High School

Nixa's 93-Pancake Night: A Staggering Performance by Missouri's Powerhouse Offensive Line

The starting five, featuring five-star Miami commit Jackson Cantwell, racked up 93 total pancake blocks in just three and a half quarters, driving Nixa to 520 yards of offense and an undefeated season

Levi Payton

Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell (79), a Miami Hurricanes commit, and guard Hayden Mays (71) are to of the senior leaders along Nixa's vaunted offensive line.
Five-star offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell (79), a Miami Hurricanes commit, and guard Hayden Mays (71) are to of the senior leaders along Nixa's vaunted offensive line. / David Smith

Big guys like to eat, and one Missouri high school program’s offensive linemen were feasting on Friday night.

A Thoroughbred and His Road Graders

It’s no secret that the Class 6 Nixa Eagles have arguably the best offensive line unit inside of the Show-Me State’s borders. They’re well known across the country too, thanks to the highly publicized recruitment of one of the country’s best offensive tackles in five-star senior Jackson Cantwell, who is committed to the Miami Hurricanes.

Cantwell (6-foot-8, 320 pounds) is the thoroughbred of the group and the player everyone knows, but he’s hardly the only reason for their success. Fellow seniors Hayden Mays (6-5, 290), Hunter Jensen (6-3, 250), Urban Arnold (6-3, 250) and Dylan Terry (6-3, 265), along with juniors Jaxon Stewart (5-11, 220) and Jamison Truitt (6-1, 260), add to the size, athleticism, and dominance up front.

The Night They Stacked Up 93

In a 62-21 win against Glendale in the regular season finale last week, the starting quintet of Mays, Cantwell, Arnold, Truitt, and Stewart played out of their collective minds, stacking up a total of 93 pancake blocks against the Falcons.

That’s not a typo. Nixa’s offensive line was cooking. What’s more; they accomplished it in just a little more than three quarters before the starters were pulled.

“We never particularly knew how many we had, as we usually just try to make sure things are good during the game,” Mays told High School on SI. “Watching film afterward though, it was very apparent.”

Successful Business Plans

Mays led the team with a whopping 24 pancakes, while Cantwell finished with 21, Truitt had 19, Stewart 17, and Arnold 12. Despite being a competitive group, Mays said the unit was simply focused on handling its business Thursday night.

“We weren’t necessarily competing for the most [pancake blocks],” Mays said. “We just always strive to finish blocks and plays through the whistle.”

The Rushing Attack Operating Behind the Wall

Operating behind those road graders, the Eagles, 9-0 and ranked No. 2 on the High School on SI Missouri Top 25 Rankings, amassed 520 total yards of offense. They rushed for 321 yards and eight touchdowns – led by junior Jax Adams, who popped off for 204 yards and three TDs on 29 carries. Junior quarterback Adam McKnight completed 9-of-15 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown and rushed seven times for 24 yards and three scores.

“Overall, I’d say that our performance is something we always strive for each week,” Mays said, “and it was an amazing way to close out our regular season and lead us into our bye week."

“It showed us everything we needed to look at and helped give us a great idea of where we are at before the playoffs start.”

Nixa football Hayden Mays
Nixa senior lineman Hayden Mays has 62 of his team's 343 pancake blocks so far this season. / David Smith

Domination Earns a First-Round Bye

When the playoffs start this week, the Eagles won’t be playing. Their dominance in the regular season allowed them to receive a first-round bye and the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 6 District 5 playoffs. They’ll take a rest this week and then play the winner of Friday’s game between No. 4 Ozark and No. 5 Raymore-Peculiar, next Friday, Nov. 7, in the district semifinals.

Nixa hasn’t played Raymore-Peculiar this season but beat Ozark 57-7 on Oct. 17. The Eagles’ line had 43 pancakes in limited action in that game, with Cantwell leading the charge with 14, followed by Truitt with 12, Jensen eight, Stewart six, and Mays three.

343 Pancakes and Counting: Season Dominance

Collectively, those seven Nixa linemen have combined for a staggering 343 pancake blocks through nine games. Cantwell leads the way with 114 pancakes, while Truitt has 64, Mays 62, Stewart 35 (in six games), Jensen 33 (eight games), Terry 23 (four games), and Arnold 12 (eight games).

Nixa Eagles Jackson Cantwell football
Nixa's 6-foot-8, 320-pound tackle Jackson Cantwell has 114 pancake blocks through nine games this season. / David Smith

In Week 1 against Republic, Nixa’s lineup of Jensen, Truitt, Mays, Terry, and Cantwell had 46 pancakes. In Week 2 that same rotation got 43 PBs in a close win against Webb City, then the Week 3 rotation of Stewart, Truitt, Mays, Terry, and Cantwell netted 28 against Joplin in Week 3.

Flattening Defenders in Every Game

Even against Carthage’s standout defensive line, which features Oklahoma State edge commit Landon Bland, the Eagles managed to flatten 15 defenders, including six by Mays. They also had 35 against Lebanon, 28 against Kickapoo, and 12 in limited action against Waynesville.

The Unstoppable Engine of the Eagles' Offense

Their play has allowed the offense to compile 3,849 yards of total offense and 58 touchdowns, including 2,552 rushing yards and 43 TDs. They’ve opened lanes that have allowed senior running back Jayden McCaster to rush for 1,414 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging 11 yards per carry, and Adams amass 594 yards and eight trips to the house.

They’ve protected junior quarterback Adam McKnight and allowed him to complete 64 percent of his passes for 1,260 yards and 15 touchdowns – including six to junior receiver Carter Mabe and five to senior Randy Flint – while rushing for 278 and five touchdowns.

“We have an amazing offensive line here in Nixa,” Mays said.

Those big men are a huge reason why the team is still unbeaten, and with the playoffs heating up, they’re still cooking.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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