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Day: October 10, 2020

Soccer: Joplin claims tourney title with lopsided wins

Posted on by Jason Peake

The host Joplin Eagles recorded a pair of lopsided wins to capture the championship of their own Joplin Invitational Soccer Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the JHS athletic complex.
Competing in a three team round-robin event, Joplin beat Parsons 8-0 and McDonald County 8-0.
“We were glad that we were able to handle our business today,” Joplin coach Josh Thompson said, noting the shutouts were the first for the team this season. “We’re trying to set a tone. We don’t have any more practices before our next two games, so we wanted to use every bit of time that we can. These games are preparing us for Monday and Tuesday. We want to keep the momentum going.”
The Eagles dominated possession from the start against Parsons, a first-year program.
Brady Carter and Andrew Taylor scored early goals. Carter scored again in the 25th minute and Adam Montanez added a goal in the 32nd minute for a 4-0 lead.
Brayden Anderson and Montanez added goals late in the first half for a 6-0 advantage.
A senior forward, Carter scored his third and fourth goals during the first 10 minutes of the second half, ending the match.
The match with the Mustangs was similar to the one with the Vikings, as multiple players knocked in goals.
“We were glad that we could spread it around,” Thompson said. “Some guys who are usually defenders were able to come up and contribute offensively, so they were excited to be able to do that.”
With Saturday’s two wins, Joplin is now 6-9.
The Eagles host Springfield Catholic at 6:30 on Monday and travel to Ozark on Tuesday. There are just three weeks remaining in the regular season.
“We’re hoping this is something we can build from,” Thompson said. “This next week there will be three games where we’ll see good opponents that will tell us exactly where we’re at as a team. We just want to be our best by the time we hit districts.”

 

The Joplin Eagles pose with the championship plaque of the Joplin Invitational Soccer Tournament on Saturday at JHS. Courtesy photo.

Softball: Webb City falls short against two of the state’s best teams

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Shauna Friend focused on the positives after her Webb City softball team dropped a pair of nonconference games to two of the state’s top squads on Saturday afternoon at Webb City High School.
Undefeated Class 5 No. 1 Rock Bridge defeated Class 4 No. 1 Webb City 7-1 after Class 5 No. 3 Kickapoo topped the Cardinals 11-4 earlier in the day.
“Both teams were really good competition for us and I feel like we did compete,” Friend said. “It should be good for us going into the postseason. We saw some real good pitching.”
The Bruins also beat the Chiefs 15-2 on Saturday.
After Saturday’s games, Rock Bridge is now 24-0, while Kickapoo is 21-3 and Webb City is 22-5.

ROCK BRIDGE 7, WEBB CITY 1
The Cardinals managed just two hits—singles from Haidyn Berry and Emma Welch.
“Offensively, we came up short,” Friend said. “You’re not going to win many games with two hits. That gives us something to work on.”
Berry was charged with the loss, but she only allowed two earned runs on seven hits. She struck out five and walked three.
“The score may not have reflected it, but Haidyn Berry threw a great game against a really good hitting team,” Friend said. “I was really pleased with her performance today.”
Ella Schouten was the winning pitcher. The returning all-state performer struck out 13.
A walk, a single and an error gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the third before Abby Hay hit a two-run home run in the sixth to put Rock Bridge up 3-0.
Sophie Schupp launched a grand slam in the top of the seventh for a seven-run cushion.
The Cardinals scored once in the bottom of the seventh. Berry singled and Kaylyn Gilbert reached on an error. With two outs, pinch runner Ripley Shanks scored on a double steal, but Gilbert was tagged out to end the game.

KICKAPOO 11, WEBB CITY 4
The Chiefs used a four-run third and a three-run fifth to pull away.
The Cardinals pushed across three runs in the second.
Hannah Wells singled, Emalee Lamar and Shae’Lee Key both walked and a run scored when Bri Batson was hit by a pitch. Welch then drove in two runs with a single to left.
Webb City added a run in the seventh when Peyton Hawkins singled and later scored on an error.
Welch had two hits for the Cardinals, while Hawkins, Wells and Lamar had one hit apiece.
Lydia Lortz and Berry both pitched for the Cardinals.
Chloe Merced went 3-for-4 with a home run for the Chiefs, while Jaden LaBarge drove in five runs on two home runs. Bella Williams contributed a two-run double.
LaBarge was the winning pitcher. She struck out five and allowed three runs in six innings.

Rock Bridge, Kickapoo and Webb City are all highly-ranked by the Missouri High School Fastpitch Coaches Association.

DISTRICT TOURNEY IS NEXT

No. 1 seed Webb City meets No. 8 Parkview (1-14) at 4:30 on Tuesday in a first-round contest of the Class 4 District 6 tournament at Monett’s North Park.
With a win Tuesday, the Cardinals will face either No. 4 Monett (12-12) or No. 5 Glendale (14-12) in Thursday’s semifinals. The title game is slated for 5 on Friday night. McDonald County and Neosho are seeded second and third, respectively.
“We’re excited about districts,” Friend said. “We’re just ready for Tuesday night and we’re just ready for the postseason.”

 

RELATED: Softball: Area teams ranked by MSHFCA

https://somo-sports.com/highlights/softball-area-teams-ranked-by-mshfca/

 

CLASS 4 DISTRICT 6 BRACKET

https://www.mshsaa.org/Activities/DistrictTournaments.aspx?alg=38&class=4&district=6&year=2020

FOOTBALL: Ozark hands Neosho 31-7 defeat

Posted on by Lucas Davis

NEOSHO, Mo. — There were some positive moments in the Neosho Wildcats’ 31-7 loss to the Ozark Tigers (5-2).

Just before halftime, the Wildcats (0-7) were able to hold Ozark to just a field goal, to go into the locker room down just 10-0.

In the middle of the third quarter, Eric Siler was able to break loose for a nearly-50 yard run, although a red zone stand by the Tigers stalled the drive.

Ozark added a touchdown, but after Neosho lost a fumble, the Wildcats had a red zone stand of their own, taking over on downs on their own 9-yard line.

The highlight of the night, however, was when — after a long drive by the Wildcats — Siler punched in from about 4yards out with just 2:06 left in the game to put Neosho on the board for the second week in a row.

Despite the low-scoring first half — partially because of a nearly six-minute drive in the first quarter by Ozark — the second half was pretty much all the Tigers’.

With 5:09 to go in the third, Ozark quarterback Cannon Cox punched in from 24 yards out to make it 17-0.

Just seconds into the fourth Thomas Rushing punched it in on the ground to make it 31-0.

Siler’s late TD left the final at 31-7.

UP NEXT

Neosho faces Willard on the road next week, and Ozark will be facing Webb City at home.

FOOTBALL: Carthage remains lone unbeaten COC team with 41-20 win over Joplin

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Carthage used a strong rushing attack to build an early lead before pulling away from Joplin late to earn a 41-20 win, staying undefeated in the Central Ozark Conference with a 6-0 mark on the season. 

“This was something you don’t want to build up too much with your kids, but this was a huge night for us in terms of the conference race and district seeding,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “We try to tell them don’t worry about the outcome, just worry about the details and the outcome will take care of itself. We knew there was a lot riding on this game here.”

“Carthage is a really good team, and we knew that going in,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “We were going to have to play well. I liked our fight in the second half, especially defensively, I thought we played well. We just made too many mistakes and had too many penalties.”

Carthage took the opening possession and marched 70 yards on 11 plays, all on the ground, to go up 7-0 on a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Patrick Carlton. The Tigers chewed up nearly half the clock of the first quarter during that span.

“That was one of our keys going in,” Guidie said. “We wanted to dominate the line of scrimmage, really on both sides, but particularly with our offensive line. We wanted to come out with that mentality, and we did.”

 

Carthage’s Patrick Carlton reaches for the goal line in the Tigers’ win over Joplin on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

 

After forcing Joplin (3-4) into a three-and-out on the Eagles’ first possession, Carthage used 11 more rushing plays to get the ball near midfield. After 22 straight plays on the ground, Carlton completed a 6-yard pass on fourth-and-4 to move the chains. On the next play, Caden Kabance lined up out wide, took the jet-sweep handoff before stopping in the backfield and heaving the ball downfield to Hudson Moore for a 32-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 10:31 to play in the first half. 

Joplin found the scoreboard near the midway point of the second quarter when Nathan Glades crossed the goal line from a yard out to trim Carthage’s lead to 14-7 with 7:01 on the clock.

The Tigers didn’t take long to answer. After a strong return past midfield, Carthage needed just three plays to find the end zone, with Carlton ripping off a 29-yard rushing touchdown at the 6:11 mark to push Carthage’s lead back to two scores, 21-7.

With six minutes left in the half, and getting the ball out of the locker room, Joplin’s offense went to work getting a touchdown before the intermission to make it a one-score game. Joplin overcame several penalties but still managed to drive down inside the Carthage 30 before ultimately finding itself facing a fourth-and-13 from the 28. Joplin quarterback Always Wright was picked off by Carthage’s Justin Sneed on the fourth-down pass, with Sneed returning it to the JHS 33-yard line.

The Tigers made the most of the turnover shortly after, with Carlton scoring from 2 yards out to push the lead to 28-7 with 46.9 seconds left in the half.

“That turnover was huge, and his return to get us into plus territory was unbelievable,” Guidie said. “You want to be opportunistic on those things. Turning them over is one thing, but if you can convert them, that is a whole different animal.”

Penalties were an issue for Joplin all evening, as the Eagles were flagged nine times for 75 yards, unofficially. 

“You just have to run so many more plays and execute that many more plays,” Jasper said. “It just adds up. We’ve had that trouble all season long. Obviously, I am doing something wrong because I have not figured out how to fix that because we have not been a penalized team in the past. I have to figure that out because we have to get better at it.”

Joplin’s offense came out of the half inspired, going on a 12-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in Wright finding Landen Atherton for a 23-yard passing touchdown. The PAT was no good, leaving Carthage in front 28-13 with 8:14 to play in the third quarter.

Joplin’s Landen Atherton hauls in a touchdown pass in the Eagles’ game with Carthage on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

The Eagles’ defense forced their first and only three-and-out of the game on their opening defensive possession of the second half, which also forced the Tigers into their only punt.

Glades fielded the ensuing punt at the 17 before taking the ball to the far sideline, evading a pair of would-be tacklers and sprinting past everyone on the way to an 87-yard punt return touchdown to get Joplin within one score, 28-20, with 6:29 left in the third.

“We felt like if we could get or make a few breaks for ourselves, we could keep it rolling,” Jasper said. “Carthage went down and scored, and then we put ourselves in a position to press a little bit. We just have to do better in the first half so we don’t put ourselves in such a hole.”

Carthage methodically drove down the field, eating up the remaining clock of the third quarter with 11 plays and taking nearly three minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter before Carlton found running back Luke Gall with a screen pass, with Gall taking the ball to the house from 35 yards out to cap a 16-play drive to make the score 35-20 with 9:15 to play.

“That was huge,” Guidie said when asked how important it was to get back on the scoreboard in the fourth after going scoreless in the third quarter. “And to do it in the manner in which we did it, with a 16-play drive, that was kind of a backbreaker, I thought, for them and kind of took the wind out of their sails.”

Carlton added a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 1:53 to play to seal the win for Carthage.

STATS

Carthage ran 59 offensive plays for 433 yards, with Carlton leading the way on the ground with 27 carries for 145 yards and four touchdowns. Gall had 21 carries for 66 yards and two receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown. Cale Patrick rushed six times for 50 yards.

Joplin ran 61 plays for 322 yards of offense. Glades rushed 25 times for 70 yards and caught six passes for 56 yards. Wright completed 19-of-28 passes for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception. 

UP NEXT

Carthage travels to Republic, while Joplin hosts Branson. 

 

SCORING SUMMARY

Joplin 0 7 13 0 — 20

Carthage 7 21 0 13 — 41

 

FIRST QUARTER

CHS—Patrick Carlton 1 run (Caleb Calvin kick)

 

SECOND QUARTER

CHS—Hudson Moore 32 pass from Caden Kabance (Calvin kick)

JHS—Nathan Glades 1 run (Keaton Huff kick)

CHS—Patrick Carlton 29 run (Calvin kick)

CHS—Carlton 2 run (Calvin kick)

 

THIRD QUARTER

JHS—Landen Atherton 23 pass from Always Wright (kick fail)

JHS—Glades 87 punt return (Huff kick)

 

FOURTH QUARTER

CHS—Luke Gall 35 pass from Carlton (Calvin kick)

CHS—Carlton 1 run (kick fail)

FOOTBALL: Carl Junction defense holds off Republic surge

Posted on by Lucas Davis

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — On a night where they didn’t have their best stuff on offense, the Carl Junction Bulldogs managed to stave off a push from the Republic Tigers with ball control and stingy defense to hang on for a 28-21 win. 

Carl Junction (3-4) struggled moving the ball from the beginning, punting on its first two drives and squandering a scoring chance on its third. A false start penalty on third-and-goal from the Republic (2-5) 1-yard line forced the Bulldogs to try a 23-yard field goal, but the attempt was stuffed by Avery Moody, junior defensive back, who blocked the kick to keep the game scoreless.

The Bulldog defense, though, kept the Tigers at bay long enough to keep the team in control of the game. Carl Junction allowed only two scores on defense, and both were preceded by strong plays undone by circumstance. Republic needed a defensive pass interference call on a 50-50 ball on a third-and-12 from midfield to set up its first touchdown, a 16-yard screen pass from Moody to Ezekiel Meads.

Carl Junction wide receiver Cole Stewart looks for the end zone in the Bulldogs’ win over Republic on Friday. Photo by Peter Edwards.

Republic’s next — and last — offensive touchdown was a result of a Carl Junction goal-line stand and ensuing short punt that allowed the Tigers to start at the Bulldog 23-yard line. Republic’s only other score came on a kickoff return that was first fumbled, but picked back up by Meads and promptly marched 70 yards untouched to the end zone.

Carl Junction coach Doug Buckmaster praised his team for scratching out a win, despite what he said appeared to be inadequate preparation on offense for the matchup.

“Myself as head football coach and my staff, evidently, well, it’s not evident, we definitely didn’t do a very good job of coaching this past week because we didn’t bring anything to the table offensively tonight at all,” he said. “We may have moved the ball at times, but we couldn’t finish anything, we didn’t have much of an idea what we needed to do, I guess. So I take all the blame for that, I’m the guy that makes the offensive play calls … We’ll see if we can’t get better as coaches and help our guys out a little bit.” 

Just as CJ’s defense allowed only two touchdowns, the Bulldog offense managed only three itself: Senior quarterback Alex Baker threw for three scores, one each to Noah Southern, Brady Sims and Cole Stewart, compared to the unit’s five punts and three turnovers. Carl Junction’s other TD came on the opening kickoff of the second half when Brendan Jewell pried the ball free from the Republic returner and Arlen Wakefield managed a scoop-and-score fumble recovery to make it 14-7. 

Baker finished 13-of-28 through the air for 211 yards, while Sims largely carried the offense, churning up first downs and keeping the Republic offense off the field. He finished with 178 yards rushing on 32 carries. 

Carl Junction running back Brady Sims looks for running room against Republic on Friday. Photo by Peter Edwards.

“Brady did an awesome job,” Buckmaster said. We needed something and the one thing we got a little bit of (was Sims). We’ve been better in the run game the last few weeks, but, you know, we did some nice things and Brady ran hard and we needed those yards to win the football game and he did an outstanding job there.”

Carl Junction travels to Nixa (6-1) in Week 8.

RISING TO THE OCCASION: Webb City knocks off previously undefeated Nixa 

Posted on by Jason Peake

WEBB CITY, Mo. —  The Webb City Cardinals passed their biggest test of the season with flying colors.

Superior in all phases of the game, Webb City knocked off previously undefeated Nixa 28-0 in a key Central Ozark Conference showdown on Friday night inside a packed Cardinal Stadium.

Nixa entered the night unbeaten and ranked second in Class 6 by the Missouri Media. The Eagles (6-1) no longer have an unblemished record, as the Cardinals (6-1) earned a statement victory on Homecoming to stay in the hunt for a conference title. 

“Going into this game, I really felt like we were the underdog,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “There were probably more people that expected us to lose this game than win it. Maybe we played with a chip on our shoulder. Nixa had the most wins in our conference, so I think that brought out the best of us.” 

Webb City senior defensive back Treghan Parker noted the Cardinals simply rose to the occasion when faced with 2020’s biggest challenge to date.  

“We knew we had a great opportunity this week,” said Parker, who made a team-high seven solo tackles. “We knew we needed to get over the hump of just being good. I feel like we came out and did just that. Our coaches were really motivational this week. We practiced really hard and played as a team. We knew they were a great team, but our defense played outstanding.” 

Ranked second in Class 5, Webb City extended its winning streak to six.

“I’m just thrilled,” Roderique said. “We knew it was going to take a tremendous effort from our kids and we knew we’d have to do a great job of coaching during the week. I thought our kids stepped up in practice. Our attention to detail was much better than it’s been. I thought our guys just played with a lot of guts in all three phases.” 

Nixa coach John Perry was blunt in his postgame assessment. 

“It was a great test for us, but golly, they whooped us,” Perry said. “It is what it is. No excuses. They out-played us and they out-coached us. They were really, really good tonight. They were very consistent. They hammered us. I thought they were more physical. They did a fantastic job. That is a good football program. That’s the model of where we’re going. We’re just not there yet. To figure out how to be the best, you have to play the best.” 

Webb City’s formidable defense pitched a shutout against a Nixa squad that was averaging 40 points per game. The Cardinals limited the Eagles to 163 yards, with 83 passing and 80 rushing. Nixa completed just seven of 25 pass attempts, with two being picked off. 

“That’s a phenomenal effort by our defense,” Roderique said. “They’ve scored a lot of points this year and they’re really talented. Hats off to our defense. Our defense continues to get better every week.”

Webb City had 26 first downs, while Nixa had 10. The Cardinals, who led 14-0 at intermission and 21-0 entering the fourth quarter, compiled 386 yards, with 306 rushing and 80 passing. 

Senior running back Devrin Weathers ran 22 times for 132 yards, while senior quarterback Cole Gayman added 59 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns. A Kansas State recruit, Weathers has rushed for at least 100 yards in every game this season.

“I thought he got better as the game went on,” Perry said. “He got stronger.”

Webb City’s Matt McDaniel was credited with nine tackles, while Brayden Hollingsworth and Brentan Wilson made four stops apiece and Jaystin Smith had three.  

Roderique noted he was proud of his special teams unit as well.

“I’m proud of all three phases tonight,” Roderique said. 

Nixa’s Ramone Green ran 19 times for 66 yards. Austin McCracken passed for 47 yards and Reid Potts added 36 passing yards. Nate Nixon led the receivers with three catches for 34 yards. 

JACKSON MAKES FIRST START 

Webb City junior running back Dupree Jackson made his first start in the backfield, as Cade Wilson is now out for the season after suffering a leg injury last week at Branson. 

Jackson ran 18 times for 102 yards with a touchdown.  

“I’m just excited,” Jackson said. “I was nervous at the beginning, but once the game got started it was all right. This win is big. It boosts our confidence for sure. But we can’t get satisfied. We have to get better.” 

GAME RECAP

In Southwest Missouri’s most anticipated contest of 2020, the Cardinals took an early lead when Gayman sprinted into the end zone on a 10-yard QB keeper with 1:07 left in the opening frame, with Cameron Clark booting the PAT kick. The hosts had good field position on the drive thanks to an Eli Goddard interception. 

Nixa had a golden opportunity after recovering a Webb City fumble on the 21-yard line. But on the first play of the ensuing possession, Webb City’s Shane Noel intercepted a McCracken pass in the end zone. 

“With a really good football team, when your offense makes a mistake, your defense picks them up,” Roderique said. “That’s a great team effort. Offense complements defense and vice versa.” 

The Cardinals made the Eagles pay for the turnover. Capping a methodical 16-play, 80-yard drive, Jackson scored on a 7-yard scamper, giving the Cardinals a 14-0 advantage at the 3:31 mark of the second quarter. 

Webb City’s defense limited Nixa to just 68 yards in the first half while the Cardinals racked up 200 yards, including 165 on the ground. 

“They get three, four or five yards per carry and just do that over and over without making any frickin mistakes,” Perry said. “It’s hard to stop.” 

The Cardinals put together a 10-play, 91-yard scoring drive in the third period, capped by a 13-yard touchdown strike from Goddard to a diving Cohl Vaden that made it 21-0. Goddard came into the game in a hurry after Gayman’s helmet came off on the previous play.  

“That was a phenomenal catch by Cohl,” Roderique said. “There’s not many kids that can make that play. And Eli did that kind of thing all of last year. He comes in and throws strikes.” 

After Nixa turned it over on downs, Gayman finished off a 76-yard drive with a 10-yard QB keeper, putting the Cardinals comfortably up 28-0. 

Sustaining drives proved crucial for the Cardinals. 

“We had to be able to control the ball,” Roderique said. “If you can do that, you’re giving yourself a chance. I thought that really worked out well. That 91-yard drive was a huge plus and gave us a lot of confidence.”

The Eagles turned it over on downs twice in the fourth quarter.

The Webb City football program has never lost to Nixa.

Carthage is now the lone remaining unbeaten team in the COC, while Webb City and Nixa have just one loss apiece.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City travels to Ozark (5-2) in Week 8, while Nixa hosts Carl Junction (3-4). 

 

WEBB CITY 28, NIXA 0

Nixa              0     0     0    0—0

Webb City   7     7     7    7—28 

Scoring Summary

WC: Cole Gayman 10-yard run (Cameron Clark kick)

WC: Dupree Jackson 7-yard run (Clark kick)

WC: Cohl Vaden 13-yard pass from Eli Godard (Clark kick)

WC: Gayman 6-yard run (Clark kick)

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