CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers scored all 21 second-half points and rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 48-12 win Friday over Central Ozark Conference rival Carl Junction at Bulldog Stadium.
Carthage senior running back Luke Gall rushed for more than 320 yards and scored six touchdowns on 29 carries with his final carry a 75-yard scoring run that put the game into running-clock mode for the final 11 minutes.
The Tiger defense did not surrender an offensive touchdown all night and the Bulldogs’ second-half offensive possessions read turnover-on-downs, interception, and three punts.
Carl Junction, though, made it a dogfight in the first half and jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after a Xavier Perkins 31-yard field goal on the opening drive and a Kayden Bolinger 9-yard fumble return for touchdown on a disastrous punt with a bad snap followed by a fumble.
The Tigers rattled off 27 unanswered points before Perkins ended the first half on a 38-yard field goal.
“We didn’t come out as clean as we wanted to, obviously,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Penalties were huge. We had the miscue on the punt, and I was afraid after last week’s game (a 22-21 loss at home against Nixa) that we might come out and not be ready right away. Certainly, it seemed to be the case, but we got some things figured out at halftime and came out, made a couple adjustments, and got rolling a little bit. Defense was fantastic.”
Half of Gall’s six touchdown runs Friday were longer than 50 yards, and his last play proved to be an epic grand finale.
“Golly, what he did that last touchdown run, that last carry, I think that was his 29th carry, to be able to do that after what all he did offensively and he made a ton of plays defensively,” Guidie said. “I mean, that’s Luke Gall. That’s what he brings to the table.”
The Tigers eventually wore down the Carl Junction defense in the second half.
“We got after our offensive line and tight ends at halftime,” Guidie said. “They weren’t very good the first half. They just weren’t and we didn’t do a very good job. That second half, it was much cleaner and more physical, and I thought they really got after it.
Carthage’s other touchdown came on a 13-yard pass from senior quarterback Cooper Jadwin to senior receiver Hudson Moore.
“He’s such a good receiver that he’s going to draw everybody’s best defender every week and he’s going to get doubled like he was most of tonight,” Guidie said. “They’re not only going to have their best guy on him, they’ll double him especially on passing downs. It’s kind of rough going sometimes, finding him and getting him the football, but he made a great catch there on that touchdown. He’s a threat every time. If he takes two out of the box, that’s good for us.”
Carthage’s defense played strong all night, but especially in the second half.
“We gave up two field goals defensively,” Guidie said. “They’re so multiple offensively, they do a lot of different motions and shifts and get the ball to a lot of different people. I’m really proud of those guys on the defensive side. They hung in there and got a couple turnovers late.”
Carthage, 3-1 overall and COC, welcomes conference and district rival Neosho to David Haffner Stadium for the Tigers’ Homecoming in Week 5.
The Wildcats stand at 2-2 overall after their 63-48 loss Friday night against Republic. Neosho surpassed 200 points on the season, but the Wildcats have surrendered 229 with three opponents exceeding 60 points on the Wildcats.
Carthage dominated Neosho last season 71-14.
Carl Junction, 1-3 overall and COC, will attempt to avoid a four-game losing streak when the Bulldogs head to Branson (1-3) in Week 5.
