WEBB CITY, Mo. — Carthage won seven events en route to claiming the team championship at the Red Bird Invitational swim meet on Saturday at the Buck Miner Swim Center.
Carthage compiled 304 points to take the team title, while host Webb City was the runner-up (235), and Joplin took third (199). There were nine teams competing.
CARTHAGE HIGHLIGHTS
The Tigers won two of the three relays.
Carthage’s 200-yard medley relay team of Kellen Frieling, Braxton McBride, Will Wright and Maveric Allphin took first in 1:49, while the Tigers also won the 400 freestyle relay, as McBride, Wright, Aydan Nye and Frieling recorded a time of 3:39.
Carthage’s McBride and Frieling each won two individual events.
McBride won the 50 freestyle in 23.55 seconds and the 100 freestyle in 52.84 seconds, while Frieling won the 100 butterfly in 59.7 seconds and took first in the 100 backstroke in 58.02 seconds.
Wright won the 200 IM with a time of 2:14.
Wright was the runner-up in the 500 freestyle and Allphin took third in the 100 breaststroke.
Carthage finished third in the 200 freestyle relay, with Allphin, Daryl Martin, Ben Rogers and Aydan Nye competing.
Finishing fourth in their events were Ryan Steinbach (200 IM), Martin (100 freestyle) and Noah Blackford (100 backstroke).
WEBB CITY HIGHLIGHTS
The Cardinals were second in the 200 medley relay, with Cole Dalton, Micah Brouwer, Dalton Spence and Dagan Chacon competing.
Webb City also finished second in the 200 freestyle relay, with Adrien Black, Aiden Patterson, Brouwer and Steve Kenlee swimming.
The Cardinals’ team of Black, Patterson, Dalton and Kenlee placed third in the 400 freestyle relay.
Black and Kenlee finished second and third in the 200 freestyle, while Brouwer and Spence placed second and third in the 200 IM. Brouwer was also second in the 100 breaststroke.
Also for the Cardinals, Black was third in the 500 free, Kenlee took fourth in the 100 fly, Dalton was fifth in the 100 free, Patterson placed fifth in the 500 free and Spence took fifth in the 100 breaststroke.
Webb City’s Grant Humphrey won the 1-meter diving competition.
JOPLIN HIGHLIGHTS
Nathan Wardlow won a pair of individual events and was part of three event wins to lead the Joplin Eagles.
A junior, Wardlow won the 200 freestyle in 1:54 and also took first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:10.
Wardlow was the anchor on Joplin’s 200 freestyle relay team that took first in 1:40, with Parker Hinman, Isaiah Thom and Ian Vermillion swimming the first three legs of the relay.
The Eagles took second in the 400 freestyle relay, with Hinman, Thom, Vermillion and Wardlow competing.
Hinman and Vermillion finished second and third in the 100 butterfly, while Jackson Mordica placed fourth in the 100 breaststroke.
The JHS team of Connor Intessimone, Jackson Mordica, Owen Mordica and Gideon Speer finished fifth in the 200 medley relay.
Finishing fifth in their individual events were Hinman (200 free), Jackson Mordica (200 IM), Owen Mordica (100 backstroke) and Vermillion (50 free).
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Nevada’s Trace Gould won the 100 breaststroke in 1:05 and finished second in the 50 freestyle.
Nevada’s Cooper Pennington was the runner-up in the 100 freestyle and teammate Kolton Evans took second in the 100 backstroke.
GRANBY, Mo. — Webb City captured both team championships in convincing fashion at the East Newton Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning.
With five of the top seven finishers in the boys race, Webb City compiled 20 points to easily win the team championship. Carthage (102), Lamar (106) and Carl Junction (112) rounded out the top four teams.
Webb City’s Evan Stevens won the boys race in 15:55 and East Newton’s Chase Sorrell was the runner-up in 16:04.
Finishing third, fourth and fifth were Webb City’s Mason Hedger, Andrew Dawson and Spencer Kendall. Carthage’s Eddy Fuentes finished sixth and Webb City’s Noah Lankard took seventh.
Carl Junction’s Isaac Willoughby placed ninth, Lamar’s Cameron Bailey was 10th, Neosho’s duo of Carson Newell and Adam Farrell were 11th and 12th and Carl Junction’s Jack Lawson placed 13th.
Webb City’s Fenton Rice finished 14th and College Heights Christian’s Colton McMillan placed 15th.
Carl Junction’s Luke Battagler was 17th, Lamar’s duo of Ryder Friend and Pierce Heins were 19th and 20th and Carthage’s tandem of Devin Smith and Javen Byrd took 21st and 22nd.
McDonald County’s Caleb Garvin finished 23rd, while Webb City’s Dakota Grove and Neosho’s Jackson Weber rounded out the top 25.
Joplin’s Ethan Gibson was 32nd and CHC’s Connor Jordan placed 36th.
On the girls side, Webb City had five of the top 10 finishers and finished with 24 points, cruising to the team title.
Carthage (59), Carl Junction (104) and Joplin (105) finished second, third and fourth in the team standings.
Joplin’s Katherine Schaefer won the girls race in 19:02.
Webb City’s Brooke Hedger (19:18) and Emily Countryman (20:01) finished second and third, while Pierce City’s Emma Hunt took fourth in 20:11.
Webb City’s Amelia Antillon and Olivia Klotz placed fifth and sixth, respectively, while Carthage’s Maggie Boyd was seventh.
Finishing eighth through 10th were Lamar’s Abigail Diggs, East Newton’s Brooklyn Blanchard and Webb City’s Emma McKinzie.
Rounding out the top 15 were Lamar’s Carly Dunham, Mount Vernon’s Rylee Simons, Webb City’s Brooke Collard, Carthage’s Jennifer Rodas-Gomez and Carl Junction’s Audrey Fletcher.
Carthage’s Kimberly Monterroso was 17th and teammate Genesis Fuentes-Elias took 20th.
College Heights Christian’s Marla Anderegg finished 19th, with teammates Lilly Royer and Jesalin Bever taking 32nd and 33rd.
Carl Junction’s Madilyn Dalton finished 21st and McDonald County’s top performer was Kate Cheney (26th). Joplin’s second runner was Lydia Crabtree (30th).
East Newton Invitational
Boys team standings: Webb City 20, Carthage 102, Lamar 106, Carl Junction 112, Neosho 141, McDonald County 160, East Newton 184, Joplin 187, Southwest 189, College Heights 230.
Girls team standings: Webb City 24, Carthage 59, Carl Junction 104, Joplin 105, Pierce City 121, McDonald County 124.
NEVADA, Mo. — Ian Ngugi’s electrifying 68-yard punt return proved decisive as top-ranked Lamar edged host Nevada 14-0 in an old-school defensive battle between two highly-ranked opponents on Friday night at Logan Field.
“This is the most excitement and energy I’ve seen us bring into a Friday night game this year,” said Lamar coach Jared Beshore.
Entering the much-hyped matchup averaging 47 points per game, Nevada’s powerful rushing attack was held in check, as Lamar (6-1) was able to bottle up standout tailback Jack Cheaney.
Beshore said that the game plan centered on being physical at the point-of-attack, tackling well and winning the field position battle — and that they executed those facets of the game with near-flawless precision.
“As much work as we put into our defensive prep during the week, our goal and expectation is to be perfect on every drive,” Beshore said. “We know that doesn’t always happen, but tonight, our kids played about as close to it as anybody has seen this year. I really think it’s the best product we’ve put on the field — both special team and defensively this year.”
Beshore was also pleased that his offense was able to overcome the loss of starting signal-caller Alex Wilkerson, who was out with an ankle injury.
“We needed to make plays and take time off the clock with a big drive, and we did that,” Beshore said, specifically mentioning a methodical drive that chewed up more than six minutes of clock in the fourth quarter, punctuated by senior running back Logan Kish’s 2-yard touchdown run that staked Lamar to a 14-0 advantage.
While Beshore was confident that his defense would be able to maintain its high level of physicality, he said that Ngugi’s punt return late in the first half made his team believe that victory was within reach.
“We were playing great defensively and knew a play was going to pop up at some point,” he said. “And Ian’s punt return was the play that got the momentum going in our direction.”
Lamar senior Ian Ngugi (1) flashes his playmaking abilities as makes Nevada defenders miss on a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown on Friday night. Photos courtesy of Brandi Redman.
After fielding the punt, Ngugi cut-back twice to the left, leaving a bevy of Nevada defenders in the dust en route to the spectacular 68-yard touchdown return.
“He’s a big-time playmaker and athlete,” Beshore said. “As talented as Ian is, he’s also one of the hardest workers on the team.”
Ngugi described how the “confidence-boosting” play unfolded and got Lamar “kind of rolling.”
“I actually wasn’t supposed to run that way,” Ngugi said with a chuckle. “The blocks were set up good, so I just had to make a couple of cuts.”
The drought continues for Nevada, who have not emerged victorious in the storied rivalry since 2004. Beshore, meanwhile, said that the Lamar coaching staff did its part to emphasize the importance of a rivalry that dates to 1921.
“We let them know that it’s a big deal for both communities and that they’re not just playing for this team but are playing for every Lamar team that has ever played in this game,” he said.
Nevada coach Wes Beachler said that his team “didn’t play well enough” in the trenches in the stinging defeat.
A pass deflects off the hands of Nevada junior tight end Caden Klumpp in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s 14-0 loss to rival Lamar. The pass, thrown by junior quarterback Kellen Braden, was intercepted by Lamar’s J.R. Romero.
“We had several six to eight-play drives that we couldn’t finish,” he said. “In a game like this, if we score on one or two of those drives and we get 14 on the board, it probably changes the entire outcome.”
Beachler noted his team played great defensively. Nevada held Lamar to 157 yards, just 90 rushing.
Beachler added that his club has to “get better in some facets of the game” that they were “exposed” by Lamar.
“You get to this level and play against teams that are this good, all the chinks in the armor are going to get exposed,” he said.
Beachler said that all is not lost, as Nevada (6-1) can still finish with at least a share of the Big 8 West crown. But that would likely require a victory over the juggernaut Seneca Indians in two weeks on Senior Night.
“We still have a chance to make a mad dash for a shared championship,” he said. “But if you sit around feeling sorry for yourself for too long, you’re going to wind up dropping more games than you should.”
Beachler said that there is no chance that his squad overlooks next week’s matchup with winless Monett.
“We haven’t overlooked anybody all year,” he said. “We’ve played at a high level against good teams — and we also play at that same level against teams we’ve outclassed.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Ranked No. 1 in Class 2, Lamar hosts Cassville, while Nevada, ranked No. 7 in Class 4, travels to Monett.
Lamar junior running back Carson Sturgell (12) looks for a running lane during Friday night’s 14-0 victory over Nevada. Photos courtesy of Brandi Redman.
Nevada senior running back Dezmon Robinson (9) picks up a nice gain during the first half of Friday night’s rivalry game with visiting Lamar.
Lamar’s seniors celebrate Friday night’s 14-0 Silver Tiger triumph over Nevada. Photo by Matt Resnick.
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Joplin’s first three-game skid in the Curtis Jasper era didn’t reach four games as the Eagles got back on track against Carl Junction with a 37-13 win over the Bulldogs on Friday at Bulldog Stadium.
Joplin (4-3) scored on its first three possessions of the first half to build a 20-7 lead over Carl Junction (1-6) by the intermission. The Eagles’ defense held the Bulldogs’ offense off the scoreboard in the second half as the Joplin offense held the pace to get back into the win column.
“I just felt like our preparation during this week in practice—and really our demeanor as a whole—was better,” Jasper said after his team’s win. “The guys made a concerted effort to do the little things much better this week. They wanted this streak to end and they made it happen. All the credit to them.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Joplin RB Quin Renfro breaks a tackle for a big gain during the Eagles’ win over Carl Junction on Friday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.
Joplin took the opening possession and marched down the field before RB Quin Renfro broke a pair of tackles on the way to a 5-yard touchdown run on second-and-goal for a 7-0 lead with 7:50 on the clock in the first quarter.
Carl Junction converted on third and fourth down several times while orchestrating a methodical drive in response that culminated in RB Johnny Starks finding the end zone from 3 yards out to cap a 16-play drive that ate up the last seven-plus minutes of the first quarter and the first several minutes of the second period, tying the game at 7-7 early in the second period.
“I thought early on when our kids were full of energy, we were getting off the ball and picking up their blitzes,” Carl Junction coach Todd Hafner said of his team’s opening drive. “As the game went on, we just weren’t doing those things. Once the blitzes started working, they started doing them more and we just weren’t picking them up.
“I think maybe, as the head coach and play caller, maybe we’re doing a little too much. We might need to dial it back and get back to the basics a little bit. We will look at it and see where we are at, and hopefully we will put our kids in a better spot to be successful.”
Joplin struck for the big play on the ensuing possession when WR Davin Thomas took the touch pass around the end, made a move outside before cutting back inside away from would-be tacklers on the way to a 36-yard touchdown with 6:37 left in the first half.
After a CJ punt on the Bulldogs’ second possession, the Eagles went back to work on offense, going to the air early with a 20-yard completion from QB Hobbs Gooch to WR Aidan Sampson and a 10-yard reception from Gooch to Thomas. The drive ultimately ended on the ground when Renfro crossed the goal line from 10 yards out with 2:12 left in the second period for a 20-7 lead.
Joplin and Carl Junction traded turnovers before the end of the half when Carl Junction QB Dexter Merrell was picked off in plus territory by Joplin DB Chavis Coleman before Gooch was picked off by Starks on the very next play to give the Bulldogs the ball near midfield with less than a minute to play.
The Bulldogs were supposed to have the first possession of the second half, but the Eagles recovered a squib kick to start the third quarter to give Joplin the ball at the CJHS 35-yard line.
Joplin turned the extra possession into three points after kicker Toby Ipsen converted from 35 yards out to push the lead to 23-7 with 8:11 left in the third quarter.
Joplin WR Davin Thomas fights for the ball with CJHS DB Will Coats during the Eagles’ win over the Bulldogs on Friday. Photo by Jessica Greninger.
“I thought special teams were huge tonight,” Jasper said. “Not only getting the squib kick and the field goal, but CJ has come up huge on special teams, especially Starks, who has six blocked kicks this year. … I thought we did a good job of covering well.”
Joplin’s second turnover of the game came late in the third quarter with the Eagles in plus territory when the snap went through Gooch’s hands, with CJ’s Starks picking up the loose ball and sprinting to the end zone for a 65-yard scoop-and-score touchdown to trim JHS’ lead to 23-13 with less than four minutes on the clock.
“The kid is amazing,” Hafner said of Starks. “He is an outstanding football player. And that is what he is—a football player. That play gave our whole team a shot in the arm. The plays that he’s made like blocking kicks and punts earlier in the season as well as the plays he makes on a weekly basis are amazing. He is just a great football player.”
Joplin atoned for the giveaway on the next drive, though,punching it in when Gooch found Renfro for a 6-yard touchdown reception with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter to push the lead up to 30-13.
“Credit to the kids there,” Jasper said. “They still want to have a really good year, and for us to do that, they knew they needed to answer back right away and they did that.”
Joplin and Carl Junction again traded turnovers early in the fourth quarter when Gooch was intercepted on a tipped pass before Merrell was picked off on a deep ball on the next play by DB Cordell Washington.
“Outside of that first drive, I thought we did a really good job of tackling,” Jasper said of his defense pitching a second-half shutout. “The defense did a good job of responding, flying to the football and causing turnovers. They really played well.”
Joplin put the game out of reach when Thomas caught a pass from Gooch in the flat and crossed the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown to make the score 37-13 with 8:14 left in regulation.
BY THE NUMBERS
Joplin gained 465 yards of offense on 59 plays (7.9 yards per play), with 276 of those yards coming on the ground. Gooch completed 13-of-18 passes for 189 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while rushing three times for 15 yards and a fumble. Renfro rushed 25 times for 187 yards and scored three total touchdowns (one receiving), while Thomas caught eight passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Jones rushed nine times for 57 yards.
Carl Junction, which won the turnover battle 3-2, gained 199 yards off offense on 49 plays (4.1 YPP). Merrell completed 9-of-18 passes for 106 yards and two interceptions, while carrying the ball 15 times for 33 yards. Starks had six carries for 27 yards and two total touchdowns (one defensive).
Despite a solid effort, the Carthage High School volleyball team suffered a 3-0 setback to Nixa on Thursday, falling 25-17, 25-23, 25-20.
“I was so proud of our program last night,” Carthage coach Chloe Allmoslecher said. “Every single team battled. We played aggressive and as a team. They are playing really good volleyball right now, which is the perfect time of year that you want your team to be playing their best.”
On Senior Night, Carthage recognized Ava Bourgault and Riann Schwartz.
“These two have been influential to our success and are key leaders of our team,” Allmoslecher said. “I am so proud of them both.”
Jaidyn Brunnert compiled 10 digs, 10 assists and nine kills for the Tigers, while Bourgault had 14 digs and four kills and Sadie Comer recorded 13 assists and 12 digs.
Schwartz contributed 19 digs, Peyton Ray had four kills, Millie Templeman recorded four kills and three digs and London Shepherd chipped in three kills and two digs.
Carthage (13-14, 4-3 COC) is at Carl Junction on Tuesday.
NEOSHO, Mo. — The Neosho football team built an early lead and staved off a late Ozark comeback attempt to claim its first win of the season with a 20-14 victory on Friday night at Bob Anderson Stadium.
The Wildcats improved to 1-6, while the Tigers slipped to 1-6.
Neosho led by as many as 14 points in the game but had to lean on its defense late after Ozark had trimmed the deficit to six points in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were held in check for much of the second half but managed to break the scoring lull when running back Jack Bowers recorded his second touchdown of the night on a 2-yard plunge to make it a six-point game with 2:25 remaining in the contest.
A successful onside kick recovery by Drake Swift set the Neosho offense up at its own 47-yard line, and the Wildcats managed to get a first down and milk precious seconds off the clock before turning the ball over on downs in Ozark territory.
With just 23 seconds remaining, Ozark took over at its own 31 before an errant snap to quarterback Peyton Russell resulted in a Neosho fumble recovery. The Wildcats then went into their victory formation to officially claim their elusive first triumph of the season.
The Neosho defense managed to keep the Ozark offense scoreless on eight of its 10 drives on the night, generating a pair of takeaways and forcing three turnovers via downs.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start offensively in the game as they built a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter with scoring drives of 80 and 83 yards.
First blood was drawn by Neosho just over two minutes into the game when a fourth-and-4 play saw quarterback Quenton Hughes connect with running back Denton Welch out of the backfield for a 47-yard TD.
Ozark seemed poised to respond to the Neosho score with one of its own on its first offensive possession of the night. But after advancing into Neosho territory, a fumble by Bowers was recovered by Neosho’s Virgil Rosier for a turnover at the NHS 17.
The Wildcats capitalized on the takeaway with a methodical 13-play drive fueled by a balanced attack with seven rushes and six completed passes. The drive was capped by a three-yard TD run by Welch, putting Neosho up two TDs with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
The Tigers managed to claim their first points at the 7:30 mark of the second quarter when a 49-yard drive was punctuated by a 20-yard TD scamper by Bowers, trimming the NHS lead to 14-7.
Neosho capped the scoring in the first half with a 35-yard field goal by Juan Blancarte to take a 17-7 advantage into halftime.
Neosho’s final score of the night, a 23-yard field goal by Blancarte, came at the end of a drive that started at the NHS 10-yard line and gave the home team a 20-7 lead with 5:02 to play in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Neosho will hit the road to take on Webb City next Friday at 7 p.m. while Ozark plays host to Branson.
CARTHAGE, Mo. — As the longest tenured head football coach in the Central Ozark Conference, Carthage’s Jon Guidie has recorded many memorable victories over the years.
But Guidie’s latest coaching win is likely to rank high on his list of significant regular season triumphs.
Led by a strong rushing attack and a solid defensive effort, Carthage knocked off Class 5 No. 2 Webb City 20-13 on a chilly Friday night at David Haffner Stadium.
It’s safe to say the Tigers entered the matchup as the clear underdog.
“Obviously, this is a huge win over a very good football team,” Guidie said. “It’s a big rivalry. Webb City was red hot coming in. And any time you can beat Webb City, it’s big. I’m just really proud of these kids and the fight they showed tonight. This is a quality win, so we’re just really happy for the kids.”
The Cardinals and Tigers both entered the Week 7 rivalry matchup with plenty of momentum.
Webb City had won five straight games, while Carthage was riding a three-game winning streak. With that, something had to give. In the end, it was the host Tigers who kept their streak alive.
Carthage QB Brady Carlton hands off to Landyn Collins during Friday’s game with Webb City at David Haffner Stadium. Photo by Israel Perez.
Simply put, Carthage’s offense was able to sustain drives and keep Webb City’s high-powered offense off the field. In the most glaring statistic of the night, Carthage had more than 32 minutes of time of possession (32:13) to Webb City’s 15:47.
“We took six minutes off the clock on one possession and five minutes off the clock with another drive,” Guidie noted. “You have to do that against a team that has an explosive offense. You have to control the ball and control the clock and our kids were able to do that tonight. We converted some third downs and key fourth downs. Those were big.”
Carthage ran 60 offensive plays to Webb City’s 37. The hosts recorded 18 first downs to Webb City’s nine.
“Offensively, it didn’t feel like we had very many snaps,” Webb City coach Ryan McFarland said. “It was hard to get a feel for what they were trying to do defensively because we didn’t get to run a lot of plays. We were slow to make some adjustments because of the limited snaps we had.”
The Cardinals entered the night averaging 43 points per game during their winning streak, but the Tigers limited the visitors to two scores, both in the first half.
“We gave up a big play early, and they have some good kids and some speed,” Guidie said. “I thought our defense tightened up and we were able to get a turnover before the half. That was big. I thought the defense settled down and played really well.”
Carthage improved to 4-3 with a fourth straight win.
“I’m very happy with this team,” Guidie said. “They’re getting better and gaining confidence and I still think we have a ways to go. It’s very gratifying to coach this group in particular. We’ve got 11 new starters on defense…and we started five sophomores tonight. It’s just very gratifying to see these guys have the success they’ve had.”
Carthage held a 20-13 lead at halftime, and despite some promising opportunities, neither team scored after the break.
GAME RECAP
Webb City QB Braden McKee hands off to Noah Durman during Friday’s game at Carthage. Photo by Israel Perez.
Webb City’s first drive went 72 yards on seven plays and was capped by junior running back Andrew Elwell’s 3-yard touchdown run at the 9:15 mark of the opening quarter.
Carthage responded on its first series, as senior Darrin Witt recorded a 32-yard touchdown run with 3:17 left in the first period, capping an 11-play, 74-yard drive.
Back in the lineup after missing time with an injury, Webb City sophomore QB/RB/WR Gabe Johnson made his presence known by sprinting past the CHS defense for a dazzling 67-yard score, giving the Cardinals a 13-7 advantage after the PAT kick failed.
“Our guys executed our game plan early in the game,” McFarland said. “It was nice to have Gabe Johnson back because he’s such a big playmaker.”
The Tigers tied it up on junior running back Landyn Collins’ 1-yard touchdown plunge at the 10:07 mark of the second quarter. Webb City’s Brody Eggleston blocked the PAT kick to keep it 13-all.
The Tigers took the lead for good with 2:53 remaining in the first half by coming through in the clutch.
Facing fourth and 3, Carthage took a 20-13 lead when Collins hauled in a short pass from junior quarterback Brady Carlton and then broke several tackles on the way to a 42-yard touchdown.
The two teams traded turnovers late in the first half, and both squads turned the ball over on downs to start the second half.
The Tigers continued to eat up a lot of the clock with a time-consuming drive that concluded with another turnover on downs with nine minutes left in the game.
A couple of untimely penalties hurt Webb City’s potential game-tying drive with just over six minutes to play.
Darrin Witt
Late in the game, the Cardinals recovered a CHS fumble with 1:12 remaining and with about 67 yards to go. A last-second Hail Mary was off the mark, and the Tigers celebrated a hard-fought victory.
“We turned the ball over twice in the second half, but we didn’t let it beat us,” Guidie said. “Maybe that’s a sign of maturity or growing up.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
The Tigers racked up 320 yards of offense, with 266 on the ground and 54 through the air.
“They’re a very physical football team and they run hard,” McFarland said of the Tigers. “It’s hard to simulate that in practice. We haven’t seen a team just line up and try to run over us the last few weeks. I think they caught us off guard. In the first half, their yards after contact was probably three or four yards per play. They were able to get first downs. I thought we made some adjustments defensively in the second half, and we were able to get some stops.”
Collins ran 28 times for 107 yards and Carlton had 105 rushing yards on 20 carries. Both players showed the ability to pick up extra yardage after an initial hit on several gains.
“We talked at halftime about how hard Landyn and Brady were running,” Guidie said. “It seemed like they had an extra gear tonight. Getting an extra yard or two was very important when you want to control the ball.”
Trevor Meadows (six tackles) and Noah Norbury (five tackles) led the Carthage defense.
Webb City finished with 225 yards, 172 rushing and 53 passing.
Johnson ran 10 times for 104 yards to lead the Webb City offense. Senior quarterback Braden McKee completed 3 of 7 passes for 32 yards and Johnson went 3 of 4 for 21 passing yards.
Conner Gayman had 13 tackles for the Cardinals, while Tucker Liberatore had 10.
Webb City slipped to 5-2 on the season with the setback.
McFarland noted Carthage was the more physical team in the matchup, and added he hopes the loss will provide his squad with extra motivation going forward.
Friday’s contest was the 115th meeting between the longtime rivals since 1920.
WILL THEY MEET AGAIN?
Of course, these two teams are not only conference rivals, but also district foes.
Both squads have been assigned to Class 5 District 7, so a postseason rematch is a possibility.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Carthage travels to Joplin in Week 8, while Webb City entertains Neosho next Friday night at Cardinal Stadium.
Carthage quarterback Brady Carlton looks to elude the Webb City defense during Friday’s rivalry matchup at David Haffner Stadium. Photo by Israel Perez.
Webb City sophomore Gabe Johnson attempts to elude Carthage’s Noah Norbury during Friday’s game at CHS.
Carthage running back Landyn Collins looks to avoid the tackle from Webb City’s Conner Gayman on Friday night. Carthage upset No. 2 Webb City 20-13 on Friday. All photos by Israel Perez/SoMo Sports.
