By Ryan Atkinson

ratkinson@joplinglobe.com

The Joplin Eagles — with all of their passing weapons — turned to the running game when they needed it the most.

Joplin saw its 31-point third-quarter lead trimmed to just 10 before the Eagles took to the ground and put the finishing touch on a 45-28 homecoming win over the Lebanon Yellowjackets on Friday night at Junge Field.

The win clinched a tie for the Ozark Conference title for Joplin, which improved to 6-1 overall and in conference play. Lebanon fell to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

The Eagles marched 51 yards on 12 plays — nine of which came on the ground — and burned 6:18 off the clock during their clinching drive. Ron King rushed six times during the drive and quarterback Devin St. Clair capped it with a seven-yard touchdown run.

“We went into that drive knowing we were going to get into the end zone,” said King, who rushed 22 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns. “The offensive line impressed me. They got it done.”

The drive all but iced the win, but Lebanon made things rather tense for the Eagles with an explosive second half.

After Joplin took a 31-0 lead on King’s five-yard touchdown run with 4:23 to play in the third quarter, the Yellowjackets began to fight back.

Quarterback Ryan Howerton broke free for a 15-yard run and then found Philip Archer for a 60-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-7.

Joplin recovered the ensuing onside kick and St. Clair — who was 24-of-32 for 357 yards — hit Sam Nguyen for a 47-yard scoring strike on the first play of the drive.

Nguyen caught the ball between two defenders and somehow plowed the remaining five yards into the end zone.

“That’s probably the biggest catch I’ve had, and it was my first touchdown this year, so it meant a lot to me,” Nguyen said. “I thought St. Clair under threw me a little bit, but then I saw that he over threw me just a little. The defender jumped up and I was right behind him, just in the right spot.”

Nguyen’s catch stretched the lead to 38-7, but Lebanon — showing the high-powered offense that has been turning heads in the Ozark Conference — scored 21 straight fourth-quarter points.

Lebanon intercepted St. Clair on consecutive drives, marching 66 yards on just three plays — including Howerton’s 11-yard touchdown run — after the second pick to make it 38-28.

Howerton had just 57 yards passing in the first half, but finished 23-of-42 for 252 yards and a score.

“When you run a spread offense, I believe rhythm is extremely important,” Lebanon coach Will Christian said. “In the first half Joplin was doing a lot of good, quality things to take us out of that rhythm; first with pressure and secondly with being aggressive on our receivers.”

While Joplin’s final drive was dominated by the run, the Eagles came up big though the air in key situations. Facing a 2nd-and-20 from the Joplin 39, St. Clair found Dane Kolkmeyer for an 11-yard gain and then hit Nguyen on a perfect comeback route to grab the first down by a yard.

“It’s usually to me and it was one-on-one, so we basically called it to my side,” Nguyen said. “I knew how to get that first down and that’s what I did. It was a big first down for us, so I had to make sure I got it.”

Joplin was impressive in its 24-point second quarter.

Jonathan Warden booted a 22-yard field goal for the game’s first points early in the second. After the Eagle defense held Lebanon on a 4th-and-five, St. Clair found Kolkmeyer on consecutive plays for a 22-yard gain and a 61-yard touchdown strike.

King scored from three yards out before St. Clair and Kolkmeyer hooked up again — this time from four yards out — to make it 24-0 with just 56 seconds to play in the half.

Kolkmeyer had another impressive night, catching 12 passes for 176 yards and two scores. Nguyen caught six passes for 70 yards while Cory Macy had 86 yards on five receptions.

Archer had five catches for 120 yards for Lebanon while Howerton complimented his 252 passing yards with 76 on the ground.

The two teams combined for 885 yards of offense — 453 from Joplin and 432 from Lebanon.