CARTHAGE, Mo. — Senior RB Luke Gall eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the season as the Class 5 top-ranked Carthage Tigers rolled past Ozark 49-7 on Friday.
On the third play of the game, Gall broke free on a run between the tackles on third-down and short for a 58-yard touchdown to give Carthage an early 7-0 lead and all of the momentum. Gall surpassed 1,000 total yards of offense on the season in the process, heading into the matchup against Ozark with 792 rushing yards and 151 receiving yards through five games.
The win gives Carthage a 5-1 record, while Ozark falls to 1-5.
Following the quick touchdown, Ozark turned it over on downs on its first drive of the game. Carthage needed just four plays to find the end zone again when QB Cooper Jadwin faked a handoff up the middle and kept the ball to the right for a 38-yard touchdown and a 14-0 advantage with 6:07 left to play in the first quarter.
Jadwin found the end zone again on Carthage’s third drive of the game, capping a six-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown up the middle on a fake to Gall to the right for a 21-0 lead with 2:40 to play in the opening quarter.
On the next Carthage possession, Jadwin found TE Tyler Willis for a 30-yard completion to set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Gall, his second of the game, to push the lead to 28-0 before the intermission.
The Carthage defense fell on a fumble near midfield on the following Ozark drive, with the offense turning the takeaway into a score after Gall’s third touchdown of the game on a run from 5 yards out, his 24th of the season, to cap a five-play, 53-yard drive while moving the lead to 35-0 with 1:26 left before the intermission and enforcing the running clock out of the break.
Ozark looked as if they were stopped for another three-and-out punt on the first drive out of the halftime break, but the return was muffed by Carthage, with OHS falling on it to retain possession. Ozark capitalized on the new life as QB Brady Dodd rushed the ball 46 yards down to the Carthage 1-yard line before he finished it off with a touchdown on the ensuing first-and-goal snap to cut the lead to 35-7 with 7:51 to play in the third.
Gall helped Carthage answer right back after taking a handoff and carrying multiple defenders for the first five yards before breaking loose and sprinting away for a 54-yard touchdown to push the lead out to 42-7 with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
Carthage’s Tayvion Bailey intercepted a Dodd pass on the ensuing Ozark drive to give his Tigers possession at the OHS 46. Jadwin followed with a 34-yard run on the keeper and Carthage capped the drive two plays later with an 8-yard touchdown run from Bailey for a 49-7 cushion inside the final minutes of the third quarter. Bailey added a second interception with 3:05 left to play in the game.
UP NEXT
Carthage is at Class 5 No. 5 Webb City (4-2) on Friday.
