WEBB CITY, Mo. — After a dominant victory over a longtime rival, the Webb City Cardinals are headed back to the state quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Webb City rolled from the start on the way to a convincing 42-7 win over third-seeded Carthage on Friday night in the championship game of the Class 5 District 7 tournament at Cardinal Stadium.
“Tonight we wanted to come out and set the tone early and I think we were able to do that,” Webb City coach Ryan McFarland said. “Our 33 seniors have led us in every practice and workout and they led us tonight. I can’t say enough about the senior class. We’re going to get back to work on Monday. The Carthage game is over and it’s time to move on to whoever we play next.”
Webb City (9-2) will host Grain Valley (10-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the state tourney.
In a first half where nearly everything went the host’s way, Webb City built a commanding 27-0 lead by intermission. It was more of the same in the second half, as the Cardinals held a 42-0 advantage late in the game.
“We kind of got steamrolled tonight for sure,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Big credit goes out to Webb City. They played a heck of a game. Their kids played hard. They took it to us tonight.”
Of course, the Cardinals had some extra motivation after falling to the Tigers 20-13 during the regular season meeting on Oct. 6.
“When we played them last time, for whatever reason, they were more physical than us,” McFarland said. “They played with more energy than we did that night. We’ve talked about that since that game…we can control our energy level and how physical we are.”
Webb City senior defensive lineman Jace Jones admitted his team was highly-motivated to avenge the loss to the Tigers.
“We had great preparation in practice this week,” the 6-foot-7, 255-pound Jones said. “We took practice more seriously this time. We knew the season was on the line. I’m so proud of every one of my teammates. We put in the work, effort and preparation and good things happened for us tonight. Overall, our offense and defense played complementary football. The offense would score, and the defense would get a stop. It was a great night.”
GAME RECAP
After the teams traded interceptions early in the game, Webb City senior running back Omari Jackson scampered into the end zone from six yards out, finishing off a 12-play, 95-yard drive.
It was the lone score of the first quarter.
The Webb City defense forced a turnover on downs on the first series of the second quarter, setting up the offense with good field position.
The hosts needed just two plays to go 44 yards, as Jackson’s 37-yard touchdown run gave the Cardinals a 13-0 lead with 9:36 remaining in the first half.
After Carthage went three and out, Webb City junior running back Andrew Elwell recorded a 2-yard touchdown run with just under five minutes left in the second period for a 20-0 cushion.
Next, speedy sophomore quarterback Gabe Johnson sprinted past the CHS defense for a 76-yard touchdown run, extending his team’s advantage to 27-0.
“We had some big plays called back due to penalties in the first half, but I think it gave our kids confidence that we have that big play potential,” McFarland said. “We just needed to cut down on our mistakes.”
Everything continued to go Webb City’s way, as an interception by junior defensive back Andrew Young late in the first half halted a Carthage drive.
After throwing a pair of interceptions in the opening half, Carthage lost a fumble at the start of the third quarter.
The Cardinals added a pair of unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter, as Elwell scored on a 4-yard run and senior quarterback Braden McKee contributed a 6-yard score for a lopsided 42-0 advantage.
Carthage junior quarterback Brady Carlton scored on a 2-yard run with 35 seconds left for the final margin.
NAMES & NUMBERS
Led by stellar offensive line play, Webb City recorded 480 yards of offense on 45 plays, with 418 rushing and 62 passing.
Elwell ran 14 times for 126 yards and two scores, while Johnson had 119 rushing yards on just six carries. Jackson ran nine times for 91 yards and two touchdowns.
“Gabe Johnson is a stud,” McFarland said. “He’s getting better and better each week. We got Omari Jackson back last week and he’s a big play guy for us. All of our running backs played really well.”
The Cardinals recorded 15 first downs to Carthage’s five.
Webb City’s stout defense limited Carthage to 158 yards on 38 plays, 127 on the ground and 31 through the air.
Carlton recorded 60 rushing yards on 16 carries and Landyn Collins had 42 yards on 11 attempts.
Webb City remained undefeated at home this season, as the Cardinals are now 6-0 on John Roderique Field.
It was the third time in four years the two close rivals met with the season on the line in a district title game.
SAYING GOODBYE
Carthage ends the ’23 season with a record of 7-5.
Carthage said goodbye to 10 seniors. The Tigers will return a solid core next fall, as many underclassmen were in big roles this season.
The Tigers started the fall 0-3 before turning things around and winning seven of eight contests ahead of the district title game.
“I’m very happy with the progress our kids made this year,” Guidie said. “It was a tough situation coming in after losing 11 starters on defense. It took us some time to adjust, but they did. Our kids came around. And that’s a senior class that went 0-9 as freshmen. For those guys to hang in there, and win seven games after a 0-3 start, I’m really proud of those guys.”
DISTRICT TITLE IN YEAR 1 FOR MCFARLAND
The Cardinals captured a district title in Coach McFarland’s first year as the storied program’s head coach, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning a state title in 2021.
A Webb City graduate and former assistant, McFarland noted it was a special occasion to see his team celebrating on Friday night.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the kids,” McFarland said. “When they buy in and do what you ask them to do, day in and day out, you want them to reap the benefits of doing that. That’s probably the biggest part of this. The kids have done everything I’ve asked, so I hope everything works out well for them.”
CLASS 5 DISTRICT 7 TITLE GAME
WEBB CITY 42, CARTHAGE 7
Carthage 0 0 0 7 — 7
Webb City 7 20 15 0 — 42
SCORING SUMMARY
WC: Omari Jackson 6 run (Alex Dunne kick)
WC: Jackson 37 run (Kick failed)
WC: Andrew Elwell 2 run (Dunne kick)
WC: Gabe Johnson 76 run (Dunne kick)
WC: Elwell 4 run (Elwell run)
WC: Braden McKee 6 run (Dunne kick)
CAR: Brady Carlton 2 run (Luis Fuentes kick).
RECENT DISTRICT TITLE GAMES
2023: Webb City def. Carthage 42-7
2022: Carthage def. Republic 28-14
2021: Webb City def. Carthage 28-21
2020: Webb City def. Carthage 42-21
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
