive.

Missouri high school football: 5 intriguing storylines to watch

1. Can De Smet Jesuit repeat in Class 6?

One thing is certain, not many teams have. Only CBC has managed to repeat as champions in the last 10 years. On the flipside, there have only been four public school champions in Class 6 since 2015.

The Spartans have a lot of shoes to fill after much of the team’s 2024 offensive production rested in seniors and then-junior running back Jayden McCaster, who has since transferred to Class 6 runner-up Nixa for his senior season. They’ll also be tasked with replacing quarterback Dillon Duff and leading receiver Nathan Hatcher.

Former De Smet Jesuit running back Jayden McCaster, who helped the Spartans beat Nixa with a big game in the 2024 Class 6 Show-Me Bowl at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, will be trying to help Nixa secure its first state championship in program history after transferring. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But the Spartans haven’t had a losing season since 2017, and they have gone 66-17 since 2018. And, oh yeah, the team is still loaded with college prospects, including four-star senior defensive lineman Titan Davis (No. 2 overall in the state and a Michigan commit), senior offensive lineman Santiago Castillo (a Missouri State commit) and Ridge Janes, one of the best sophomore tight end prospects in the country.

Janes holds 22 Division I offers, including Alabama, Oregon, Michigan, Nebraska, Missouri, Florida State, Indiana, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Illinois and Arkansas, among others.

And there are others, so it’s probably best to assume they will figure it out. Either way, a tough schedule will allow them to be battle tested yet again when the postseason rolls around.

They open the regular season on Aug. 30, at Creighton Prep in Omaha, Nebraska.

2. Or is this finally Nixa's year?

On paper, it’s easy to make a case for Nixa as the No. 1 team in the state. They have one of Missouri’s most talented dual-threat junior quarterbacks in Adam McKnight, who will be running and throwing behind what’s likely the state’s best offensive line, anchored by five-star left tackle Jackson Cantwell – a Miami Hurricanes recruit and the No. 1 offensive tackle in the nation for the 2026 recruiting class.

Mix in a pair of talented transfers the Eagles picked up in McCaster – who rushed for more than 1,500 yards last season and had a big hand in helping De Smet beat Nixa in the Class 6 title game last year. He will help fill the loss of all-state running back Dylan Rebura, who graduated after rushing for 2,785 yards.

Nixa's Adam McKnight dives into the end zone for a touchdown as the Eagles took on the De Smet Spartans in the Class 6 State Championship game at Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo. on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

They also picked up another weapon for McKnight in senior wide receiver and defensive back Scholar Brown, who moved in from Junction City, Kansas. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder was a two-year starter for the 6A Bluejays.

After averaging 43 points per game last season and holding opposing offenses to 14.8 points, the Eagles are sure to have the upper hand in most contests.

Nixa has two runner-up finishes at state but has never won the title. If there was ever a time to finish the job, this is probably the year.

3. Will Lee’s Summit North feel the sting of a tumultuous offseason?

As we previously reported, the Broncos will be without two of their top coaches in head coach Jason Rogers and assistant Johlon Whittaker for the first three games of the season after they were suspended following self-reported practice violations over the summer. Despite that, the team is stacked and should make some playoff noise in Class 6.

In the first three weeks, the Broncos open at home against Raymore-Peculiar, travel to Staley and return home to face Kansas rival Mill Valley (Shawnee) in a cross-border battle. Of those teams, Ray-Pec went 1-10 last season, Staley finished 2-8 and Mill Valley finished 9-2.

Lee's Summit North runs onto the field prior to kickoff of the 2024 MSHSAA Class 6 quarterfinals against Nixa. / David Smith

The coaches are expected to return to the sidelines in Week 4 at Bentonville (Arkansas) – a squad that went 9-4 last season in Class 7A.

While suspensions are never optimal in any circumstance, it seems unlikely to make a major impact on the Broncos’ season. Still, it’s worth watching to see how the team holds together without two of its leaders at the helm.

Does their absence slow the team’s momentum, or will it further bond the team going forward?

4. How will Springfield Central’s decision not to play a varsity schedule in 2025 affect other teams?

On Friday, word broke that Springfield Central, citing safety concerns and an overall lack of numbers, would not field a varsity football team this season. Instead, they will play a junior varsity slate. The trickle-down effect immediately left nine schools scrambling to find a replacement game on their schedule: Springfield Hillcrest, Fair Grove, Logan-Rogersville, Marionville, Stockton, Springfield Parkview, Ash Grove, Rolla and Marshfield.

The Springfield Parkview Vikings could get some added juice in 2025 after most of Springfield Central's varsity squad made plans to join forces at Parkview after the cancellation of the Bulldogs' varsity season due to player safety concerns due to a lack of numbers. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So far, Fair Grove is now expected to play Tipton on Sept. 5, after Tipton had an opening when Lincoln High dropped down from Class 1 to 8-man on Aug. 13, causing a like-opening in their slate. It is unknown yet whether the other schools have found a replacement game or will be forced to sit that week.

One more thing to note: It will be interesting to see how Springfield Parkview’s squad improves this season, as most of Central’s 30 varsity players who came out for football this season made plans to join the Vikings.

5. What will the Show-Me Bowl look like in 2025 with a new location and the implementation of instant replay?

Not only will there be a new look and feel around the 2025 Show-Me Bowl, the name for the Missouri’s football championships, but the MSHSAA is also breaking out some new technology for the first time.

Instant replay will make its debut in Missouri high school sports when the games kick off at Spratt Memorial Stadium, home of Missouri Western State University and the site of the Kansas City Chiefs training camp, in St. Joseph in a few months. Of course, due to myriad reasons, replay will not be available to teams during the regular season, but it’s certainly a huge step into the future for the Show-Me State.

For the first time in state history, instant replay will be available at the 2025 Show-Me Bowl games at Spratt Memorial Stadium, home of Missouri Western, in St. Joseph. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Previously held at Mizzou’s Faurot Field in Columbia, the Show-Me Bowl’s new home at Spratt Memorial is planned for the next four seasons, with all seven championship games – six 11-man championships and the 8-man title – all slated to be played on site. While teams from outside of Kansas City will have a bit more travel to get to the

Who will be the first coach to toss the hanky and test the new replay system? Which one will be the first to win their challenge? Most importantly, which game will be impacted the most using the new system and, to add another wrinkle, how will officials handle the task?

It’s all food for thought.

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