The Week 4 prep football game between Carthage and Webb City has been canceled after a Carthage High School student-athlete tested positive for COVID-19.
Carthage coach Jon Guidie and Webb City coach John Roderique both confirmed the cancellation on Wednesday.
Carthage High School athletic director Mark Holderbaum on Wednesday tweeted, “Due to postive Covid19 test and multiple quartantine orders, the varsity football game for Carthage HS and Webb City HS this Friday, Sept. 18 is canceled. The JV game on Monday, Sept. 21 is also canceled. The 9th grade game will be played as scheduled.”
In a statement, the Carthage R-9 school district said, “We will continue to work closely with the health department to ensure the well-being of our students, staff, and families. The safety of our community is always our priority.”
The highly-anticipated clash between the Cardinals and Tigers would have featured last year’s Class 4 and Class 5 state champions squaring off. CARDS TO HOST KICKAPOO
The Webb City school district confirmed that the Cardinals will now host Kickapoo on Friday night. It will be Senior Night for the Cardinals (2-1).
Kickapoo was originally scheduled to play Parkview, but the Vikings had to cancel after a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Chiefs are 3-0 after wins over Camdenton (28-7), Lebanon (30-26) and Waynesville (38-18).
Kickoff on Friday night is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage claimed an 8-1 win over Neosho on Tuesday in Central Ozark Conference girls tennis action at Carthage High School.
At No. 1 singles, Carthage’s Isabelle Johnston defeated Emily Lemus 8-4, while Neosho’s Claudia Martensen defeated Lucy Butler 8-5 at No. 2 singles.
Carthage’s Anayansi Lopez-Rodas defeated Ana Ramirez at No. 3, Daniel Marquez beat Angelica Vynyas 8-0 at No. 4, Katie Barton defeated Mariana Anaya 8-0 at No. 5 and Ginger Butler beat Jasmine Martinez 8-0 at No. 6.
In doubles, Johnston-Butler defeated Lemus-Martensen 8-5, Lopez-Rodas-Marquez beat Ramirez-Vynyas 8-2 at No. 2 and Barton-Butler defeated Anaya-Martinez 8-3 at No. 3.
MONETT, Mo. — A large number of local athletes fared well at the 41st annual Monett Invitational Cross Country Meet on Tuesday afternoon at South Park.
BOYS RESULTS
In the large school boys division, Lamar’s Ethan Pittsenbarger (15:50), Neosho’s Kaden Cole (16:08) and Monett’s Julio Cruz (16:21) finished first, second and third, respectively.
Carl Junction’s duo of Collin Emmert (17:02) and Logan Carnes (17:07) were fourth and fifth.
Finishing sixth through 10th were Neosho’s Carson Newell, Lamar’s Quintin Webb, Cassville’s Pace Evans, Nixa’s Michael Eisenhart and Neosho’s Collier Hendricks.
Neosho’s Gabriel Mabrey was 12th, Cassville’s Jacob Martinez took 13th and Carl Junction’s Brock Feken finished 14th.
Neosho won the team title with 44 points, while Nixa (63) and Carl Junction (64) were second and third, respectively. Lamar (72), Cassville (107) and McDonald County (160) rounded out the team standings.
In the small school division, Southwest’s Travis Sickles took first in 16:12, while Blue Eye’s Ryan Cardenzana was second (16:16) and Jasper’s Hunter Hinds finished third (17:36).
Southwest’s trio of Christian Long, Caden Uthe and Otis Rainer finished fourth, fifth and sixth.
College Heights’ Rolen Sanderson finished 10th, Sarcoxie’s Dugan Pogue was 12th and McAuley Catholic’s Thomas Black took 16th.
Southwest (21) and Blue Eye (40) were the top two teams. Crane (91), Sparta (99) and McAuley (105) rounded out the team standings.
Also of note, Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry won the JV boys 4K.
GIRLS RESULTS
In the small school division, Blue Eye’s Riley Arnold was first in 19:38 and College Heights’ Grace Bishop was second in 23:19.
CHC’s Jayli Johnson finished fifth, Southwest’s Allison Corwin was sixth, Jasper’s Olivia Moss took seventh, Sarcoxie’s Larissa Dorris was eighth, while CHC’s Madelynn Jordan took ninth and Southwest’s Cally Bowyer finished 10th. College Heights’ Madi Carson took 14th.
In the large school race, Aurora’s Kaci Singer took first in 21:40, while Mount Vernon’s Rilee Simons was second in 21:49.
Aurora’s Aubrey Boatwright finished third, Cassville’s duo of Jordyn Stafford and Annie Moore were fourth and fifth, respectively, and Lamar’s Kara Morey took sixth.
Rounding out the top 10 were Cassville’s Jolie Evans, Nixa’s Adelyn Janssen, Neosho’s Bailey Miller and Carl Junction’s Hannah Franks.
Neosho’s Riley Kemna finished 11th, while Cassville’s Marianne McCracken was 12th. Neosho’s Makenna Davis was 16th, while Carl Junction’s Olivia Wallner and Alexis Carpenter finished 18th and 19th.
Cassville (44) won the team title, followed by Aurora (46), Neosho (58), Carl Junction (78) and Monett (110).
Thomas Jefferson’s Sarah Mueller won the JV girls race.
Ozark defeated Joplin 9-0 in a girls tennis dual on Tuesday.
In doubles play, Ozark’s Melissa Sanchez and Paige Chrastina defeated Kennedy Schwartz and Jensen Vowels 8-0, while Hannah Metcalf and Madison Tourville beat Brynn Driver and Cloey Blank 8-4. Miller Bennett and Savannah Goodwin defeated Patience Adams and Taaliyah Oates 8-0.
In singles matches, Ozark’s Sanchez, Metcalf and Tourville all won by identical scores of 8-1 over Schwartz, Vowels and Driver.
Chrastina defeated Blank 8-4, Bennett beat Adams 8-1 and Goodwin defeated Oates 8-4.
SENECA, Mo. — Webb City grabbed the momentum in the opening set and never relinquished it in a quick 3-0 non-conference volleyball victory over Seneca on Tuesday inside the Seneca High School gymnasium.
The Cardinals defeated the shorthanded Indians 25-13, 25-17, 25-13.
Fresh off a Hillcrest Invitational championship, Webb City simply took care of business right from the start.
“We just wanted to stay focused on keeping our level of play up,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “That’s my big challenge in every match we play. We have to be ready for conference play. It’s coming next week.”
After winning the first two sets, the Cardinals rolled in the third set, as aces from Avery Westhoven and Maddy Peeples, along with two kills from Peeples, gave the visitors a comfy 8-1 lead. Webb City led 18-8 en route to victory.
“Once you get the momentum, you have to stay on top,” Lawrence said. “That’s volleyball. We got into a pretty good groove this past weekend too. It’s been encouraging to see the young ones step up. And our older girls are leading like they need to.”
Sophomore outside hitter Brenda Lawrence slammed 10 kills and served three aces, while Peeples had 12 digs and seven kills.
Westhoven had 11 assists, six digs and four aces, while Kyah Sanborn contributed 16 assists. Makenzie Storm and Kearston Galardo recorded five kills apiece. Senior libero Sage Crane had 11 digs and four aces.
Webb City played without starting setter Anna Hettinger, who was recently struck with appendicitis.
Webb City’s Makenzie Storm blocks Seneca’s Jera Jameson during Tuesday’s matchup at Seneca High School. All photos by Derek Livingston.
Seneca coach Rachel Ayo said her team should benefit from playing a talented squad like Webb City.
“We play these good teams to get better,” Ayo said. “We play these good teams to see good hitters and to work on our defense. Playing teams like Webb City will help us with our conference and district play. We are seeing high-caliber teams so we’ll be ready when we play teams in our conference.”
Seneca played without seniors Kendyl Petty, Myla Hembree and Rylee Nesvold. All three are starters.
“A couple of younger girls definitely stepped up tonight and did a good job against a hard team,” Ayo said.
The Indians received 13 assists from junior setter Rylee Darnell and two aces from sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist Nevaeh Neal.
Seneca’s Jera Jameson hits at the net against Webb City.
Sophomore outside hitter Parker Long compiled 11 digs, five kills and two aces for the Indians, while Jera Jameson added five kills. Ellie Barnes had three blocks.
“Ellie Barnes did a good job at the net tonight,” Ayo said. “She had a lot of touches and three stuff-blocks. That was a good night for her.”
Webb City is at Joplin next Tuesday, while Seneca hosts College Heights on Thursday.
The Cougars improved to 5-0 with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-11) win over Jasper on Tuesday night.
Webb City’s Kearston Galardo goes up for a spike during Tuesday’s matchup with Seneca.Webb City’s Brenda Lawrence hits at the net against Seneca.
Seneca’s Ellie Barnes is pictured during Tuesday’s match against Webb City.
WILLARD, Mo. — A pair of big innings propelled the Webb City Cardinals to a 14-3 run-rule victory over the Willard Tigers on Tuesday in a Central Ozark Conference softball clash.
The Cardinals improved to 10-0 overall and 3-0 in COC play, while Willard dropped to 3-4 and 0-3 in conference games.
Webb City plated seven runs in the third inning and five more in the fifth, batting around in both frames. The visitors also pushed across two runs in the fourth.
Willard’s Ryley Ritchey homered in the bottom of the first inning, but the visitors took the lead for good in the top of the third.
Hannah Wells, Bri Batson and Peyton Hawkins all recorded singles to load the bases before a fielder’s choice off the bat of Emma Welch tied the game.
Haidyn Berry and Emalee Lamar both followed with run-scoring singles before pinch-runner Ripley Shanks sprinted home from third on a wild pitch.
After an out and a hit-by-pitch, Shae’lee Key smacked an RBI single up the middle before Wells capped the big inning with a two-run double to right-center.
Ritchey hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third for the Tigers, but the Cardinals responded in the top of the fourth, as Berry delivered an RBI single before Shanks scored on an error for a 9-3 advantage.
In the fifth, Hawkins hit an RBI triple to right, Welch reached on a fielder’s choice and then Berry launched a three-run home run to left. It was Berry’s seventh homer of the season.
Another run later crossed the plate on Key’s groundout.
The game ended early after the Tigers failed to score in the bottom of the fifth.
A senior, Berry was the winning pitcher, and last year’s COC Player of the Year hiked her record to 8-0. She struck out six and scattered six hits.
Berry drove in five runs on three hits, while Hawkins and Lamar added two hits apiece. Leadoff batter Hawkins scored three runs.
Willard freshman Hannah Burks took the loss. She struck out four and surrendered 10 hits.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Joplin rallied to regain the lead in the top of the seventh inning only to see Carthage return the favor with two runs in the bottom of the frame to earn a 5-4 walk-off win on Tuesday.
The Eagles (3-8) trailed 3-2 heading into the top of the seventh when Madisyn Tracy — who singled to lead off the frame — scored on an Abby McGinnis groundout to tie the game. Ryleigh Surridge followed with an RBI single to center, scoring Reece Schroer to give Joplin a 4-3 advantage.
The Tigers (8-6) didn’t waste time with a response, getting a runner in scoring position with a leadoff double from Landry Cochran. Following a sacrifice bunt from Katie Crowe to get Cochran to third, Presley Probert lined to second for the second out of the inning. Lauren Haws brought home the game-tying run with a single through the right side to make the score 4-4. Continuing on with the two-out magic, Jensyn Elder lined a ball over the center fielder’s head to bring home Haws to win the game, 5-4.
Elder earned the win in the circle after allowing four runs, one earned, on seven hits and five strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Jill McDaniel took the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits, one walk and six strikeouts.
Cochran finished with two doubles, including an RBI two-base hit in the bottom of the third to give Carthage a 1-0 lead, while scoring once and driving in one. Ashlynn Jackson finished with two hits and an RBI. Mary Grace Richmond tripled home a run in the fourth inning, with Jordyn Jones following with an RBI single.
Tatum Stogsdill led the Eagles with two hits, including a run-scoring single in the top of the fourth. Bailey Ledford, McDaniel and Tracy finished with one hit and one run scored.
