ST. PETERS, Mo. —The Joplin High School boys swim team concluded the 2020 season alongside the state’s best at Friday’s MSHSAA Class 2 Swimming and Diving Championships at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.
Joplin’s 200-yard freestyle relay team of Zane Newman, Jacob Glenn, Zane Reavley and Ben Wardlow finished 20th with a time of 1:34. The time is a new personal best for the Eagles.
Wardlow finished 21st in the 100 freestyle with a time of 50.54 and also took 22nd in the 50 free with a personal best time of 22.65.
Wardlow and Reavley are seniors, while Glenn and Newman are sophomores.
Day: November 14, 2020
FOOTBALL: Carthage’s perfect season comes to an end with first blemish against Webb City
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Despite an undefeated regular season, the Carthage Tigers’ 2020 football campaign has come to an end. The Tigers’ normally reliable offense sputtered in a 42-21 defeat by rival Webb City at David Haffner Stadium on Friday night.
The win crowned the Cardinals (10-1) Class 5 District 6 champions, and Carthage (9-1) was left with the runner-up trophy after winning the Missouri Class 5 state championship a year ago.
“You never have words, you don’t prepare anything for something like that,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said of his postgame message to his players whose seasons, and some their high school careers, have come to an end. “You just want them to know that we’re still proud of them and that we love them and we’re going to be here for them if they need anything. The result tonight, that doesn’t dictate who they are as people or who they’re going to become as people.”
With 2:29 left in the second quarter, Carthage forced the Webb City offense to punt, which would have been the Tigers’ first defensive stop of the game, and a possible turning point. Trailing 21-7, Carthage potentially had a chance to put together a scoring drive and go into the half looking at just a single-score deficit.
Instead, though, the punt was fumbled by the Tigers around midfield, and after several players from each side appeared to scoop up the ball only to lose control, the Cardinals recovered it and set up shop at the Tigers’ 43-yard line. Two plays later, Webb City quarterback Cole Gayman underthrew a pass to Mekhi Garrard down the sideline, but the senior wide receiver read the throw and came back to it, shaking his defender in the process for a 40-yard score.
That touchdown was the second of three unanswered by the Cardinals that stretched the score to 35-7, where it would stay until Carthage’s senior quarterback Patrick Carlton got the Tigers close with his arm, going three-of-five through air for 38 yards on the drive, before scoring on the ground from 5 yards out with 8:04 left in the game.
“It was huge,” Guidie said of the swing the muffed punt had in the game. “It’s been something we worked on all week long, our punt return. We didn’t like where we were at with it. We put two kids back to ensure we were going to field it. We tried to come up and make a play on it, missed it. And then we gave up the big fade for a score there. Not much fun at halftime, but we challenged them to come out and have some pride in themselves, and I thought they came out and battled pretty well in the second half.”
The next of those three consecutive Webb City scoring drives not only put points on the board for the Cardinals, but took valuable time Carthage needed to mount a comeback off the game clock. The Cardinals took the opening kickoff of the second half and burned nearly six minutes on an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 39-yard touchdown run by senior running back Devrin Weathers. Weathers finished the night with 152 rushing yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.
Gayman was efficient through the air, completing four of his seven passes for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Carthage’s Carlton continued his usual production, totaling 249 yards of offense on nine of 20 passes and 26 rushing attempts, but the rest of the Tigers’ attack combined for just 76 total yards.
LEAVING NO DOUBT: Webb City rolls past Carthage in district title game
CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals entered the highly-anticipated showdown at Carthage in an unfamiliar position — the underdog.
But by night’s end, there was no doubt who was still the top dog in Southwest Missouri.
Looking nothing like a lower seed, second-seeded Webb City took control early and rolled to a convincing 42-21 victory over top-seeded and previously undefeated Carthage on Friday night in the Class 5 District 6 championship game at a packed David Haffner Stadium.
Webb City (10-1) captured a district championship for the 21st straight season and advanced to next Friday’s quarterfinal round, where the Cardinals will host Lebanon (7-3).
“I’m just amazed at the kids’ effort and how hard they played,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “We had a fantastic week of practice. I’m just so, so proud of our players and coaches. Playing that team brought the best out of us. I can’t say enough about the effort of our kids.”
Carthage ends the season at 9-1. The loss snapped Carthage’s 18-game win streak and put an end to the Tigers’ hopes of repeating as state champion.
The longtime rivals who have been getting together on the gridiron for more than 100 years met for the first time as a pair of defending state champions.
And perennial power Webb City, the 15-time state champ, was in an unfamiliar position—on the road as the lower seed. The Tigers were the team that came into the night as the top seed with an unblemished record.
“We put on our scouting report that they were the defending state champions, they were undefeated and they were the No. 1 seed,” Roderique said.
Webb City junior wide receiver and defensive back Cohl Vaden, who hauled in a touchdown pass, ran for another score and recovered a muffed punt, said the Cardinals were not only highly-motivated for the clash, but also well-prepared.
“This win is big for our program,” Vaden said. “There was a lot of hype coming into this game. We just wanted to play next week. We had a good week of practice. Our coaches tell us everything they know.”
With a solid performance on both sides of the ball, and taking advantage of Carthage’s miscues, Webb City took a 28-7 lead into halftime. The Cardinals led 35-7 entering the final frame.
Offensively, the Cardinals were able to sustain drives. Defensively, Webb City limited Carthage to 102 yards in the first half.
“You try to control the game with your offense,” Roderique said. “That’s grinding it out and getting first downs. The defense didn’t give up big plays. Our quarterback played well. The guys up front played well. We had a good plan going in and the kids executed it pretty well.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Webb City racked up 349 yards on 49 plays, with 246 rushing and 103 passing.
Senior Devrin Weathers ran 19 times for 152 yards with a pair of scores. Senior quarterback Cole Gayman added 54 rushing yards on 12 carries, while junior Dupree Jackson added 31 yards on 10 carries.
Gayman completed 4-of-7 passes for 103 yards with two touchdowns, with Mekhi Garrard and Vaden hauling in touchdown receptions.
Webb City had no turnovers and just one penalty.
Defensively, Treghan Parker made seven tackles, Eli Goddard had six, Cooper Crouch made 5.5 and Brayden Hollingsworth added five.
Carthage finished with 325 yards on 62 plays, 202 rushing and 123 passing.
The Tigers had five penalties and two costly turnovers. Senior quarterback Patrick Carlton ran 26 times for 126 yards in his prep finale.
GAME RECAP
Carthage’s first drive ended when Carlton’s pass was intercepted by Webb City’s Crouch, and the Cardinals took over with great field position on the 28.
Webb City needed just three plays to score, as Weathers sprinted to a 15-yard touchdown at the 7:22 mark of the opening frame.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 14-0 when Jackson plunged into the end zone from 1-yard out on the first play of the second quarter. The TD capped a seven-play, 64-yard drive.
Carthage’s Justin Sneed took the ensuing kick 81 yards to get the Tigers on the board with a much-needed response.
But the visitors answered with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Gayman completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Vaden, giving the Cardinals a 21-7 lead with 7:33 left in the second quarter.
“It was a boot,” Vaden said. “He bit and I went up. It was a good ball.”
After Webb City was forced to punt late in the first half, the Tigers were unable to secure the ball. Vaden recovered the loose ball that bounced several times.
“I was trailing behind and I saw the ball pop up and I was there,” Vaden said. “I think that was pretty big.”
“That was a big one,” Roderique said. “I didn’t know if that ball was ever going to get picked up by anybody. It bounced around and about 25 guys touched it.”
Two plays later, Gayman connected with a wide open Garrard on a 40-yard touchdown strike. The score gave Webb City a comfy 21-point cushion.
The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half and put together an 11-play, 80-yard drive, with Weathers sprinting to a 39-yard touchdown, going nearly untouched up the middle on a counter. That made it 35-7.
The Tigers threatened late in the third quarter, but an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs.
Carlton scored on a 5-yard QB keeper with 8:04 remaining, but a 9-yard run by Vaden on a reverse with 4:31 left made it 42-14.
“Gary (Clinton) got a good block on the edge,” Vaden said. “That allowed me to walk in.”
Carthage’s Hudson Moore hauled in an 8-yard touchdown reception with just under a minute to play for the final margin.
It was Carthage’s first setback since they lost to Webb City 32-7 in Week 5 of the 2019 season.
Up next for the Cardinals is Lebanon, a 52-18 winner over Glendale. The quarterfinal clash will be at Cardinal Stadium on Friday, with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
MORE ON CARTHAGE
For more on Carthage, including thoughts from Tigers coach Jon Guidie, click the link below to read Jordan Larimore’s story.
FOOTBALL: Carthage’s perfect season comes to an end with first blemish against Webb City
CLASS 5 DISTRICT 6 CHAMPIONSHIP
WEBB CITY 42, CARTHAGE 21
Webb City 7 21 7 7—42
Carthage 0 7 0 14—21
Scoring Summary
WC: Devrin Weathers 15 run (Cameron Clark kick)
WC: Dupree Jackson 1 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Justin Sneed 81 kick return (Caleb Calvin kick)
WC: Cohl Vaden 37 pass from Cole Gayman (Clark kick)
WC: Mekhi Garrard 40 pass from Gayman (Clark kick)
WC: Weathers 39 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Patrick Carlton 5 run (Calvin kick)
WC: Vaden 9 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Hudson Moore 8 pass from Carlton (Calvin kick)
Records: Webb City 10-1, Carthage 9-1.
FOOTBALL: West Plains knocks off Carl Junction in Class 4 District 5 title game
WEST PLAINS, Mo. — Carl Junction rallied back from a 14-point deficit in the second half before West Plains pulled away to a 41-26 win in the Class 4 District 5 title game on Friday.
The Bulldogs took the lead with the first touchdown before the Zizzers responded with three unanswered scores, ultimately taking a 28-14 advantage into the intermission. Carl Junction scored twice unanswered out of the locker room to cut the lead to 28-26, but West Plains used a Bulldog turnover to score twice inside 90 seconds of game action in the fourth quarter to build an insurmountable lead on the way to the win.
The Bulldogs, who turned it over four times in the loss, end the season with a 6-6 record. West Plains improved to 10-1 and will face Helias Catholic in the quarterfinals.
Carl Junction took the opening possession but was bitten by the turnover early, as Alex Baker was picked off on the second play from scrimmage. The Bulldogs’ defense returned the favor on their first possession when Blake Poorman picked off West Plains QB Dagen Kenslow and returned it deep into Zizzers’ territory.
A 17-yard completion from Baker to Drew Patterson gave the Bulldogs a first down with a goal-to-go situation. After three unsuccessful attempts inside the 5-yard line, running back Brady Sims found paydirt from 4 yards out to the left pylon to give Carl Junction a 7-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first.
West Plains responded with a nearly seven-minute drive that ended with Connor Lair punching it in from 3 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 with 58 seconds left in the first quarter.
After a Bulldog three-and-out, the Zizzers took their first lead of the game when Kenslow found Lair over the middle on third down for a 40-yard touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 10:33 left in the first half.
Carl Junction drove into West Plains territory on the ensuing drive before Baker was picked off for a second time in the first half, but again the Bulldog defense answered with a turnover of their own, forcing Titus Seley into a fumble.
The Bulldogs followed with a turnover on downs, and after a 38-yard run by Kenslow— reversing the field on the long gain — the Zizzers took a 21-7 lead over Carl Junction after Seley crossed the goal line from a yard out with 4:16 left in the first half.
It looked as if the Bulldogs were going to be forced into a three-and-out punt on their next possession, but a roughing-the-punter penalty on West Plains gave Carl Junction new life. On the ensuing play, Baker found Drew Patterson on a deep route for a 65-yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to 21-14 with 1:44 left in the first half.
West Plains needed just 1:33 to find the scoreboard again, with Seley the benefit of a hook-and-ladder lateral off the completion from Kenslow for a 34-yard touchdown with seven seconds on the clock to send the Zizzers into the intermission with a 28-14 lead over Carl Junction.
Carl Junction found the scoreboard first in the second half when Baker found Drew Beyer over the middle on play-action for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:50 left in the third quarter, with the point-after kick no good, to trim West Plains’ lead to 28-20.
After forcing a punt, the Bulldogs used a 13-yard pass from Baker to Kyler Perry and a 10-yard pass from Baker to Noah Southern to set up a 1-yard rushing score from Sims. The two-point conversion was no good, cutting West Plains’ lead to 28-26 with 9:58 in regulation.
The Zizzers pushed their lead back to two possessions following a 3-yard touchdown run from Seley. Baker was intercepted on the following CJ drive, which turned into a 13-yard touchdown for Seley on the next West Plains’ possession to boost the lead to 41-26 with less than seven minutes in regulation, swinging the momentum for good.
SCORING SUMMARY
Carl Junction 7 7 6 6 — 26
West Plains 7 21 0 13 — 41
FIRST QUARTER
CJHS—Brady Sims 4 run ( kick)
WPHS—Connor Lair 3 run ( kick)
SECOND QUARTER
WPHS—Lair 40 pass from Dagen Kenslow ( kick)
CJHS—Drew Patterson 65 pass from Alex Baker ( kick)
WPHS—Titus Seley 34 pass from Kenslow ( kick)
THIRD QUARTER
CJHS—Drew Beyer 11 pass from Baker (kick fail)
FOURTH QUARTER
CJHS—Sims 1 run (two-point fail)
WPHS—Seley 5 run (kick)
WPHS—Seley 13 run (two-point fail)
