Your online home for Joplin area sports coverage.

STATE CROSS COUNTRY ROUNDUP: TJ’s Atteberry, McAuley’s Ramsey earn all-state honors; McAuley boys finish fourth

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Thomas Jefferson senior standout Kip Atteberry ended his stellar prep cross country career with a trip to the awards podium.

Atteberry finished as the runner-up in the Class 1 boys race on Saturday at the MSHSAA Cross Country Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. 

Atteberry recorded a time of 17 minutes, 1 second. West Nodaway’s Riley Blay finished in 16:28.  

Thomas Jefferson’s Kip Atteberry poses with Cavaliers coach Clayton Carnahan during Saturday’s awards ceremony at the state cross country meet. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

Atteberry was in third place at the 4K mark, but he passed Hermitage’s Bennett Mantooth late to take second place.

Atteberry finished fourth at last year’s state meet, so he earned all-state honors for the second straight season.

Three other area boys finished in the top 25 to earn all-state honors.

McAuley sophomore Michael Parrigon finished 21st in 17:56, while McAuley freshman Trae Veer was 24th in 18:02 and Thomas Jefferson freshman London Rodriguez placed 25th with a time of 18:10.

Also of note, Jasper’s Leland Harris finished 54th, TJ’s Braden Honeywell-Lynch was 68th and College Heights Christian’s Colton McMillan finished 121st.

McAuley’s boys finished fourth in the team standings with 147 points to earn a state trophy. The top three teams were Hermitage (51), Van Buren (89) and Oak Ridge (95).

Also competing for McAuley were Phillip Motazedi (53rd), Joe Staton (74th), Drew Zeb (85th), Alex Bohachick (103rd) and Connor Taffner (134th).

In the Class 1 girls race, McAuley Catholic junior Kendall Ramsey finished eighth with a time of 21:07 to earn all-state honors. Ramsey, who also played volleyball this fall, was 37th last year.

Liberal’s Taylor Swarnes finished 14th in 21:38. Thomas Jefferson’s Sarah Mueller finished 53rd and teammate Samantha Seto was 99th.

McAuley had its full squad competing. Also competing for the Warriors were Marbellie Villanueva (86th), Brooke Righter (141st), Miriam Kramer (150th) and Samantha Perrin (154th). McAuley finished 12th in the team standings.

Stoutland’s Mallory Shaw was the medalist in 20:38 and South Nodaway was the team champion.

 

McAuley Catholic finished fourth in the boys team standings at the Class 1 state meet. Photo by Shawn Fowler.

CHC GIRLS COMPETE IN CLASS 2

College Heights had its full girls team competing in Class 2.

Pictured is College Heights senior Jayli Johnson.

Senior Jayli Johnson (22:01) and sophomore Marla Anderegg (22:03) led the Cougars by finishing 23rd and 24th, respectively. 

Also competing for College Heights were Jesalin Bever (87th), Madelynn Jordan (123rd), Madi Carson (140th), Emily Winters (147th) and Emmy Carson (154th). The Cougars finished 11th in the team standings. 

Pierce City’s Emma Hunt placed 13th in 20:34, while Stockton’s Katelyn Chism finished 24th in 21:23. Sarcoxie’s Laney Dorris finished 42nd.

Smithton’s Riley Bryan was the state champ in 19:04 and North Platte was the team champion.

Stockton’s boys won the team championship in Class 2. Braden Postlewait and Max Brown led the Tigers by finishing 20th and 22nd, while Dakota Duncan was 30th. 

Steelville’s Conner Diaz was the individual medalist in 16:15. 

Pierce City’s Steven Leavitt finished 129th and Diamond’s Wyatt Housh was 147th.

 

SORRELL TAKES THIRD IN CLASS 3

East Newton’s Chase Sorrell finished third in the Class 3 boys race with a time of 16:12. 

Southern Boone standout Connor Burns was the champion in 15:01 and Bowling Green’s Ben Chance was the runner-up in 16:02.

Cassville’s Caleb Leach finished 12th in 16:56. 

Also from the region, Lamar’s Cameron Bailey finished 34th and teammate Pierce Heins was 59th. East Newton’s Isaac Bales was 67th, Lamar’s Blaine Breshears was 73rd and East Newton’s Nicholas Shaeffer was 85th.

Father Tolton was the team champion.  

In the Class 3 girls race, Lamar senior Kiersten Potter finished ninth in 19:44 and Cassville’s Jolie Evans finished 19th in 20:14.

Also, Cassville’s Dakotah Anderson was 47th, East Newton’s Alonna Eytcheson finished 57th, Cassville’s Kayli Anderson was 64th, East Newton’s Gracie Johnson was 79th, Cassville’s Tori Mitchell finished 80th and Mount Veron’s Rylee Simons was 88th.

Southern Boone’s Alexandra Volkart won the race in 18:40 and St. Charles West was the team champion. Cassville finished seventh in the team standings.

 

McAuley Catholic junior Kendall Ramsey earned all-state honors by finishing eighth in the Class 1 girls race on Saturday in Columbia. All photos by Shawn Fowler/SoMo Sports.

DISTRICT FOOTBALL: Republic shocks Webb City in district semifinals

WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City football’s district championship streak has ended at 22.

The Republic Tigers erased a 14-point deficit with 23 unanswered points and earned their first-ever victory over Webb City in program history with a 30-21 win in the Class 5 District 6 semifinals Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Stadium.

The Tigers went on their incredible run over a 7-minute, 22-second stretch of the third and fourth quarters — during this period, Republic recovered two onside kicks near midfield, scored three touchdowns, and Webb City only ran a single offensive play, which resulted in a one-yard loss and a safety.

Republic came up with a defensive stop with 3:53 remaining in regulation, breaking up a fourth-down pass intended for junior running back Breckin Galardo.

The Tigers kept the ball on the ground for the final 3:53 and their four first-down runs clinched their historic win.

Webb City junior running back Breckin Galardo runs for a touchdown during Saturday’s district semifinal game against Republic at Cardinal Stadium. Photo by Derek Livingston.

Republic improved to 8-3 overall and the Tigers will take a five-game winning streak into Friday’s district championship game against Class 5 top-ranked and top district seed Carthage (9-1), who defeated Willard 41-21 in the other district semifinal Saturday.

“Our kids have been resilient all year,” Republic coach Ryan Cornelsen said. “We’ve had bad things happen and found ways to make plays down the stretch. I couldn’t be prouder of their discipline, staying with assignments, playing the next play, and waiting for something good to happen. Eventually, it did and when it did, they didn’t look back and kept going. We kept taking shots, we played aggressive, and that’s how you get momentum turned.”

Webb City finished 6-4 overall.

“We just told them that we love them,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “We’re proud of them. What do you say? We didn’t get it done today. That really starts with me, as head football coach, not having them ready. We had a long two weeks to practice, but you’ve got to give Republic credit. They made plays. The two onside kicks were great calls and they certainly caught us off-guard.

“I’m just so proud of our guys. Today epitomized our season a little bit. We lose three or four guys, a couple guys anyways, and we look out there and we got sophomores out there. It’s one of those seasons where you have a lot of adversity, you battle through it, and you keep thinking it’s going to turn out alright. Sometimes, it doesn’t.”

The Cardinals took a 21-7 lead only 1:48 after halftime with a dominant, six-play, 73-yard scoring drive that started with a Galardo 30-yard run into Republic territory and culminated with a Galardo 10-yard scoring run.

Webb City’s first drive of the second half echoed the first drive the Cardinals had in the first half, a six-play, 87-yard scoring drive highlighted by a Galardo 55-yard run.

Republic’s Cam Mitchell can only watch as Webb City’s Omari Jackson scores a touchdown on Saturday. Also pictured in back is Webb City’s Cy Darnell (13).

Republic’s first second-half possession ended in a turnover-on-downs as Webb City junior defensive back Cole Cavitt broke up a pass intended for Republic’s James Rexroat.

Webb City’s next possession produced one first down, but Republic’s defense forced a punt near midfield.

The Tigers quickly started their momentum swing on their second possession with a two-play, 81-yard scoring drive in only 39 seconds with a 28-yard pass to Aidan Gregory and a 53-yard TD pass to Rexroat from junior quarterback Wyatt Woods.

Republic then recovered the first of two onside kicks and six plays later, Woods found Gunner Ellison for a 9-yard TD and 21-all score.

The Tigers’ next drive stalled out near midfield after their second onside recovery in a row, but Republic’s Drew Buchanan came through with a 47-yard kick that eventually came to rest at the Webb City 1.

On the next play, Republic went ahead 23-21 on the safety.

Nine plays after the free kick from Webb City, Woods’ 4-yard sprint to the end zone with 6:01 remaining made it 30-21.

“We make a lot of comparisons to what life is, but you’re going to have days like this,” Roderique said. “We didn’t play quite as well as we could have, but you give those guys (Republic) credit too. We didn’t have our best. We felt like we were playing well. You’ve got to be able to overcome things, and that’s what we talked about. We all feel bad. If it didn’t hurt when you lose it dang sure wouldn’t feel great when you win, so that’s part of it. Hats off to Republic, they’ve got a good football team.”

Webb City led 14-7 at halftime, scoring the only points of the second quarter on an Omari Jackson 39-yard TD run and a successful two-point conversion.

The Cardinals finished the game with 304 total and 297 rushing yards.

Galardo rushed for 189 yards and two scores on 19 carries, while Jackson had 69 yards and one TD on seven carries.

Meanwhile, Woods proved to be an effective dual threat for Republic, throwing for 174 yards and two scores and rushing for 69 yards and two more scores.

Connor Sandridge rushed for 118 yards on 19 carries, including a 33-yard run down to the Webb City 4 on the Tigers’ last scoring drive, and Rexroat caught three passes for 111 yards and one TD.

Republic won time of possession with the Tigers only 14 seconds short of 30 minutes compared to 18:14 in possession for the Cardinals.

 

FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)

Webb City safety Conner Gayman defends a pass attempt against Republic’s Gunner Ellison on Saturday at Cardinal Stadium.

 

Republic’s Cooper Douglas attempts to bring down Webb City’s Omari Jackson while QB Landon Johnson looks on. Photo by Derek Livingston.

 

Webb City’s Cole Cavitt runs for a 2-point conversion on Saturday against Republic at Cardinal Stadium.

 

Webb City’s Lucas Ott and other members of the Cardinals attempt to tackle Republic’s Wyatt Woods on Saturday. Photos by Derek Livingston.

DISTRICT FOOTBALL: Short-handed Carthage rallies and pulls away from Willard in district semifinals

CARTHAGE, Mo. — Playing without its top playmaker, senior RB/LB Luke Gall, top-seeded Carthage fell behind early before finding its footing, taking a lead into the intermission and pulling away from fifth-seeded Willard in the second half en route to a 41-21 win in the Class 5 District 6 semifinals at David Haffner Stadium on Saturday.

Carthage RB Clay Kinder falls across the goal line for one of three touchdowns in CHS’ win over Willard in the district semifinals on Saturday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.

“I can’t say enough about these guys and how they came out and executed,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Willard gave us a couple of different looks … but I was so proud of our guys up front for navigating through those different looks. At halftime, we were able to talk about it and in the second half, we came out and executed really well.”

Carthage (9-1) was without Gall, who dressed but did not play while recovering from an injury. 

“It was just a precautionary thing with him,” Guidie said. 

Carthage advances to the district championship where the Tigers will host third-seeded Republic (8-3) on Friday. Carthage is looking to win their first district title since 2019.

“They’re obviously playing really, really well and we knew when we played them back in Week 1 that they were a good team and only were going to get better,” Guidie said of his matchup with the RepMo Tigers. “They’ve had some big wins in the last few weeks and they are going to be excited to come back here and get another shot at us.”

Willard took the opening lead after converting a fourth-down-and-4 when Gary Walker took a run outside and bounced off several tackles on the way to a 37-yard touchdown with 8:49 on the clock to make the score 7-0.

Carthage didn’t flinch, marching right down the field and punching it in on a 1-yard touchdown run from Clay Kinder to tie things up at 7s with 5:13 left in the first half. 

“No one can fill Luke’s shoes because he’s the best player in the state,” Kinder said. “I just did my best to play hard and try to help my team win. … I like running the ball, but I am mainly a defensive guy. It was fun to be back there for a game, though.”

Carthage QB Cooper Jadwin eyes running room in the Tigers’ win over Willard in the district semifinals on Saturday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.

Willard took the lead near the turn of the second quarter when QB Russell Roweton found Timmy Ruble for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 11:07 on the clock to make the score 14-7.

Carthage answered back with another scoring drive on a 2-yard run on the direct snap to Kinder to tie the game back up at 14-14 with 7:01 left in the first half.

Carthage forced Willard into turnover-on-downs on the ensuing possession and took the ball with less than five minutes to play in the half. CHS went to the air with a deep ball from Cooper Jadwin to WR Hudson Moore to get into the red zone and milked the clock down while in a goal-to-go situation before taking the lead on Kinder’s third rushing touchdown of the game, this one also from 2 yards out, with 24.8 to give Carthage a 20-14 lead, the Tigers’ first lead of the game.

“He was fantastic,” Guidie said of Kinder’s performance. “We split the time with Klay and Tavion Bailey, and those two guys did a really good job carrying that load. Both of them start on defense and already play a lot of snaps, so now they understand what it’s like for Luke (Gall) to come out every single Friday night and do that. I am really proud of Klay, and Tayvion, and I thought Cooper Jadwin did really well. He probably doubled his average number of carries tonight and his production was really good. … All three of those guys did a good job.”

Carthage DE Orey Bader (86) helps secure a tackle on the Willard ball carrier during the district semifinal matchup on Saturday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.

Coming out of the locker room with possession, Carthage found the end zone quickly when WR Mason Frisinger took the end around handoff and found the edge for a 58-yard touchdown down the sideline for a 27-14 Carthage lead over Willard with 11:14 left in the third quarter.

“That was huge,” Guidie said. “We kept trying to get that one-score lead (by halftime). Our defense played hard, but (Willard) threw the ball really well and they completed a few of them that led to those two scores. But, our kids answered and got that score right before halftime and then came out and hit them on that second play (of the second half) and got up two scores, which is really big in these types of games.”

Carthage pushed the lead to 34-14 on a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Jadwin with 4:56 to play in the third quarter. 

Jadwin added an 86-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to build Carthage’s lead to 41-14 with 11:02 left in the game.

Willard added a touchdown inside the final minute to wrap the scoring.

DISTRICT FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: Seneca, Lamar, Mount Vernon, Nevada all earn wins, season ends for Mac County

 

SENECA, MOUNT VERNON ROLL, WILL MEET IN TITLE GAME

The top-seeded Seneca Indians rolled into the championship game of the Class 2 District 4 tournament by beating the fourth-seeded Hollister Tigers 42-0 on Saturday afternoon. 

Seneca (9-1) will host No. 2 Mount Vernon (8-3) at 7 on Friday night. 

Seneca’s Gavyn Hoover scored on a 6-yard run with 8:42 in the first quarter to open the scoring. A 17-yard run by Hoover and three touchdown runs from Jackson Marrs made it 35-0 at halftime.

Marrs scored with 4:29 left in the third period to give the Indians a 42-0 lead.

The Mountaineers beat Forsyth 42-15 on Saturday. 

Mount Vernon led 35-0 at the half and 42-0 at the end of the third period.

 

LAMAR 56, STOCKTON 10

No. 1 seed Lamar beat No. 4 Stockton 56-10 in the semifinals of the Class 2 District 5 tournament on Saturday. 

Lamar led 42-3 at halftime en route to the lopsided win.

Lamar (9-1) meets Fair Grove (7-4) in Friday’s district title game. 

 

BOLIVAR 21, MCDONALD COUNTY 7

McDonald County’s season came to an end in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 6 tournament on Friday night.

The game was tied at halftime, but the second-seeded Liberators scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the second half to upend the sixth-seeded Mustangs. 

McDonald County’s touchdown came on a 39-yard pass from Cross Dowd to Jack Parnell. 

The Mustangs, who beat Marshfield 7-6 in the district quarterfinals, end the season with a record of 6-5.

The district championship game will feature No. 1 West Plains vs. No. 2 Bolivar on Friday.

 

NEVADA 43, LINCOLN PREP 7

Third-seeded Nevada advanced to the championship game of the Class 4 District 7 tournament by knocking off second-seeded Lincoln College Prep 43-7 on a rainy Friday night in Kansas City.

Avious Steadman scored four touchdowns for the Tigers, who are now 9-2. Also scoring touchdowns for the Tigers were Jordan Johnson and Henry Campbell. 

Nevada is at No. 1 seed KC Center (10-0) next Friday in the district championship game. 

Center defeated fifth-seeded Carl Junction 33-6 in the semifinals. 

 

DISTRICT FOOTBALL: Carl Junction falls to Center in semifinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The football season came to an end for fifth-seeded Carl Junction on Friday after the Bulldogs fell behind early and never caught up in a 33-6 loss to top-seeded Center in the Class 4 District 13 semifinals.

Playing in a heavy rain with temperatures in the 40s for nearly the entire game, scoring was hard to come by early on as both teams were forced to work predominantly on the ground offensively. The first half totaled one score by Center on it’s first possession on a short field after a Bulldog turnover. The first two quarters totaled three turnovers, four turnover-on-downs and three punts between both teams. The second half was a track meet by comparison, with the Yellowjackets finding the end zone four times on the ground to build a 33-0 advantage before Carl Junction reached the scoreboard.

Carl Junction closes the season with a 4-7 record.

Center (10-0) advances to the district title game with a matchup against Nevada, with the Tigers defeating Lincoln College Prep .

The weather played an early role in the contest, with Carl Junction fumbling an exchange early on the opening drive with Center falling on the loose ball and taking possession on the CJ 21-yard line. Shortly after, RB Juice Love rushed the ball for an 11-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead with 10:21 to play in the first quarter.

In a first half that saw three total turnovers, four turnover on downs and three punts, Carl Junction’s best chance to get on the scoreboard came when the Bulldogs found themselves inside the Center 5-yard line with seconds to go and no timeouts remaining before a busted play resulted in a loss and time expiring.

The Yellowjackets took the opening possession 65 yards down the field and crossed the goal line from 2 yards out on a run by G Harold Tsafack to push the lead to 12-0 with less than eight minutes to play in the third quarter.

Center scored on their second possession of the second half when Love ripped off a 49-yard touchdown before QB Joseph Vick found Armand Russell on the two-point conversion to push the lead to 20-0 with 3:57 to play.

CJ turned it over via an interception early in the fourth quarter to set up an 11-yard touchdown run from Love to push the Yellowjackets’ advantage to 27-0 with 11:21 to go in regulation.

Love added a 67-yard touchdown run with 4:08 left in the game to cap the scoring for Center.

Carl Junction got on the scoreboard on a 9-yard run from QB Dexter Merrell with a minute to play.