CARTHAGE, Mo. — Third-seeded Carthage scored on its first six possessions and took a knee on its seventh en route to a convincing 42-3 victory over sixth-seeded Sedalia Smith-Cotton in the quarterfinals of the Class 5 District 7 football tournament on a chilly Friday night at David Haffner Stadium.
In a clash between Tigers that was played in a steady mist, Carthage built a comfortable 28-3 advantage by intermission on the way to a dominant win.
“That’s how we wanted the game to go tonight,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “We felt like if we didn’t hurt ourselves with penalties and turnovers and if we were really good up front, then we would have success tonight. And we took care of all three of those areas. This win means a lot.”
Carthage’s ground attack proved tough to contain, as the hosts sustained drives all night.
“We wanted to come in and establish the run game, just like we try to do every week,” Guidie said. “It was working tonight. The offensive line played fantastic tonight. I have to give credit to those offensive line guys tonight.”
Carthage went 71 yards on nine plays on the opening drive of the night. Junior quarterback Brady Carlton scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 7:24 remaining in the first quarter to give the hosts an early 7-0 lead.
Smith-Cotton’s Brayden Butts connected a 42-yard field goal to get the visitors on the board.
However, it was Smith-Cotton’s only score of the night, as the Carthage defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way.
“Our defense was fantastic,” Guidie said. “They’ve got a really good running back (Mylan Hawkins) who has put up a lot of yards. He’s pretty elusive. I thought we were able to contain him and not let him get loose. Our kids covered the back end, too. I’m really proud of those guys.”
The hosts scored 21 unanswered points in the second period.
In fact, Carthage scored on the first play of the second quarter when junior running back Landyn Collins scampered into the end zone from 3 yards out. The touchdown capped a 10-play, 73-yard drive.
The PAT kick by junior Luis Fuentes made it 14-3 with 11:56 left in the second quarter.
Finishing off a 64-yard drive on eight plays, Carlton’s second touchdown of the night, this time from 2 yards out, made it 21-3 with 4:05 remaining in the first half.
After a Smith-Cotton punt, Carthage made it 4-for-4 on first half possessions, as Carlton’s 4-yard touchdown run up the middle with eight seconds left gave the hosts a 28-3 cushion.
After halftime, it was more of the same.
Carthage added a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter for the final margin.
Collins scored on a 1-yard run, finishing off a 12-play drive and giving the host Tigers a 35-3 lead.
With four seconds left in the third quarter, Carlton completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to junior Jackson Hettinger.
That was Carthage’s sixth score on six possessions.
Smith-Cotton (2-8) had a turnover on downs with eight minutes remaining in the game before the hosts took over possession and eventually ran out the clock.
With just under 30 seconds to play, Carthage took a knee near the 5-yard line. It was the only time a CHS drive didn’t result in a touchdown all game.
Carthage finished with 358 yards, with 320 rushing and 38 passing.
Smith-Cotton was limited to 72 yards, 44 rushing and 28 passing.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Defending district champion Carthage (6-4) will travel to second-seeded Raytown South (8-2) in the semifinals next Friday.
“We don’t know much about them, so we have a lot of work to do,” Guidie commented about his team’s next opponent. “That’s what fun about this time of the year. You get to see some new teams.”
Carthage has built plenty of momentum heading into the district semifinals, as the Tigers have won six of their last seven games.
“I’m just really proud of these guys,” Guidie said. “I’m happy for our kids and our coaches. When you have success like that, it just builds confidence in the kids. You can see it every single week. They’re not ready to be done yet.”
CLASS 5 DISTRICT 7 QUARTERFINALS
CARTHAGE 42, SMITH-COTTON 3
Smith-Cotton 3 0 0 0 — 3
Carthage 7 21 14 0 — 42
SCORING SUMMARY
CAR: Brady Carlton 4 run (Luis Fuentes kick)
SC: Brayden Butts 42 field goal
CAR: Landyn Collins 3 run (Fuentes kick)
CAR: Carlton 2 run (Fuentes kick)
CAR: Carlton 4 run (Fuentes kick)
CAR: Collins 1 run (Fuentes kick)
CAR: Jackson Hettinger 16 pass from Carlton (Fuentes kick).
