LAST WEEK:Carl Junction 28, Republic 21; Webb City 28, Nixa 0
LAST YEAR: Nixa, 21-14
OUTLOOK:Carl Junction is coming off its second straight win of the season to climb within a game of .500. The Bulldog offense started slow, but the defense held Republic in check until the points starting showing up. Quarterback Alex Baker completed 13-of-28 passes for 211 yards while throwing touchdown passes to Noah Southern, Brady Sims and Cole Stewart. Sims had a very productive game on the ground, carrying the ball 32 times for 178 yards.
Nixa suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Webb City. Running back Ramone Green was held to 66 yards rushing on 19 carries, while quarterback Austin McCracken passed for 47 yards and Reid Pitts passed for 36 yards. The option offense will look to get back going against the Bulldogs.
LAST WEEK: Ozark 31, Neosho 7; Branson 48, Willard 14
LAST YEAR: Willard, 28-7
OUTLOOK: Neosho is coming off its seventh loss of the season, looking to get into the win column for the first time against the Tigers. Eric Siler ripped off a 50-yard run in the third quarter before the Wildcats’ drive ultimately stalled in the red zone. Siler later found the end zone from 4 yards near the two minute mark of the fourth quarter.
LAST WEEK: Carthage 41, Joplin 20; Carl Junction 28, Republic 21
LAST YEAR: Carthage 54-34
OUTLOOK: Carthage remained unbeaten with a strong win against Joplin. Carthage’s offense methodically controlled the pace of the game and the clock with its impressive rushing attack and strong play along the offensive line. Quarterback Patrick Carlton, who had four touchdowns, and running back Luke Gall combined to rush for over 200 yards in the win. Gall also had 68 yards receiving on just two catches.
Republic gained 158 yards off offense against the Bulldogs, with 90 of them coming on the ground. Gavyn Beckner completed 5-of-11 passes for 75 yards, while Avery Moody rushed eight times for 39 yards. Jacob Sterling rushed three times for 27 yards and a touchdown and had one reception for 31 yards. Ezequiel Meads caught four passes for 17 yards and a touchdown.
LAST WEEK: Carthage 41, Joplin 20; Branson 48, Willard 14
LAST YEAR: Joplin 55-7
OUTLOOK: Joplin is coming off a loss against area rival Carthage, where the Tigers controlled the pace of play with a strong rushing attack. Joplin trailed 28-7 at the half but rallied with a scoring drive out of the locker room, which was followed by a defense three-and-out and an 80-plus yard punt return score by Nathan Glades to get within one score of the lead before Carthage pulled away. Glades rushed for 70 yards and added 56 yards receiving to his long punt return. Always Wright completed 19-of-28 passes for 218 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
Cristian Berumen and David Hadaller were a rushing force against Willard last week. Berumen had touchdown runs of 45 yards, 36 yards and 9 yards. Hadaller added a 56-yard rushing score to go along with a 6-yard rushing touchdown. The Pirates also got a defensive score on a 20-yard pick-6 by Elijah Orris.
REPUBLIC, Mo. — The third-seeded Carthage Tigers advanced to the Class 5 District 6 championship game behind a complete-game shutout from Jensyn Elder in a 6-0 win over the second-seeded Republic Tigers on Wednesday.
With Elder dealing, Carthage broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run from Presley Probert in the second inning. Carthage added another run in each of the third and fourth innings before putting the game away with a three-run seventh frame.
Carthage (19-11) takes on top-seeded Kickapoo (22-3) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Republic High School.
Elder dazzled in the circle, scattering two hits, walking two and striking out four over seven innings of work to earn the win.
Avery Romans took the loss for Republic after allowing six runs on 12 hits, with six strikeouts, in a complete-game effort.
With a 1-0 lead after the Probert homer in the second, Landry Cochran led off the third inning with a double to center field before coming around to score two batters later on an RBI single to left field by Makayla Jennings to push the lead to 2-0.
Carthage used two-out magic in the fourth inning when Cochran came up with a line drive to left field to score Jordyn Jones, who reached base with an infield hit with one out in the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch, to go up 3-0.
Cochran registered her third hit of the game with a leadoff double to center to start the seventh inning. Katie Crowe followed with a bunt single to third, with an error on Republic allowing Cochran to score to make the score 4-0. Natalie Rodriguez singled to center in the next at-bat to score Crowe. Jennings made it four straight hits to start the seventh with a single to center, scoring Rodriguez in the process, to plate the final run and extending the lead to 7-0.
STATS
Cochran’s three hits, two doubles, led Carthage at the plate. She scored twice and had one RBI. Jennings was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Jones was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Elder and Mary Grace Richmond also recorded hits for Carthage.
Mara Lakey and AJ Fenske had the only hits for Republic.
Just four weeks ago, Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts were unable to compete for the Joplin High School girls tennis team.
Neither player took the court when the Eagles faced Ozark on Sept. 15 or Republic on Sept. 17, as Cardenas was sidelined with a nagging back injury, while Watts was dealing with an illness.
With that, competing at the state tournament wasn’t exactly a given for the Eagles’ No. 1 doubles team.
But one month later, Cardenas and Watts have overcome adversity in order to represent Joplin at the MSHSAA Class 3 state tennis championships on Thursday at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. Cardenas and Watts qualified for state by finishing second at the district tournament.
A junior, Cardenas is making her second straight state trip after qualifying in singles a year ago.
“I didn’t think I was going to get to go back this year because of my injury, so it’s awesome to be able to go back-to-back and get that state experience again,” Cardenas said before a recent practice.
A sophomore who is now 100 percent healthy, Watts is looking forward to her first trip to state.
“We lost some of our season, which was super disappointing, so I’m excited and super pumped up to compete at state,” Watts said. “Astrid is great to play with and we get along great. We’re just ready to go.”
Cardenas and Watts are 14-5 in doubles matches this season, but Joplin coach Jeff Williams noted that record is a bit deceiving.
“They’re 13-1 since they’ve come back to the lineup healthy,” Williams noted. “We’ve got two pretty solid players with Astrid and Emma. Coach (Richard) Perry has done a great job working with them. They are still learning the doubles strategy, but they’re improving daily. Hopefully they’ll have a good showing at state. Coming home with a medal would be really nice.”
Last year’s top singles player in the Central Ozark Conference, if not the entire region, Cardenas was forced to miss a large part of the regular season due to back issues.
“This season’s been tough,” Cardenas said. “I love to play and I physically can’t move like I could last year. It was tough sitting out because I really wanted to help the team.”
Cardenas added she’s still not 100 percent healthy.
“I’m getting there,” said Cardenas, who played only a handful of singles matches this fall. “I’m still doing physical therapy and getting shots to help my hips and my back.”
Cardenas noted she should be able to use last year’s state experience to her advantage this time around.
“Last year was exciting, but I was very nervous,” Cardenas said. “It was my first year there and I had no idea what it was like to play against such experienced players. It was a good experience and I think I learned a lot from it. I think I can handle the pressure better this year.”
The Eagles’ duo have finished the season strong. Cardenas and Watts captured the No. 1 doubles title at the COC tournament before finishing as the Class 3 District 6 runner-up to qualify for the state tourney.
Cardenas and Watts meet St. Joseph’s Academy’s Abigail Gaines and Elizabeth Choate in Thursday morning’s opening round of the double-elimination state event.
Cardenas said the keys to success are simple.
“Tennis in general is a very mental sport,” Cardenas said. “We have to keep each other hyped up and if we miss a point, we just have to move on to the next one and not think about the last one. I think we can do very well and win a few matches. And it should be a good experience for us.”
Williams said he has the goals set high for his program’s standouts.
“We’ve told the girls to not worry about where they get seeded or who they’re playing,” Williams said. “They should go in with the expectation that they can perform well, play well and that will give themselves a chance to advance. You’ve got to win one on Thursday. I think the girls are going in with good attitudes. They’ve been practicing hard and we’re hoping for the best. And after her injury, Astrid is playing as well as she’s played all season.”
Of course, regardless of what happens in Springfield, the Eagles can feel good about ending the season alongside the state’s best. A month ago, they weren’t even able to compete.
And, as Williams noted, both players will be back on the court next fall.
“We’re going to come back even better next year,” Watts said.
Joplin’s Astrid Cardenas and Emma Watts will compete at the state tennis tournament on Thursday. File photos by Shawn Fowler.
