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PREP SOFTBALL: Nevada captures district championship

 

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. Top-seeded Nevada hammered second-seeded Warrensburg 11-1 on Friday in the championship game of the Class 4 District 7 softball tournament.

Nevada advanced to the quarterfinals, where they’ll host Platte County on Thursday at Bushwhacker Field. 

The Tigers took control of the district title game early, as Nevada plated four runs in both the first and second innings. 

Warrensburg pushed across a single tally in the fifth, but Nevada answered with three runs in the bottom half to end the game early via the run-rule. 

Peyton Eaton was the winning pitcher. She scattered four hits and struck out four in five innings. 

The Tigers had 10 hits. Bailey Ast, Skyler Burns, Kirstin Buck and Eaton had two hits apiece. 

Kara Phillips drove in three runs, while Claire Pritchett and Buck had two RBI apiece. Ast scored three runs from the leadoff spot, while Burns, Pritchett and Buck scored two runs apiece.

The Tigers defeated fourth-seeded Harrisonville 10-3 in the semifinals. 

Nevada is now 20-10 ahead of Thursday’s playoff game.

GIRLS TENNIS: Thomas Jefferson’s Ding advances to Day 2 of state tourney; Mountaineers compete in doubles

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding survived and advanced at the 47th MSHSAA Girls Tennis Championships on Friday at the Cooper Tennis Complex.

Ding went 2-1 in the Class 1 singles bracket to earn a spot in Saturday’s finals. 

In a hard-fought opening round match, Duchesne’s Mary Beckemeier edged Ding 3-6, 7-6, 10-8.

In the consolation round, Ding defeated Lutheran South’s Emma Peper 6-1, 6-0. In the consolation quarterfinals, Ding beat Harrisonville’s Morgan Evans 7-5, 6-4 to stay alive in the tourney.

On Saturday, Ding will take on Kennett’s Anelle Harris in the consolation semifinals. 

 

MOUNT VERNON DOUBLES TEAMS COMPETE

Mount Vernon had two doubles teams competing in Class 1.

Both squads won opening round matches. 

Mount Vernon’s Isabella Mosley and Allison Schubert defeated Trenton’s Astrid Soriano and Lydia Leinger 6-3, 6-2, while Brooke Loftus and Jessah Anderson defeated Bishop LeBlond’s Emily Weddle-Payton Netten 6-4, 6-3.

In the quarterfinals, Clayton’s Riley Reeves-Riley Zimmerman beat Loftus-Anderson 6-2, 6-3 and North County’s Lucy Pace-Katelynne Jones topped Mosley-Schubert 6-4, 6-1.

In the consolation quarterfinals, Bolivar’s McKinley Hedges-Brynley Waters defeated Mosley-Schubert 6-3, 6-3 and Willow Springs’ McKylie Cox-Madisyn Perkins topped Loftus-Anderson 6-4, 7-5.

 

PREP FOOTBALL: Nixa pulls away from Carl Junction 49-21

The final score didn’t really tell the tale of the game.

Despite falling 49-21, the Carl Junction Bulldogs (3-5) were largely competitive with the Nixa Eagles (7-1) for much of Friday night’s game.

Five interceptions and a fumble were largely the difference in the game, with the scoring being otherwise fairly even.

In fact, the Bulldogs held the lead for most of the first quarter, putting together a solid drive that took nearly 8 minutes off the clock and scoring first on a 3-yard run by quarterback Dexter Merrill  to make the score 7-0 with 3:55 left in the period.

Both teams went three and out on their following possessions and with time running out in the first quarter, the Eagles managed their first conversion of the game on a fourth-down-and-1 on a fake punt.

Nixa got on the board with 9:27 left in the half on a 30-yard pass from Connor Knatcal to Austin McCracken to tie the game at 7-7.

Nixa struck again with 6:52 in the half on a Spencer Ward 22-yard touchdown reception to go up 17-7.

On the next possession, an interception left Nixa on the Bulldog 32, but on the very next play Carl Junction returned the favor with 4:04 left in the half when CJ’s Jordan Woodruff busted a 14-yard run for a touchdown to tie the game at 14-14.

On the following kick off, however, Nixa busted loose for a massive return landing on the Bulldog 44.

With 1:42 left in the half, Ward punched it in for another TD and the Eagles were on top 21-14.

The Bulldogs attempted to answer back, but with just 18 seconds left in the half a fumble deep in their own territory set up another Nixa touchdown, and with three seconds left on the clock, a 16-yard pass to McCracken to make the score 28-14.

On the opening drive of the second half, Nixa’s Kael Combs caught a short pass and went 59 yards with 9:40 left in the quarter and after the kick the score was 35-14.

With 5:26 left in the third, a pitch to Woodruff for a 2-yard run brought the Bulldogs back at 35-21.

But just about two minutes later a pick-6 by Nixa’s Ty Harman brought the score to 42-21 with 3:31 to go in the period.

At the start of the fourth, the Bulldogs were driving but were again picked off, and a couple possessions later Nixa punched in with 2:51 left in the half from the 1 by John Gholson to make the score 49-21.

PREP FOOTBALL: Joplin survives against Branson 21-16 to get back in win column

BRANSON, Mo. — Joplin found itself in a one-score game late but held off Branson 21-16 on Friday to get back into the win column.

Joplin (7-1) jumped out in front on its second drive of the game before Branson used a halfback pass for a big play to tie the game by the end of the first quarter. The Pirates forced the Eagles into a turnover and turned it into a field goal for a 9-6 advantage. Joplin responded with a score to take the lead into the half and added a score out of the locker room to push the lead to 19-9. Branson used a pick-6 to cut the lead to three early in the fourth quarter before Joplin forced a safety late to help seal the win.

The Eagles currently sit in third in the Class 6 District 3 standings with 40.59 points. Nixa is in second at 43.32 and Lee’s Summit North in first at 43.68.

 

Joplin running back Quin Renfro eyes running room in the Eagles’ win over Branson on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

Joplin took the initial lead after marching down the field on its second drive to go up 6-0 on an Always Wright 5-yard touchdown run. Wright faked the second-down-and-goal handoff and kept it to the left before crossing the goal line.

Branson went to the trickeration near the end of the first quarter with running back David Hadaller connecting on a 64-yard halfback pass to Cooper Saxon for a touchdown to tie the game at 6-6. 

The Eagles looked like they would be taking the lead a few plays later when Wright found Terrance Gibson on a 50-yard deep ball up the seam before the ball was punched out from behind as Gibson crossed the 15-yard line with the Pirates recovering for a turnover.

Branson drove the ball deep into Joplin territory before a pair of penalties forced them into a 32-yard field goal try, which was converted by Cade Grimm. The make gave Branson a 9-6 lead with 3:34 to play in the first half.

After a long return down to the Branson 47 by All Wright, the Eagles were facing a fourth-down-and-6 in positive territory when Always Wright went up the near sideline to find a wide open Bruce Wilbert, who glided into the end zone for a score to give Joplin a 13-9 lead with 2:07 left to play in the first half.

Joplin scored first in the second half when RB Quinton Renfro broke off a 28-yard run for a touchdown at the 5:43 mark to give the Eagles a 19-9 advantage, making it a two-score game.

Branson climbed to within three points of the lead when Landon Atwood returned a Wright interception for a long touchdown to bring the score to 19-16 at the 10-minute mark.

Joplin turned the ball over on downs inside the Pirates’ 15-yard line on its ensuing drive, but the defense continued its strong play when DE Brayden Thomas came up with a safety for two points and possession, sealing the win.

Joplin wraps up the regular season next week, hosting Neosho at 7 p.m.

PREP FOOTBALL: Webb City upends Ozark on Senior Night

 

WEBB CITY, Mo. — On a Friday night where defensive stops were at a premium, Webb City upended Ozark 63-48 in a Central Ozark Conference shootout inside Cardinal Stadium.

“We won the game, but I don’t feel good about giving up 48 points,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “You play to try to win games and fortunately we had more than 48 tonight.” 

The Cardinals, who improved to 5-3, recognized their seniors before the game. 

Webb City scored 19 unanswered points in the first quarter before the two teams combined to put up 92 points in the final three frames. 

“Senior Night is always special,” Roderique said. “I thought we came out with a lot of energy and excitement. Offensively, we hit some quick scores early in the game. Defensively, we shut them down early in the game. So I was really pleased with that. Then it was just trading scores back and forth. We still have to get better.” 

Webb City senior running back Dupree Jackson sprints to the end zone during Friday’s game against Ozark. Photo by Israel Perez.

NAMES & NUMBERS

Webb City’s Gavin Stowell and Kaylor Darnell look to bring down Ozark’s Kadin Powers.

Ranked fifth in Class 5, Webb City had 539 yards of offense, with 397 on the ground and 142 through the air. 

Senior Cade Wilson led Webb City’s running attack with 205 yards on 13 carries with four touchdowns. Fellow senior Dupree Jackson added 138 yards on 13 carries with three scores. 

Landon Johnson completed 6 of 8 passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Dante Washington caught two passes for 74 yards and a TD. 

Washington also had three kick returns for 152 yards.

Senior linebacker Cooper Crouch was credited with 16 tackles with two sacks. 

Ozark (2-6) recorded 546 yards of offense, with 318 passing and 228 rushing.

Jace Easley had 78 rushing yards and Jack Bowers added 62 for the Tigers. 

Brady Dodd completed 16 of 19 passes with three touchdowns and also ran for three scores. Easley had 102 receiving yards.

Ozark ran 70 plays to Webb City’s 44.  

 

GAME RECAP

Webb City senior Cade Wilson scored four touchdowns in Webb City’s win over Ozark on Friday. Photo by Israel Perez.

On the first play from scrimmage, Wilson sprinted 65 yards to the end zone. Wilson’s 3-yard scamper made it 12-0 with 7:53 left in the first period.  

Webb City’s third drive ended when Wilson sprinted 57 yards to the house, as his third touchdown and Crouch’s PAT kick made it 19-0. 

Ozark got on the board early in the second quarter, but the Cardinals answered immediately, as Jackson broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run.  

The Tigers responded with a pair of scores, a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jace Whately and a 3-yard QB keeper by Dodd.

That trimmed Webb City’s lead to 25-21 with 2:14 left in the second quarter. 

Wilson’s fourth TD of the night, a 15-yard run, followed by a two-point conversion, gave Webb City a 33-21 advantage at the conclusion of the high-scoring opening half.

The second half was nearly even, as both teams had two scores apiece in both the third and fourth quarters. 

Webb City’s third quarter scores came on a 20-yard pass to Jonah Spieker and 1-yard run by Jackson.

The Cardinals led 49-35 entering the fourth quarter, but the Tigers pulled within seven with 9:30 remaining on a QB keeper from Dodd. 

The hosts put the game away with a pair of unanswered touchdowns. Jackson scored on a 5-yard run and Washington hauled in a 39-yard pass from Johnson, extending Webb City’s lead to 63-42 with just 2:26 left on the clock.

Ozark’s Easley caught a 20-yard TD reception with 1:15 remaining for the final margin. 

 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Webb City ends the regular season at Willard (0-8) next Friday. 

 

WEBB CITY 63, OZARK 48

Ozark              0       21    14     13  — 48

Webb City    19      14    16     14   — 63

 

SCORING SUMMARY

WC: Cade Wilson 65 run (Kick failed)

WC: Wilson 3 run (Kick failed)

WC: Wilson 57 run (Cooper Crouch kick)

OZ: Jake Beets 3 run (Jace Easley kick)

WC: Dupree Jackson 46 run (Kick failed)

OZ: Jace Whately 20 pass from Brady Dodd (Easley kick)

OZ: Brady Dodd 3 run (Easley kick)

WC: Wilson 15 run (Jackson run)

OZ: Will Scheer 39 pass from Dodd (Easley kick)

WC: Jonah Spieker 20 pass from Johnson (Pass to Trey Roets)

OZ: Dodd 1 run (Easley kick)

WC: Jackson 1 run (Pass to Kaden Turner)

OZ: Dodd 1 run (Easley kick)

WC: Jackson 5 run (Washington kick)

WC: Washington 39 pass from Johnson (Washington kick)

OZ: Easley 20 pass from Dodd (Pass failed)

 

Webb City QB Landon Johnson picks up a gain on the ground on Friday night. Photos by Israel Perez.

PREP FOOTBALL: Carthage holds off Republic to stay undefeated; Guidie wins 150th as Tigers coach

 

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Separated by less than 18 minutes of clock time, Republic threw two passes into the Carthage end zone that, if caught, would’ve changed the course of the game immeasurably. 

With less than a minute left in the first half, a would-be game-tying touchdown fell to the ground, and the Tigers were flagged for offensive pass interference to boot.

Then, with just under seven minutes in the game, a Republic receiver failed to track down a throw that would’ve brought them within a touchdown at 28-21.

Both fourth-down plays, they instead became turnovers on downs, preserving leads for Carthage. 

Those close calls and a consistent, if incomplete, rushing attack from Republic had Jon Guidie feeling like his 150th career win as Carthage coach had been a much closer game than the 35-14 margin displayed on the scoreboard when the clock hit all zeroes.

“We knew that going in … they’re a much improved football team,” he said.  “And they played great tonight, it’s a hard offense to defend. I thought our kids in the second half bowed up a little bit and got a couple key stops for us, and that’s what we wanted at halftime; ‘Guys, come out and get a stop and we can put this thing out of reach.’”

The first drive that ended in a turnover on downs had been a 15-play slog with 13 of those going for 5 yards or less when Republic quarterback Avery Moody’s heave hit the turf. 

A few plays later, Guidie and his Tigers faced their own fourth-down dilemma from the red zone. 

At the Republic 11, quarterback Caden Kabance pitched to running back Luke Gall to the right side, then, with the attention squarely on Gall, swung out wide down the left sideline, where the junior running back gave up his full head of steam and instead threw Kabance a dart to the end zone.

“We said at halftime, ‘That was a 14-point swing right there,’” Guidie said. “We were able to get the ball, put a little drive together ourselves, went for it on fourth down, little trick play to Caden and, yeah, I think that might have been the play of the game there, that fourth down stop.”

Guidie said he and his staff had been “itching to call it” after putting the halfback pass in the gameplan on Wednesday. 

Despite the incomplete passes, Moody carried the load for Republic on offense, carrying the ball 32 times, totaling 162 yards. The slow-but-effective, marching style to Republic’s offense meant it was on the field for 64 snaps, exactly half of them Mooney runs. 

Though Republic seemed to nearly figure out the Carthage defense, Gall and Kabance did what they’ve done on the other side of the ball all season: Republic managed to stop the attack only once on the night, ironically forcing a three-and-out on a drive the Tigers began at the 50-yard line thanks to an onside kick attempt that went out of bounds.

Gall and Kabance combined for 380 total yards — of course, sharing 11 of them on the former’s pass to the latter. Gall finished with 218 yards rushing to Kabance’s 122. 

“That one-two punch of (Kabance) and Luke has been pretty special this year,” Guidie said. 

Friday night’s win sends Carthage into the final week of the regular season undefeated at 8-0. 

The Tigers will face the Nixa Eagles, 7-1, whose only loss came at the hands of Joplin, 28-25 in Week 2. 

With a win, Carthage will have its first outright Central Ozark Conference championship since 2016.

“I think it would mean a lot to these guys,” Guidie said. “They deserve it, they put the work in, they put the time in, they show up every single day with great attitudes. We had some goals at the beginning of the season and that certainly was one of them.”

 

CARTHAGE 35, REPUBLIC 14

Republic   7     0     7     0—14 

Carthage  7    14    7     7—35

SCORING SUMMARY

CAR: Luke Gall 47 run ( Chris Mejia kick)

REP: Avery Moody 4 run (Marco Donjuan kick)

CAR: Caden Kabance 2 run (Mejia kick)

CAR: Kabance 11 pass from Gall (Mejia kick)

CAR: Gall 53 run (Mejia kick)

REP: Moody 1 run (Donjuan kick)

CAR: Gall 55 run (Mejia kick)

 

DISTRICT SOFTBALL: Webb City rallies for 3-2 win over McDonald County in the district championship

NEOSHO, Mo. — Down to their final three outs, the Webb City Cardinals rallied for three runs in the seventh inning on the way to a 3-2 win over McDonald County in the Class 4 District 6 championship game on Friday.

The Mustangs end the season with a 24-7 record and graduate seniors Madeline McCall, Melanie Gillmig, Mariana Salas, Madison Grider, Adasyn Lynch, and Zoe Parish.

IN THE CIRCLE

Laney Taylor earned the complete-game win after allowing two runs on four hits, three walks and four strikeouts in seven innings.

McCall took the tough-luck loss after giving up three runs on five hits, four walks and 11 strikeouts.

GAME ACTION

The Mustangs used the long ball to take the lead in the bottom of the second. Jacie Frencken jumped all over the first pitch she saw and drove it over the wall for a solo home run to give McDonald County a 1-0 lead.

McDonald County added insurance in the bottom of the fifth inning. Parish drew a walk with one out in the inning and came around to score later in the frame off a deep single from Nevaeh Dodson to push the lead to 2-0.

It all came down to the team’s final three outs for Webb City after going scoreless for the first six innings of play. Kaylyn Gilbert started the top of the seventh off with a triple to right-center field. Gilbert came around to score on an Emalee Lamar single to trim the lead to 2-1. 

After a lineout from Lauren Hicks for the second out and a walk to Ripley Shanks, Dawsyn Decker singled over the third baseman to load the bases. Peyton Hawkins followed with a single up the middle that got through the wickets that pushed across two runs home to give the Cardinals a 3-2 lead.

UP NEXT

Webb City hits the road for a matchup against Rolla in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4 state tournament on Oct. 21.

PREP FOOTBALL: Neosho earns first win against Willard 21-14

NEOSHO, Mo. — Neosho cashed in on its first win of the season after battling to a 21-14 win over Willard on Friday at Bob Anderson Stadium.

The Wildcats (1-7) jumped out in front in the first quarter before the Tigers (0-8) tied the game up midway through the second period. Neosho and Willard traded scores to keep the game tied before the Wildcats found the end zone with less than two minutes to play. The Wildcats held Willard from scoring in a goal-to-goal situation as time expired to preserve the win.

Neosho jumped out in front on its second drive of the game when Jared Siler broke free for a 28-yard touchdown run up the middle, weaving his way to the pylon of the end zone to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter.

Willard’s Gary Walker tied the game up with a 43-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

Neosho battled back across with the goal line in the third quarter when Siler found paydirt for a second time with a 2-yard run near the six-minute mark to give the Wildcats a 14-7 lead.

Willard tied the game up at 14-14 with 7:45 left in the game after Tyler Janes crossed the goal line from 2 yards out.

Neosho took the lead back with less than two minutes to play when Siler rushed for a touchdown from 6 yards out to make the score 21-14 with 1:55 left to play. The touchdown was set up by a long pass from Quenton Hughes to Isaiah Green.

The Tigers drove the ball down inside the Wildcats’ 10 with time dwindling, but Neosho prevented Willard from crossing the goal line with enough stops by the time time expired.

Neosho closes out the regular season with a road matchup at Joplin on Friday.