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.
