OZARK, Mo. — Coming off a three-win campaign, Carl Junction football was presumably thrilled to turn its focus to the 2022 season. Bringing back plenty of experience, the Bulldogs this preseason worked on leaning into their biggest strength—the running game.
“We don’t want to line up and throw it 40 times a game,” Carl Junction coach Doug Buckmaster told SoMo Sports earlier this week. “We want to be more balanced, or even more top heavy running the football. … We have three or four kids who can rotate at running back, and they also play defense, so we are trying to get better at platooning than we have been the last couple of years.”
Carl Junction’s rushing attack was supposed to be highlighted by Chance Benford. However, the talented back and all-conference linebacker had his senior season taken away from him by way of a lower leg injury that occurred during last week’s jamboree.
Even without their top back Friday night, the Bulldogs stuck to their preseason gameplan of running the football, and relied on juniors Johnny Starks and Tony Stewart on their way to a 42-21 victory over Ozark to open the season and Central Ozark Conference slate at Tigers Stadium.
Starks tallied two of the Bulldogs’ five rushing touchdowns on the evening, while junior quarterback Dexter Merrell added a pair of rushing scores and Stewart had one of his own.
Carl Junction notched its lone non-rushing touchdown to open the scoring just minutes into the contest when Merrell heaved a touchdown pass over the top to senior receiver Malakhi Moore, who sped past his defender and hauled in the catch before racing all the way to the end zone to complete an 85-yard touchdown reception.
The Bulldogs’ first defensive possession resulted in a fumble recovery. Carl Junction’s offense capitalized on the turnover, as Starks darted his way into the end zone on a 16-yard rush midway through the first quarter following a Nathan Planchon big-play reception from Merrell.
Ozark responded and cut the deficit to 14-7 with a 40-yard rushing touchdown from senior running back Ethan Sutherland with 4:35 left in the first frame. Starks, however, found the end zone again, this time from 12 yards out, to provide the visitors a 21-7 lead with 9:07 remaining in the second.
Carl Junction’s defense was in the midst of a groove at this point. It yielded two punts and a second turnover, a fumble recovered by Starks, which set up a 36-yard run by Stewart and a Merrell 2-yard touchdown run via a quarterback keeper—providing a Bulldogs’ favorable 28-7 halftime lead.
After the Tigers turned over their first possession of the second half, Merrell capped another successful touchdown drive—highlighted by a Starks’ 46-yard run—on a two-yard scamper with 7:34 left in the third quarter. Then, Carl Junction extended the lead to 42-7 late in the third when Stewart scored from four yards out. He finished the third quarter with 73 rushing yards on 11 carries. Starks midway through the frame had 82 yards on six rushes.
Ozark tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth quarter when Brady Dodd linked up with Jace Whatley on a 57-yard connection and Laine Emmerth scored a 32-yard rushing touchdown.
Carl Junction hosts Webb City at 7 p.m. on Thursday in a COC contest. Nixa knocked off Webb City in a crucial Week 1 road win, 42-19.
