PECULIAR, Mo. — With four runners finishing in the top 10, Joplin’s boys cross country squad captured the team championship at the Raymore-Peculiar Invitational on Saturday.
Competing in the large school division, Joplin finished on top of the team standings with 60 points.
Nixa was second with 69, while Lee’s Summit North (81) and Raymore-Peculiar (87) were third and fourth.
Joplin senior Hobbs Campbell was the runner-up with a time of 16 minutes, 33 seconds. Blue Springs’ Keagan Enicks took first in 16:06.
Joplin’s Ian Horton and Chance Tindall finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Horton crossed the line at 16:43, with Tindall clocking a time of 16:53. Eagles sophomore Grey Edwards took 10th in 17:13.
Also for the JHS boys, Parker Durham finished 45th in 18:46, Aidan Koch was 55th in 19:18 and Brady Honeycutt took 64th in 20:20.
There were 72 runners in the large school division, with 14 teams represented.
On the girls side, Joplin was led by Cylee Gilreath’s 28th place finish. She recorded a time of 22:36.
Also for the Eagles, Averi Burks finished 33rd, Meridyth Mai was 59th, Masyn Briggs took 64th, Isabella Cruse was 72nd and Annabelle Rutledge finished 78th.
The Eagles finished 10th in the team standings.
Blue Springs’ Abigail Brackenbury won the girls race in 19:18.
The top three teams were Raymore-Peculiar (34), Blue Springs (46) and Nixa (105).
NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho Wildcats scored 26 unanswered points during the first and second half to come away with a 55-29 win Friday night over their Central Ozark Conference rival Carl Junction at historic Bob Anderson Stadium.
For the second time in as many home games this season, Neosho won the coin toss, elected to receive, and just like the 79-72 win over Willard to open the season, the Wildcats came out and scored their first two possessions and never trailed Carl Junction.
The Wildcats led 22-0 late in the first quarter and then responded with the 26 unanswered after the Bulldogs trimmed it to 22-15 with eight minutes remaining before halftime.
The Wildcats’ defense and special teams forced five turnovers and senior running back Jared Siler broke three long touchdown runs in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Neosho, 2-1 overall and COC, partook in the traditional ringing of the victory bell, something that never gets old for players like Siler and their enthusiastic student section.
This is the first season Neosho has been able to ring the victory bell more than once since the 2018 Wildcat team won five home games.
“It’s awesome,” Neosho coach Brandon Taute said. “Our crowd support, our community support, our students have been awesome. It gets so loud here in the stadium. That’s such a huge factor for us in the game. They play a huge factor in our success, as well, and I’m extremely thankful for our student body and what they do for our kids.”
“It feels amazing because the last couple years we haven’t been able to get that many wins,” Siler said. “Two wins this year, it’s great.”
The Wildcats exceeded their scoring average by five points on Friday night, but it was their defense who stepped up in a big way after surrendering 137 combined points the first two weeks against Willard and Nixa.
“We played well in all three phases of the game tonight,” Taute said. “Obviously, our offense played well. We executed well. We had some mistakes here and there, but the kids overcame those things, and I was proud of them for doing that. The defense stepped up. We challenged them a little bit this week to prove the haters wrong. They did just that. They played with energy and confidence, and with a little bit of swagger to them. Our special teams did as well, and they forced some turnovers, made big plays and made them drive the field.”
“The defense played amazing tonight,” Siler said. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen them play my whole life.”
Three plays after Neosho stopped Carl Junction on fourth down inside the Neosho 20, Siler put Neosho ahead 41-15 at 8:11 in the third on a 70-yard touchdown run.
Siler added scoring runs of 31 and 32 with the latter putting the Wildcats ahead 55-22 early in the fourth.
“He’s such a tough runner,” Taute said. “He’s worked hard in the weight room to get stronger so he can wear people down. It starts with the big guys up front and they’ve done a great job all year paving the way for him. Then, our wide receivers on the perimeter blocking, springing those big plays, we tell them they’re the difference between a 20-yard gain and a touchdown. Those big runs, it’s all 11 guys on the field doing their jobs.”
“They’re amazing,” Siler said of all his blockers. “They opened up holes all game. I was just watching it come open.”
Neosho heads back on the road in Week 4 against conference and district foe Republic. The Tigers are 1-2 on the season after their 35-14 loss Friday against Webb City.
“We’ve gained a little bit of confidence,” Taute said. “Not just winning but being able to separate ourselves score wise in the second half, it was huge for our confidence and showing our kids that we’re capable of doing that and putting teams away.”
The Wildcats are currently third in the district standings behind leader Carthage (45 points) and Webb City (41) with 37.33 points, followed by Republic (26.33), winless Willard (20), and winless Parkview (10.33).
CARTHAGE, Mo. — Jon Guidie and his coaching staff saw it coming.
With 2:03 left in the game, his team held a 21-14 lead, but the Nixa Eagles had marched all the way down to the Tiger 10-yard line.
Senior quarterback Connor Knatcal zipped a pass into the end zone where Noah Engleman was waiting.
Most fans at David Haffner Stadium seemed to expect the Eagle field goal unit to tie the game, giving the Tigers a chance to win in the final 1:57, or a second chance in overtime as the crowd remained active and engaged. But Guidie said he anticipated Nixa coach John Perry’s next move.
“We had talked, ‘If they score, I bet they go for two,’” he said after the game. “Which was great, I thought that would be good, ‘Let’s get a stop right there and win the game.’ But they executed the play. They made one more play than we did.”
One more play and one more point were the difference as Nixa (3-0) came from behind to win 22-21, snapping a 23-game regular season winning streak for Carthage (2-1).
The Carthage defense converges on Nixa’s Ramone Green on Friday night. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
The decisive drive was set up by a pair of Tiger mishaps. With 8:12 left in the game and Carthage holding its one-score lead, Nixa went for it on fourth-down and 6 from the Carthage 47.
The Tigers made the stop, giving them a chance to make it a two-possession game moving into the late stages of the fourth quarter, but two plays later, 2021 Missouri Class 5 Player of the Year and Air Force commit Luke Gall lost a fumble around midfield.
The Carthage defense held, forcing a punt, but it rolled all the way to the 1-yard line, backing the offense up against its own end zone.
With little room to work with, the Tigers were forced to punt from their own 6, setting up the Eagles at the Tiger 33. Five plays later, Engleman scored.
“We had a couple of miscues there in the end,” Guidie said. “We turned the ball over and then we didn’t field a punt that we needed to. Just kind of let it slip through our hands. But, like I told the kids, man, those guys, other than those things, our effort was there all night. It really was, we played really, really, hard and they followed the game plan.”
That game plan was to burn clock on offense and keep the ball out of the hands of Knatcal, his multiplen targets and standout senior running back Ramone Green Jr., who entered the game averaging a first-down and some change (11 yards) per carry in the Eagles’ first two games.
Cooper Jadwin
Carthage accomplished that in the first half in particular, limiting Nixa to three offensive possessions in which Knatcal went 7-of-14 passing attempts for 96 yards and Green Jr. ran only six times for 29 yards.
Carthage converted on four fourth-down attempts in the first half and its second drive of the game lasted 20 plays, ending in a touchdown.
Gall finished with 171 rushing yards on 28 carries and two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Cooper Jadwin added 72 yards on 13 carries and a score of his own, to go with four completions on nine attempts and 74 yards through the air.
Guidie addressed his team after the game with a raucous celebration of Nixa players, coaches and fans in the background.
“There’s nothing you can say to make them feel any better,” he said. “You just want them to understand that that doesn’t deter us from our ultimate goal, which is a playoff run and getting back to that state championship game. That loss doesn’t deter us from that. I told them ‘Just be smart, get back here Monday and get back to work.’”
The Tigers will travel to face Carl Junction at Bulldog Stadium in Week 4.
Carthage hosted Nixa in a clash between state-ranked foes. All photos by Shawn Fowler.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Clinging to a one-score lead at the half, the Webb City Cardinals needed to rise to the occasion after intermission.
They did just that.
Webb City rode a strong second half to a 35-14 victory over Republic on Friday night in Central Ozark Conference action at Cardinal Stadium.
Up 14-7 at the break, the Cardinals outscored the Tigers 21-7 in the second half to earn what could be described as a hard-fought win in Week 3 of the 2022 season.
“I feel great because we had to earn this one,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “They made us earn this one. That’s a good football team and they play a physical style. It’s a team you have to be physically prepared for because of what they do. We persevered.
“I felt like we played better in the second half at times,” Roderique added. “We were probably more consistent on offense in the second half. Defensively, we got a couple of stops when we needed to in the second half.”
Ranked second in Class 5, the Cardinals won their second straight outing after dropping the season opener to Class 6 No. 4 Nixa. Webb City is now 24-0 all-time against Republic in football.
Webb City’s Breckin Galardo is brought down by the Republic defense on Friday night at Cardinal Stadium. Galardo scored three touchdowns. Photos by Israel Perez.
This was no easy victory for perennial power Webb City, Missouri’s all-time leader in state championships.
After recovering a fumble with great field position early in the game, Webb City appeared poised to get on the board first. But the Cardinals returned the favor on the next series, and Republic’s Cole Gimlin recovered a fumble and took it 77 yards for the game’s opening score.
Webb City tied it up on Breckin Galardo’s 3-yard touchdown run, along with the PAT kick by Trey Roets.
Colton Gordon’s first touchdown of the season, a 3-yard scamper, gave the Cardinals a 14-7 lead at halftime.
After the Cardinals forced the Tigers to punt early in the second half, Galardo’s second TD of the night, a 49-yard sprint, gave Webb City a 21-7 lead at the end of the third quarter.
But the Tigers pulled within seven with 11:48 left after a 23-yard touchdown run by Connor Sandridge and the PAT kick by Xavier Ulshafer.
Republic then recovered a Webb City fumble, taking over with just over 10 minutes to play with a chance to tie the game.
But the Webb City defense came up big, forcing a key turnover on downs. A.J. Bash recorded a big sack during the series, and the Tigers threw an incomplete pass on fourth down.
“That was a huge sequence,” Roderique said. “The offense made a mistake…we were hoping to punt. Turning the ball over on your side of the field is the last thing you want to do. But our defense stepped up and stopped them. It was huge.”
After the momentum-shifting defensive stand, Webb City’s offense went to work and extended the lead, putting the game out of reach.
Landon Johnson scored on a 33-yard QB keeper with 6:26 left for a 28-14 cushion. A 30-yard touchdown run by Galardo with 2:34 remaining, his third score of the night, accounted for the final score.
NAMES & NUMBERS
The Webb City attempts to tackle Republic’s Connor Sandridge.
Webb City compiled 372 yards of offense, with 364 rushing and eight passing.
The ground attack primarily featured Galardo and Gordon, as Cole Cavitt left the game with an apparent injury.
A junior, Galardo ran 24 times for 211 yards with three TD. A senior, Gordon added 67 rushing yards on 11 carries. Johnson, a senior QB, contributed 77 yards on eight attempts.
Webb City’s Week 1 starting running backs, Max Stovern and Omari Jackson, are both currently out of action due to injuries.
“You just have to have the next man up mentality,” Roderique said, adding he was pleased with how Galardo and Gordon performed. “Fortunately, we do have some depth at running back.”
Roets went 5-for-5 on PAT kicks, while sophomore Joseph DeGraffenreid returned two kicks for 51 yards.
Lucas Ott was credited with eight tackles, while Grayson Smith had seven. McQuade Eilenstein and Bash were credited with five tackles apiece.
Republic finished with 184 yards, 151 on the ground and 33 through the air.
The 5-9, 175-pound Sandridge ran 17 times for 117 yards.
“That kid’s a load to tackle,” Roderique said of Sandridge.
CARDS LOSE WASHINGTON TO INJURY
Coach Roderique confirmed that senior standout Dante Washington is out for the season due to a knee injury.
“It was a non-contact injury at practice,” Roderique said. “I feel terrible for him.”
Washington, an all-state caliber performer on both sides of the ball and special teams, was coming off a stellar performance last week at Carl Junction.
Against the Bulldogs, Washington scored on an 83-yard punt return, had a 37-yard rushing TD and also kicked extra points.
“With Dante being out, that takes away all the things that he does for us,” Roderique said. “He had a lot of roles on this football team. So, it will take a lot of different guys to step up.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City (2-1) is at Joplin (3-0) in Week 4. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Junge Field.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Joplin boys soccer opened the Parkview tournament with a shootout win over Liberty North, 4-3, on Friday.
Joplin’s Luciano Reyes had two goals, one in the 12th minute before finding the back of the net in the 40th minute to tie the game at 2-2. Adam Badr and Adam Montanez each had assists. Montanez also added a goal of his own in the 57th minute to give the Eagles the lead.
Ethan Decker tied the game up for Liberty North in the 75th minute on an unassisted goal.
Joplin’s Andrew Jordan had seven saves with 10 shots on goal and saved two out of five PKs.
Nick Onnen saved five of eight shots for Liberty North, while Steven Haley saved one of five PKs.
Joplin continues action in the Parkview tournament on Saturday.
OZARK, Mo. — Joplin rallied in the second half to win their second straight road contest 29-22 over Ozark on Friday.
The Eagles (3-0) trailed nearly the entire first half, going into the intermission looking at a 16-14 deficit. The Joplin defense slowed down the Ozark rushing attack in the second half, allowing the offense time to find a rhythm on the way to outscoring the Tigers 15-6 over the final two quarters en route to the win.
With the victory, Joplin improves to 3-0 on the season. Ozark falls to 0-3 following the loss.
GAME ACTION
After Joplin went three-and-out on the first possession of the game, Ozark started its first drive at the JHS 49 and marched its way to an 11-play scoring drive that culminated in a 1-yard score from Gage Depee on third-down and goal to give the Tigers a 7-0 advantage with 6:14 on the clock in the first quarter.
Joplin answered back with a nine-play drive that led to a score. A 20-yard connection on fourth-down and 2 from Joplin QB Hobbs Gooch to WR Davin Thomas down to the OHS 2-yard line. RB Quin Renfro took the ensuing handoff right across the goal line, tying the game at 7-7 with 2:49 to play in the first quarter.
The Tigers started at their own 9-yard line on the ensuing drive and marched down the field before Joplin stalled out Ozark, forcing Sam Clark into a 23-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead with 7:33 left in the first half.
Ozark found the endzone one more time before the intermission, with a 38-yard run by Jacob Kronebusch setting up a 31-yard touchdown pass from QB Brady Dodd to WR Garrett Ballard near the three-minute mark to give the Tigers a 16-7 lead.
Joplin answered back quickly, with Gooch finding RB Drew VanGilder on a shovel pass for a 16-yard touchdown with less than a minute to play in the first half, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to 16-14 by the intermission.
The Eagles’ defense came out of the locker room with adjustments made, allowing one first before forcing Ozark to punt on its first possession before forcing a three-and-out on the Tigers’ second drive.
Unfortunately, the first turnover of the game happened on the Eagles’ second drive when Gooch was picked off by Clark on second and long to give the Tigers the ball on their own 37. Ozark marched down the field and was forced into a fourth-down and goal from the 2-yard line just into the fourth quarter. Dupee took the handoff left on a dive and found paydirt with 10:33 left to play to push the lead to 22-14.
On the ensuing Joplin drive with the Eagles looking at a fourth-down and 6, Gooch found WR Terrance Gibson in stride all alone up the seam for a 43-yard touchdown. Gooch hooked up with WR Aidan Sampson on the ensuing 2-point conversion to tie the game at 22-all with less than eight minutes left in regulation.
Joplin’s defense came up big again, forcing the Tigers into a punt with the Eagles taking possession at their own 33 with 3:29 left in the game. After a pair of nice runs by Renfro, Gooch found Thomas in the flat on play action, with Thomas breaking loose and taking it to the house for a 50-yard touchdown to make the score 29-22 with 2:29 left in regulation.
As they did nearly the entire second half, the Joplin defense corralled the Tigers over the closing minutes to help seal the win with the Eagle offense in victory formation.
STATS
Gooch completed 12-of-23 passes for 208 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Renfro closed with 16 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown, while VanGilder carried three times for 33 yards and had one reception for 16 yards and a touchdown. Gibson had three receptions for 72 yards and a score, while Thomas had three receptions for 71 yards and a score.
Dodd completed 11-of-14 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown, Depee had 17 carries for 68 yards and totaled two touchdowns for Ozark.
UP NEXT
Joplin returns home to host Webb City (2-1) on Friday at Junge Stadium.
The host Cavaliers captured the team championship at the Thomas Jefferson Girls Tennis Invitational on Friday.
The Cavaliers had the first-place finisher in two of the four brackets — No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles. Thomas Jefferson finished second in No. 1 singles and third in No. 1 doubles.
The Cavaliers finished with 21.5 points, while North Kansas City was second with 16.5 points and Branson took third with 13.
There were eight teams in attendance, including local squads College Heights Christian, Webb City, Carthage and Neosho.
Thomas Jefferson’s Allison Ding was the runner-up at No. 1 singles.
Ding defeated Carthage’s Katie Barton 8-0 in the opening round and then topped Aurora’s Olivia Ray 8-3 in the semifinals. North Kansas City’s Sydney Fuger defeated Ding 8-0 in the bracket’s title match.
Jeanna Jeyaraj was the champion of the No. 2 singles bracket.
She defeated Neosho’s Lyndsey Doke 8-0 in the first round and then topped College Heights Christian’s Ella Bishop 8-3 in the semifinals.
In the title match, Jeyaraj beat North Kansas City’s Cora Skaggs 8-3.
Thomas Jefferson’s No. 1 doubles team of Kyla Yang and Mayson Solum finished third.
The Cavaliers defeated Neosho’s Keely Keeton-Claire Burghart 8-1, but then lost to Carthage’s Kianna Yates and Daniela Marquez 8-4 in the semifinals.
For third place, Yang and Solum defeated North KC’s Adele Merchant-Lilly Gerend 8-3.
Thomas Jefferson’s No. 2 doubles team of Warda Morsy and Jessica Joseph took first place.
The Cavaliers beat Aurora’s Adeline Patillo-Libby Sawyers 8-1 in the first round and then defeated Carthage’s Beverly Garcia and Abi Samuel 8-2 in the semifinals.
In the title match, Morsy and Joseph defeated Branson’s Carly Vanderpluym and Jasmine Tran 8-5.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS RESULTS
College Heights’ No. 2 doubles team of Avery Baker and Kayla Wicke took third place.
The Cougars beat North KC’s Ally Cadue-Onna Baker 8-2, but then dropped an 8-2 decision to Branson in the semifinals. For third place, Baker-Wicke beat Carthage’s Garcia-Samuel 8-3.
College Heights’ No. 1 doubles team of Emery Yantis and Jeanna Smathers won the fifth-place match 8-4 over Webb City’s Ally Ansley and Brynlee Hollingsworth.
The Cougars suffered an 8-0 loss to Branson and beat Aurora’s Kloey Boyd-McKenna Bradley 8-3 in the consolation semifinals.
CHC’s Natalie Brueggemann finished fifth at No. 1 singles.
After a first-round loss to Branson’s Avery Webber, Brueggemann beat Webb City’s Kinzlea Smith 9-8 (7-4) in the consolation semifinals before topping Neosho’s Claudia Martensen 8-4 for the consolation championship.
Bishop finished fourth at No. 2 singles.
She defeated Carthage’s Mireya Mendez-Lopez 8-0, lost to TJ’s Jeyaraj in the semifinals and then suffered an 8-6 setback to Aurora’s Emily Gearhart in the third-place match.
CARTHAGE RESULTS
Carthage’s Kianna Yates and Daniela Marquez took first place at No. 1 doubles.
The Tigers defeated Webb City’s Ansley-Hollingsworth 8-0 in the first round, beat TJ’s Yang-Solum 8-4 in the semifinals and edged Branson’s Andrea Fuentes-Sylvie Barbour 9-7 in the title match.
Garcia-Samuel took fourth at No. 2 doubles, beating Webb City’s Avery Terry-Averey Brown 8-2 before losses to Thomas Jefferson and College Heights.
Barton went 0-2 at No. 1 singles.
Mendez-Lopez finished fifth at No. 2 singles. After an opening round loss, Mendez-Lopez earned consolation bracket wins over Neosho’s Doke (8-5) and Branson’s Cassandra Carter (8-3).
WEBB CITY RESULTS
Ansley and Hollingsworth finished sixth at No. 1 doubles. The Cardinals lost to Carthage 8-0, beat Neosho 8-3 and then lost 8-4 to College Heights in the consolation final.
Terry and Brown finished sixth at No. 2 doubles. The Cardinals lost to Carthage, beat Aurora 8-6 in the consolation semifinals and then suffered an 8-2 loss to North KC in the fifth-place match.
Smith went 0-2 at No. 1 singles, while Ayla McDonald went 0-2 at No. 2 singles.
NEOSHO RESULTS
At No. 1 singles, Martensen suffered an 8-0 loss to Ray in the opening round but defeated Carthage’s Barton 8-5 before falling in the consolation final, settling for sixth place.
Doke went 0-2 at No. 2 singles.
Neosho’s doubles teams of Keely Keeton and Claire Burghart and Sydnee Minton and Lauren Nageotte both went 0-2.
AURORA HIGHLIGHTS
Aurora’s Ray defeated Branson’s Webber 8-4 in the third-place match at No. 1 singles, while teammate Gearhart won the third-place match at No. 2 singles.
Thomas Jefferson Invitational
Team standings: Thomas Jefferson 21.5, North Kansas City 16.5, Branson 13, Carthage 10.5, College Heights 9, Aurora 6, Webb City 3, Neosho 0.5.
