In a coaching career that has spanned three decades, with 24 at the high school level, Webb City football coach John Roderique has seen and dealt with pretty much everything.
But 2020 has been an unprecedented year. With that, the hall of fame coach was faced with a completely unfamiliar issue to resolve this week.
In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Roderique and the Webb City Cardinals went from preparing for a highly-anticipated matchup with Carthage to scrambling to find a replacement opponent before reaching an agreement to host the Kickapoo Chiefs.
As a result, Webb City (2-1) will host Kickapoo (3-0) at 7 p.m. on Friday in a non-conference Week 4 matchup at Cardinal Stadium.
“This week has been a little bit crazy, but you just have to roll with the punches,” Roderique said. “I reminded our guys yesterday that they have to reprogram their minds from what they’ve been thinking the last few days about preparing for Carthage.”
Wednesday’s whirlwind of events began when the Carthage school district announced a student-athlete at CHS had tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in a large number of football players now in quarantine.
With that, the rivalry clash between defending state champions was canceled.
Kickapoo had its Week 4 contest with Parkview called off on Tuesday after the Vikings had an outbreak of COVID-19. Defending Class 4 champion Webb City and Class 6 Kickapoo agreed to play on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite a lack of preparation time, Roderique noted he’s definitely pleased his team didn’t have to settle for a bye week.
“It sure beats not playing,” Roderique said. “There are a lot of teams out there that aren’t able to play this week, so we’re thankful we have an opportunity to play. We’re thankful to Kickapoo for agreeing to play on such short notice.”
Roderique noted the situation is far from ideal for both squads, but added his players and coaching staff are doing their best to get ready for an unknown foe.
“It’s hard to get ready for a game in two days, but kids are resilient,” Roderique said. “They handle this kind of stuff really well. I remember Coach (Chuck) Broyles used to tell me, ‘You can practice them and you can practice them, but you just have to put them out there and let them play.’ That’s how I feel about this week’s deal. We’re very limited in our preparation. We just don’t have time to put stuff together and study film. But hopefully we’ve been preparing to play since Day 1.”
THE CARDINALS
Webb City has outscored its opponents 134-69. Featuring the Central Ozark Conference’s highest-scoring offense to date at 45 points per game, the Cardinals are averaging 334 rushing and 69 passing yards per game.
Senior running back Devrin Weathers has recorded 474 rushing yards with nine touchdowns. The Kansas State recruit also has a touchdown on a kick return.
Senior quarterback Cole Gayman and junior running back Cade Wilson have scored two rushing touchdowns apiece. Gayman has also passed for 174 yards, with 121 of those yards coming last week. Cohl Vaden has three receptions for 73 yards with two touchdowns, while Asa Morgan and Gary Clinton are threats in the passing game.
Defensively, Lucas Ott (26) Treghan Parker (16), Brayden Hollingsworth (15), Matt McDaniel (15), Gavin Stowell (13) and Roger Carranco (13) are leading the team in tackles. Parker has two interceptions.
On Friday night, Webb City’s seniors will be recognized at 6:25.
THE CHIEFS
The Chiefs are 3-0 after earning Ozark Conference wins over Camdenton (28-7), Lebanon (30-26) and Waynesville (38-18).
Kickapoo rushed for more than 300 yards last week, with multiple players contributing. Chance Nelson ran for 97 yards last week, while Chandler Taylor added 95. Quarterback Adam Miller passed for 85 yards and ran for 44.
“They’re off to a really good start at 3-0,” Roderique said of the Chiefs. “They’re certainly a quality team with three quality wins. Their guys look good on film and they’re well-coached. They’ve got good athletes and they have some big kids. You can see those things no matter how much or how little film you watch.”
THE SERIES
According to the archives on www.webbcityfootball.com, the Webb City-Kickapoo all-time series is tied 3-3.
Webb City has not played Kickapoo since Week 1 of the 2007 season, a 27-0 win for the Cardinals. Webb City also won a matchup with the Chiefs in ’06 and in 1991. Kickapoo won meetings in 1979, ’80 and ’90.
HOW TO WATCH: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/webbcity/
