WEBB CITY, Mo. — The top-seeded Webb City Cardinals took care of business and dispatched Kansas City Ruskin 6-0 in the district quarterfinals on Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.
Webb City started out slowly against Ruskin with the Cardinals’ first goal coming with 16 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in the first half on a penalty kick from senior Alex Flores.
Flores scored his second goal late in the first half and sent the Cardinals into halftime with a 2-0 advantage.
The Cardinals scored their last four goals over a 14-minute stretch of the second half with two more from Flores, including his second penalty kick, and goals from junior Josh White and sophomore Ryan White.
“We expected a tough game, and credit to Ruskin,” Webb City coach Nick Harmon said. “They were prepared, defended really well, and covered the space really well and made it tough for us. Luckily, we were able to get a couple in the first half. We made some adjustments at halftime, then got a few more in the second half. Proud of the boys.”
Webb City wore down Ruskin in the second half, and the Cardinals were able to give their entire varsity roster a chance Saturday.
“We were able to rotate a lot of our depth guys in and they performed well,” Harmon said. “We were able to keep the tempo up in the game. That’s critical looking forward to next week in the semifinal round.”
After shutting out McDonald County 1-0 on Thursday and Ruskin 6-0 on Saturday, the Cardinals accumulated nearly 180 minutes of scoreless soccer for their last two opponents.
“Connor (Black) didn’t have a whole lot of work to do in the back today, but when we needed him, he was there,” Harmon said. “The back line defended pretty well and contained the speed Ruskin had on the counterattack. Proud of the boys for the clean sheet and hopefully we can keep it up.”
Webb City improved to 11-11 overall entering Tuesday’s district semifinal match against Grandview (12-8).
Grandview defeated Bolivar 2-1 in the second quarterfinal of the day Saturday, and the Bulldogs enter the semifinals on a hot streak with wins in seven of their last eight matches.
Webb City and Grandview kick off in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Over the span of a few days in late October, Central Ozark Conference schools Carl Junction and Willard played a pair of matches with a similar final score.
In their second match, Willard defeated Carl Junction 2-1 Saturday to advance to the district semifinals on Tuesday against Belton and end the Bulldogs’ season at 5-19 overall.
“That’s the second time we played them this week,” Carl Junction coach Ed Miller said. “We lost to them 4-3 on Tuesday, then we turn around tonight and lose 2-1. We had some chances again to score tonight. I thought we had a better first half, as far as possession and momentum, as far as putting pressure on them. In the second half, they came out and passed the ball and neutralized us a little bit. We got a couple chances, but we couldn’t finish.
“Proud of the guys’ effort. They did a good job today, and a good job finishing the season. I thought we improved as the season went on, and we just needed to score some more goals.”
Willard senior forward Caleb Kuchta opened the scoring with a goal 7:43 in the match and Carl Junction sophomore Gavin Cowger earned the Bulldogs a 1-all score at halftime with his penalty kick goal 14:46 remaining before the half.
Willard junior Marseli Popesku scored the winning goal with 28:35 remaining in regulation.
The Bulldogs made their efforts for an equalizer, but Willard senior goalkeeper Chris Massey and the Tigers managed to keep Carl Junction at bay for the victory.
Carl Junction’s seniors played their final games Saturday.
“We have seven guys and I think four or five of them have played quite a bit all four years,” Miller said. “They’re good kids. They came out and worked hard, and they’ve put the time in to try and improve the program and make it better.
“It has got better each year as we’ve progressed through, but it’s not showing in the win column so much. We have five wins this year, but we were on the short side of a lot of 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 games. Just trying to find the back of the net. I thought we outplayed some of those teams. We just didn’t come up with some goals. We’ve improved on the field and as a possession team.”
Willard (15-10) plays Belton (9-9) in the second semifinal Tuesday. Belton defeated McDonald County 2-0 in the fourth and final match of quarterfinal Saturday.
SENECA, Mo. — This historic season for Seneca volleyball came to an end on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the Class 3 state tournament after suffering a 3-1 loss to Eldon.
The Indians opened the contest with an opening-set win before the Mustangs rattled off victories in the following three sets to knock off Seneca 27-29, 25-20, 25-10 and 25-18.
“I thought that we played very, very well,” Seneca coach Rachel Ayo said. “This deep into the postseason, you’re not going to see a bad team. Eldon is a very good team. We played really well in the first set. But, in the second, third and fourth set, we just made a lot of errors. A lot of errors that we normally don’t make. Honestly, that is what decided the match tonight—who errored more than the other team.”
Seneca’s season ends with a 23-12-1 record, with the Indians accomplishing a lot of firsts in a year they finished as one of the eight best teams in Class 3.
“They won the program’s first conference title since 1976, won the first district title ever and was the first team to make it out of the sectional round,” Ayo said. “They just continued to make history. It would have been nice to go to Cape Girardeau and continue that history, but I told the girls in the locker room that there is nothing to hang your heads about. We worked our butts off this year and did what no other team here has been able to accomplish in the past. They need to hold their heads high because they had a great season.”
The Indians graduate five seniors from this year’s team—Brylee Sage, Tatum White, Parker Long, Braxton Raulston and Amber Garrison.
“We will definitely miss them,” Ayo said. “We had five great seniors this year who were great leaders on the floor. Those are going to be some big roles to fill and not just the volleyball skill level.”
Eldon moves on to the Class 3 Final Four with a matchup against Blair Oaks (31-3-1) on Thursday in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Long finished with 20 kills and 20 digs to lead Seneca, while Raulston added 11 kills, 11 digs and five aces in service. Sage had 44 assists, while Jera Jameson closed with 13 kills and Ella Graham finished with nine digs.
The opening set started in favor of Seneca after a seven-point service run from Raulston, which included three aces as well as two kills from Jameson and a kill from Long, gave SHS an 11-3 advantage. Eldon scored 12 of the next 18 points to trim the lead to two, 17-15, off the back of a kill from Audrey Dinwiddie and a block by Hannah Opie. Long earned kills on six of the next seven points for the Indians to push the lead back to 24-20. The Mustangs rallied hard on Dinwiddie’s service, scoring four straight to take a 25-24 lead. Seneca took the advantage on a kill from Raulston followed by a kill from Jameson to go up 27-26 before closing it out off a kill from Jameson and an attack error.
Opie went on an early five-point run in service early in the second set to give the Mustangs a 7-2 advantage. Seneca chipped away at the lead before tying things up at 12s on an ace from Raulston, gaining the lead on a Mustangs’ error and building a 14-12 advantage on another ace by Raulston. Eldon scored the next five points to go up 17-14 and held onto the lead through the remainder of the set.
Seneca trailed 9-8 in the third set after a kill from Garrison and an ace from White, but a six-point service run from Dinwiddie followed up by an eight-point run from Haley Henderson ended the third set abruptly with the Mustangs taking a 2-1 advantage. Emily Davis had three kills to fill out Henderson’s run.
The Indians held a 7-4 lead in the fourth set after an ace from Jameson, but a sideout kill from Jaci Mueller sent Mueller to the service line for a three-point run filled out by a kill from Dinwiddie, an ace and a kill from Corin Davis to give Eldon the 8-7 advantage. The Mustangs were up four before a kill from Jameson and a kill from Long ultimately trimmed the deficit to one, 16-15. That was as close as Seneca got to the lead, with Mueller adding a kill and an ace, and a tip kill from Dinwiddie, to push the lead back to four, 19-15. Eldon scored nine of the last 12 to clinch the win in advance.
WEBB CITY, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals wouldn’t be denied.
Webb City started fast and finished strong en route to a thrilling and hard-fought 3-2 victory over Helias Catholic on Saturday afternoon in a quarterfinal contest of the MSHSAA Class 4 state volleyball tournament inside a packed Cardinal Dome.
The Cardinals beat the Crusaders 25-11, 24-26, 17-25, 25-21, 15-10 to advance to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
“This is incredible,” Webb City senior outside hitter Brenda Lawrence said while her teammates celebrated with family and friends close by. “We made history today. I think from the very beginning of the season we’ve wanted this so bad. The unity was there, the team was ready and we were in the right mindset today. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and we knew they wanted it just as bad as we did. We knew we had to win it as a team, not as individuals.”
Webb City senior Brenda Lawrence serves against Helias on Saturday. Photos by Shawn Fowler.
Webb City (32-4-2) will meet Incarnate Word (28-12) in the Class 4 semifinals at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.
“I’m super excited and I can’t be more grateful to the kids for buying in,” Cardinals coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “I’m so proud of them. From the time they’ve been little, they bought in and they wanted to be here. I’m so happy for them to get the chance to show out. They deserve it. They’ve put in a lot of years of work. We’ve been supported by the community all season long. They continue to push us. Our student section today…you couldn’t ask for more.”
A trip to the state finals has been a longtime goal for this year’s group, Coach Lawrence noted.
“From the beginning of the season, we talked about goals,” Coach Lawrence said. “We wanted to win the conference, but we stumbled against Nixa. We had to use that to get better. Every loss has made us better this year. But the Final Four was the ultimate goal from Day 1.”
In order to advance, the Cardinals had to overcome a 2-1 deficit, as the visiting Crusaders appeared in control of the match after winning the second and third sets.
“I thought we had the momentum after the second and third sets, but Webb City just would not be denied in their home gym,” Helias coach David Harris said. “They served very tough, their serve-receive was really good and their hitters didn’t make many unforced errors. We had some missed serves and some unforced errors. In the fifth set, Webb City came out on fire and they kind of served us off the court. That’s the best serving team we’ve faced all year.”
Backed by a raucous home crowd, Webb City stormed out of the gates in the opening set. The Cardinals, who never trailed in the first set, held leads of 4-0 and 8-4. A kill from junior outside hitter Aubree Lassiter and a pair of service points from senior setter Kyah Sanborn gave the Cardinals a 17-9 advantage.
Brenda Lawrence served three aces late in the opening set before senior outside hitter Kate Brownfield slammed a kill on set point.
Webb City wasn’t able to hold on to the momentum, however, as Helias stormed back and won the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead.
The Crusaders led 21-11 in the second set before the Cardinals rallied. Webb City used a 12-2 run to tie the set at 23. A kill from Brenda Lawrence briefly gave the Cardinals the lead, but the Crusaders rattled off three straight points to take the second set, with Chapel Dobbs serving an ace and Josie Morasch slamming a set-ending kill.
The Crusaders led 11-3 and 20-12 en route to winning the third set.
Trailing 2-1 in the match, Webb City had to win the fourth set to keep the season alive. And the Cardinals did just that.
“We knew if we played our game and went to our strengths, we really had a better team and a better overall balanced attack,” Coach Lawrence said. “We had to get back to doing that. We needed to play with more aggression.”
In the fourth set, Webb City never trailed after taking a 5-4 advantage. The Cardinals took a 15-11 lead after kills from freshman Jaeli Rutledge, Brownfield and Sanborn. Late kills from Sanborn and Brownfield sent the match to a deciding fifth set.
In the final set, Webb City took the lead for good on junior libero Sophia Crane’s ace that made it 4-2.
Webb City libero Sophia Crane had 23 digs in Saturday’s match against Helias.
Brenda Lawrence came alive at the net, hammering home three kills to extend the hosts’ cushion. An ace from Sanborn gave the Cardinals a 10-3 lead.
The Crusaders (29-7-3) didn’t go down quietly, but the Cardinals were the first team to 15. With that, the Cardinals were also the team celebrating a historic win.
“In the fifth set, you know you need to get on it quick,” Coach Lawrence said. “You’ve got to be on your game. Brenda got real ticked off in the fourth set. She went off in the fifth set. That was one of the toughest games we’ve had all year. I think it made us better.”
Brenda Lawrence compiled 15 kills, 10 digs and six aces, while Brownfield had 19 digs and nine kills.
Lassiter contributed five kills, six digs and four solo blocks, while Rutledge had six kills and two blocks.
Sanborn compiled 33 assists, 12 digs, five kills, three aces and two blocks. Crane recorded a team-high 23 digs and three aces, while senior Jenna Noel chipped in 11 digs and sophomore Kirra Long had two solo blocks.
Kate Brownfield hits at the net against Helias.
The Cardinals, who won a second straight district title and the third in four years, are now guaranteed two more matches this fall.
On Thursday, a spot in the state championship game will be up for grabs.
“If we can keep on getting better and if we can keep pushing ourselves, great things are going to happen,” said Coach Lawrence, who is assisted by Jason Brown, Olivia Lewis and Mollie Keene.
Thursday’s other Class 4 semifinal will feature Platte County (26-9) vs. Westminster Christian (30-2-5).
The semifinal losers will play for third place at 8 on Thursday night. The state title match is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4.
Webb City’s players and coaches celebrate after Helias called a timeout during Saturday’s Class 4 quarterfinal at the Cardinal Dome. Photos by Shawn Fowler.
Kyah Sanborn sets up a teammate during Saturday’s match against Helias Catholic.
Brenda Lawrence lunges for a dig attempt on Saturday.
Webb City freshman Jaeli Rutledge goes up for a kill attempt during Saturday’s match.
Aubree Lassiter serves against Helias Catholic during the Class 4 quarterfinal.
Webb City’s student section is pictured during Saturday’s match. Webb City won the quarterfinal matchup 3-2 to advance to the Final Four in Cape Girardeau. Photos by Shawn Fowler.
A postseason victory was within striking distance for the College Heights Christian Cougars.
But it slipped away.
College Heights Christian suffered a 53-44 setback to Osceola on Friday night in an 8-man football playoff game at Joplin High School.
College Heights’ inaugural season ends at 1-8.
The back-and-forth game was tied at 22 at halftime and the Indians led 37-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Osceola outscored the Cougars 16-8 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
In the first quarter, CHC’s Logan Decker completed a pair of touchdown passes to Caleb Quade, a 27-yard strike and a 50-yard completion.
Decker’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Quade in the second period, along with a 2-point conversion, allowed the Cougars to tie the game at 22 late in the first half.
The Indians scored the first two touchdowns of the third period, but the Cougars responded with a pair of scores of their own, as Decker scored on a 15-yard run and Cannon Miller hauled in a 13-yard TD pass.
Osceola took a 45-36 lead in the final frame, but Decker completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Quade, cutting his team’s deficit to 45-44.
But the Indians scored on a 3-yard run late in the game.
The Cougars had 374 yards of offense, 311 passing and 63 rushing.
A sophomore, Decker completed 18-of-30 passes for 311 yards and five touchdowns.
Quade caught eight passes for 156 yards and three scores, while Miller had eight receptions for 133 yards and a TD. Bo Sitton and Levi Durling also had receptions.
Decker ran for 34 yards on four attempts, while Miller ran four times for 18 yards and Durling had two carries for 11 yards.
Osceola (2-8) meets Drexel/Miami (8-1) next Friday in a district quarterfinal.
NEOSHO, Mo. — For the second season in a row, the previously winless Willard Tigers came into Bob Anderson Stadium and defeated the Neosho Wildcats in a Class 5 District 6 quarterfinal contest 43-29 on Friday night.
The Tigers’ offense found the end zone on their first five possessions, while the Wildcats had three first-half possessions fizzle out with an interception and a pair of turnover-on-downs.
Neosho’s Jared Siler picks up a big gain on the ground against Willard on Friday night. Photos by Israel Perez.
Willard built a 35-15 halftime lead behind all 15 points in the second quarter and the Tigers finished the half with 21 unanswered as they scored three touchdowns and Neosho turned it over on downs twice in a row and punted after the Wildcats took a 15-14 lead with 3 minutes, 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Neosho cut the gap to 35-29 halfway through the fourth, but Willard converted a critical fourth-and-1 near midfield with a tough gain by quarterback Russell Roweton and then running back Gary Walker closed out the scoring with a 38-yard touchdown run down the Willard sideline.
“Obviously not the outcome that we want, but our kids fought hard,” Neosho coach Brandon Taute said. “They got up big on us in the first half and we battled back. It would have been really easy to roll over there and our kids didn’t so I’m proud of our effort. In the end, they just out-executed us.”
Willard held the potent offense of the Wildcats to one of their lowest point totals of the season, and the Wildcats had five possessions end in Willard territory without points.
“Obviously, you’ve got to finish those drives in the red zone, especially in playoff football,” Taute said. “We weren’t able to do that tonight and they did most of the time when they got down there. That’s the difference in the game.”
Neosho’s defense showed much improvement in the second half Friday night from the first half and the first time Neosho and Willard played this season to a 79-72 final score — Willard punted three times and turned it over on downs another time, and two Isaiah Green interceptions ended Willard drives.
Their improved play gave the Wildcats’ potent offense a chance to get back into the game and make it a dogfight late.
“Our defense made good adjustments and the kids did a great job flying around,” Taute said. “They made some huge plays there in the second half. I’m extremely proud of the way they kept battling. We fought until the very end, and they just had a little more than us tonight.”
Neosho finished the season 4-6 overall, and the Wildcats’ talented group of seniors played their final games Friday night.
“They’re a great group of kids,” Taute said. “They’ve done a great job leading this group. They’ve done a great job the last two years buying into the culture that we’re building and being everything we’ve asked them to be. We’re going to miss them, and I told them the outcome of the football game doesn’t change the way I feel about them. I still love them, and we’ll move on from here.”
The Wildcats scored their first points on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Quenton Hughes to Green, a duo that connected with each other 109 times for more than 1,400 yards and 16 touchdowns in the regular season.
Outstanding senior running back Jared Siler scored the other three Neosho touchdowns Friday night, and he tallied 1,919 yards and 23 touchdowns on 293 carries in his first nine games. Siler surpassed 2,000 yards on the season with a 17-yard run late in the first quarter.
The Wildcats improved by three wins from Taute’s first season as their head coach.
Willard scored 115 total points in two games against Neosho and 114 in their other eight games so far this season.
The Tigers, 1-9 overall, earned their spot in the semifinals next Friday against district top seed, Central Ozark Conference co-champion, and the top-ranked team in Class 5, Carthage (8-1).
Carthage defeated Willard 55-14 in the final week of the regular season.
Neosho’s Isaiah Green looks to avoid the tackle from Willard’s Zach Franks on Friday night at Bob Anderson Stadium. Photo by Israel Perez.
Neosho suffered a season-ending setback to Willard on Friday.
Fourth-seeded Joplin football’s season came to an end after the Eagles fell 56-42 to fifth-seeded Raymore-Peculiar in the Class 6 District 3 quarterfinals on Friday at Junge Field.
The Eagles fell down into a two-touchdown deficit early and were never able to recover and gain the lead. Joplin tied the game up at 14s but ultimately trailed 28-21 by the intermission. The Panthers scored out of the halftime break to push the lead back to two scores and never relinquished the advantage en route to the district-opening win.
Joplin WR Davin Thomas sprints to end zone during the Eagles’ loss to Ray-Pec on Friday in the district quarterfinals. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
“I thought they just made more plays than we did, honestly,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “The playmakers on both teams showed who they were. … They have good players. There is no doubt about that, and they are a well-coached team. I thought it was a pretty even matchup, they just made more plays than we did.”
The Eagles finish the season with a 7-3 record with Joplin graduating 22 seniors from this year’s squad.
“I told the seniors that I enjoyed the heck out of coaching them this year,” Jasper said. “I told them the sun will come up tomorrow and life goes on, all of those cliches, but I just loved being around those kids. They make coaching a joy every single day. It’s truly a blessing and a privilege to be their coach, and not just the seniors but the whole team.”
Ray-Pec improves to 6-4 and advances to the district sectional round with a matchup against Nixa on Friday.
GAME ACTION
Ray-Pec halted Joplin’s opening drive in Panther territory and forced a punt before going to the air early to find success on offense, using a 43-yard reception from QB Zander Dombrowski to WR Jaden Reddell set up a 33-yard touchdown pass from Dombrowski to WR Jaidyn Doss with 8:46 on the clock in first quarter for a 7-0 advantage.
Joplin again drove the ball down into Ray-Pec territory before a block-in-the-back penalty stalled the drive and forced the Eagles to punt again. Dombroski again found success in the air, completing a 41-yard pass to Doss before RB Thomas Fager ripped off a 16-yard rush and followed up with an 8-yard rushing score to push the lead to 14-0 with 1:49 left in the first quarter.
Joplin reached the scoreboard as the clock hit 0.0 in the first quarter on a 61-yard touchdown score on a flip-pass from QB Hobbs Gooch to WR Davin Thomas on the jet sweep to trim the deficit to 14-7.
The Panthers committed the first turnover of the game when a Dombrowski pass over the middle was tipped and picked off by Joplin DB Cordell Washington. The Eagles’ offense took advantage with Gooch finding Thomas over the middle for a 56-yard touchdown to tie the game at 14s with 10:12 to play in the first half.
The Eagles’ defense forced a Panther punt, but JHS muffed the return with Ray-Pec taking over at the Joplin 27-yard line. On third-down of the ensuing possession, the Panthers jumped back on top after Zombrowski kept the ball on an option on the way to a 21-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 21-14 advantage near the midway point of the second quarter.
Joplin QB Hobbs Gooch drops back to pass during the Eages’ loss to Ray-Pec in the district opener on Friday. Photo by Shawn Fowler.
Joplin tied the game up on its next possession when Gooch hooked up with WR Terrance Gibson for a 40-yard touchdown pass to make the score 21-21 with 3:30 left in the first half, but it didn’t last long. Ray-Pec drove back down the field and got into the end zone with 8.4 seconds left in the first half on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Dombrowski to Reddell for a 28-21 advantage into the locker room.
The Panthers took possession first out of the intermission and marched down the field before Dombrowski found Fager on a short pass, with Fager breaking tackles on the way to the sideline and into the end zone on the far side of the field for a 35-21 lead with 8:34 to play in the third quarter.
“We were down one score and for them to get a twofor after scoring on the last possession before the half and then come out and score first is exactly what we like to do,” Jasper said of the momentum swing at the change of the half. “We needed a stop on one of those drives and didn’t get it.”
Joplin answered back when RB Quin Renfro hit the edge for a 38-yard touchdown run with 7:20 on the clock in the third period to make the score 35-28, but once again Ray-Pec responded instantly when Doss returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to push the lead back out to two scores, 42-28, with 6:43 to play in the third quarter.
A 23-yard completion to Gibson set up a 3-yard touchdown for Renfro with 3:02 left in the third to trim Joplin’s lead to 42-35 before Ray-Pec used a 9-yard pass from Dombroski to Reddell for a touchdown to kick the lead to 49-35 with 11:43 left in regulation.
Dombroski added a late touchdown from 12 yards out to seal the win for the Panthers with 2:27 left.
Joplin got on the scoreboard for the final time this season when Gooch completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Thomas.
STATS
Ray-Pec gained 543 yards of offense on 61 plays with Dombroski completing 18-of-23 passes for 308 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He also added 86 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Fager carried the ball 23 times for 139 yards and a touchdown. Doss caught eight passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, while Redell hauled in six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Joplin picked up 532 yards of offense on 60 plays with Gooch completing 16-of-25 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns. Renfro gained 205 yards on 28 carries, while Thomas caught nine passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Gibson caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown.
GRANDVIEW, Mo. — A fast start propelled fifth-seeded Carl Junction to a convincing 42-13 victory over fourth-seeded Grandview on Friday night in a quarterfinal contest of the Class 4 District 7 tournament.
With the win, Carl Junction (4-6) earned a semifinal date at No. 1 Center (9-0) next Friday.
After going through a rigorous COC schedule, Friday’s game was Carl Junction’s first contest against a Class 4 opponent this season.
In a clash between Bulldogs, battle-tested Carl Junction scored 21 unanswered points in the opening quarter to take control of the game.
Carl Junction struck first on junior running back Johnny Starks’ 5-yard touchdown run with 9:37 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Starks blocked a Grandview punt to give the visitors the ball on the 4-yard line. Starks ran into the end zone on the next play, giving CJ an early 14-0 lead.
Carl Junction took a 21-0 lead when junior QB Dexter Merrell completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ayden Bard.
Grandview got on the board with 1:16 left in the opening frame on Calan Wright’s 18-yard touchdown sprint.
Carl Junction’s Starks blocked a punt for the second time in the first half, with Eli Zavala recovering the loose ball in the end zone. That score and Xavier Perkins’ PAT gave the visitors a 28-7 lead with 5:32 left in the second quarter.
A 4-yard touchdown plunge by Starks made it 34-7 with just over a minute to play in the first half, as a 2-point conversion attempt failed after the TD.
There was no scoring in the third period.
The Bulldogs extended their lead on the third play of the fourth quarter on Merrell’s 3-yard QB keeper. Merrell ran it for the 2-point conversion for a 42-7 advantage with 10:37 left.
Grandview’s Mason Johnson hauled in a long touchdown pass with just over a minute to play for the final margin.
OTHER DISTRICT ACTION: In other Class 4 District 7 quarterfinals, No. 3 Nevada beat No. 6 Harrisonville 42-21 and No. 2 Lincoln Prep topped No. 7 Warrensburg 35-25.
