NEOSHO, Mo. — Carthage’s winning streak against Neosho on the gridiron survives another season.
Barely.
The Tigers tallied four second-half touchdowns and surrendered just one score on their way to a 35-21 victory over the Wildcats Friday night at Bob Anderson Stadium.
Carthage hasn’t lost to Neosho since the 2008 season.
After trailing 14-7 at the break, Carthage rattled off a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 21-14 lead on Neosho, thanks to junior quarterback Brady Carlton’s 5-yard run and a Rudy Perez 6-yard touchdown reception from Carlton, and another two scores in the fourth.
Carthage, which improved to 2-3, held Neosho to a single touchdown in the second half, and junior defensive lineman Trevor Meadows forced a fumble and recovered it to set the Tigers up for Jackson Hettinger’s 22-yard touchdown pass from Brady Carlton to give the visitors a crucial two-score lead.
Then, the Carthage defense answered the bell once again when sophomore defensive back Braxton Ralston corralled an interception and returned it 33 yards after teammate Joey Czahor tipped the pass near the goal line with just 1:03 left, helping secure the win.
The Wildcats got out to a 14-0 lead with two big-play touchdowns courtesy of the QB Quenton Hughes and WR Hudson Williams connection.
The duo linked up for a 60-yard touchdown score less than a minute into the contest that vaulted Hughes past the 5,000-yard career passing mark in the process.
After the Neosho defense stuffed Carthage three times within the 5-yard line, Hughes tossed two 33-yard passes to Williams—the second going for a score and 14-0 advantage.
Junior receiver Langston Morgan and junior running back had the other Carthage touchdowns. Morgan hauled in a 43-yard reception from Collins via a halfback pass to make it 14-7, and Collins rushed in a 5-yard score for the final tally of the contest.
Neosho junior running back Denver Welch scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter and before the Tigers’ defense clamped down.
Carthage stays on the road and plays Ozark next Friday, while Neosho (0-4) takes the trip to Branson (2-3).
