OZARK, Mo. — The Carthage football team took control in the second half to pull away for a 34-20 road win over Central Ozark Conference foe Ozark on Friday night.
CHS claimed a third consecutive win to move to 3-3 on the season while Ozark fell to 1-5.
A back-and-forth first half saw the two teams exchange touchdowns on six consecutive drives— all in the second quarter—to take a 20-20 tie into halftime.
It was Carthage, however, that stood tall in the final 24 minutes of the contest.
Receiving the kickoff to start the second half, Carthage methodically worked its way down the field before running back Landyn Collins dashed 22 yards for a touchdown rush that gave CHS a 27-20 lead midway through the third quarter. The scoring drive went 77 yards in nine plays and featured a fourth-down conversion on a 24-yard pass from Carlton to tight end Karson Murray.
Ozark was, yet again, seemingly poised to answer the Carthage touchdown with one of its own on its ensuing drive. But after advancing 64 yards to the Carthage 10, OHS saw an errant option pitch lead to a pivotal fumble recovery by Carthage defensive back Ryan Phillips.
Carthage, taking over at its own 11, took advantage of the takeaway with a 17-play touchdown drive that milked nearly 10 minutes of game clock and included two conversions on fourth-down attempts. After Carlton found the end zone on a short run for his third overall touchdown of the night, CHS had its first two-score lead, 34-20, with 7:15 remaining in the game.
The Carthage defense then put the final nail in the coffin by forcing a turnover on downs at its own 29-yard line with 3:50 to play. Ozark never touched the football from there.
The Carthage defense, after struggling to keep Ozark out of the end zone for the entirety of the second quarter, managed to shut out OHS in the second half thanks to a fumble recovery and one turnover via downs.
A scoreless opening quarter was followed by a second quarter filled with offensive fireworks. Carthage drew first blood with 10:24 showing the second when Carlton reached paydirt on a 6-yard run to take a 7-0 lead. CHS benefitted from a short field on the scoring drive after forcing Ozark to punt from its own 2-yard line.
It took Ozark less than three minutes to respond when a 13-yard score pass from Sam Clark to Peyton Russell punctuated a 70-yard drive and tied the game at 7-7.
The visitors reclaimed the lead with 4:33 remaining in the opening half on a six-play, 67-yard drive that was capped by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Carlton to Langston Morgan. A failed PAT attempt left Carthage with a 13-7 advantage.
OHS again responded swiftly to tie the game, needing just three plays before scoring a touchdown on another Russell-to-Clark connection through the air, this time for 43 yards. Ozark, too, missed its PAT to preserve a 13-13 tie with 3:56 left in the second quarter.
The Carthage offense proceeded to keep the fireworks going as it marched 78 yards in eight plays and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard plunge by Collins, giving his team a 20-13 lead.
It appeared Carthage would keep its seven-point lead heading into halftime, but with the Ozark offense facing a third-and-long with just a few seconds left in the second quarter, Jack Bowers broke free for an electric 54-yard touchdown run that saw the athletic senior avoid a near tackle by CHS defensive back Joey Czahor.
On the play, Czahor appeared to trip up Bowers for a tackle near the OHS 10-yard line, but officials ruled that Bowers had landed on top of Czahor and was able to get back to his feet without being downed. Ozark’s ensuing PAT drew the game to a 20-20 tie heading into intermission.
Carthage will play host to Webb City next Friday while Ozark travels to Neosho.
