Re-ranking every southwest Missouri high school football team after the 2022 season

Wyatt D. Wheeler, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read

The 2022 high school football season in Missouri has wrapped up and we're re-ranking every team in southwest Missouri.

Southwest Missouri had a pair of teams qualify for state championships while others proved to be a handful throughout the state tournament and the regular season.

We were spot on with some of our expectations going into the year and we were also way off on others. Some made us look silly by making giant jumps forward while others might have taken a step back.

Here's how our rankings shaped out at the end of the season:

State championship contenders

Lamar RB Ty Willhite runs for the Tigers in the first quarter at Marshfield on August 26, 2022.
Lamar RB Ty Willhite runs for the Tigers in the first quarter at Marshfield on August 26, 2022.

1. Lamar (Preseason: 2)

2. Reeds Spring (Preseason: 24)

3. Carthage (Preseason: 4)

4. Seneca (Preseason: 14)

5. West Plains (Preseason: 6)

6. Nixa (Preseason: 7)

7. Mountain View (Preseason: 21)

8. Marionville (Preseason: 13)

9. Lebanon (Preseason: 8)

10. Camdenton (Preseason: 19)

Teams you didn't want to play

11. Nevada (Preseason: 5)

12. Mountain Grove (Preseason: 11)

13. Republic (Preseason: 20)

14. Mount Vernon (Preseason: 44)

15. Webb City (Preseason: 1)

16. Kickapoo (Preseason: 23)

17. Houston (Preseason: Unranked)

18. Joplin (Preseason: 12)

Good teams that had ups and downs

19. Glendale (Preseason: 9)

20. Strafford (Preseason: 25)

21. Fair Grove (Preseason: 10)

22. Central (Preseason: 31)

23. Ava (Preseason: 3)

24. Bolivar (Preseason: 33)

25. McDonald County (Preseason: 16)

26. Rolla (Preseason: 27)

27. Ash Grove (Preseason: 22)

28. Marshfield (Preseason: 22)

Saw some signs throughout the year

29. Monett (Preseason: 42)

30. Logan-Rogersville (Preseason: 28)

31. Buffalo (Preseason: 30)

32. Forsyth (Preseason: 29)

33. Cassville (Preseason: 34)

34. Neosho (Preseason: Unranked)

35. Cabool (Preseason: 35)

36. Sarcoxie (Preseason: 32)

We know they're capable of more

37. Carl Junction (Preseason: 39)

38. Pierce City (Preseason: 41)

39. Hollister (Preseason: 15)

40. Stockton (Preseason: 37)

41. Diamond (Preseason: 36)

42. Willard (Preseason: 45)

43. Willow Springs (Preseason: Unranked)

44. Ozark (Preseason: 38)

45. Aurora (Preseason: 26)

46. Branson (Preseason: 40)

47. Waynesville (Preseason: 46)

48. Skyline (Preseason: 18)

Teams with work to do

Alphabetical

Catholic

Clever

East Newton

El Dorado Springs

Hillcrest

Parkview

Miller

Salem

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 Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Southwest Missouri high school football power ranking after 2022