Class 6 eighth-ranked Joplin’s defense forced Class 5 second-ranked Webb City into four turnovers and three turnover-on-downs to fuel a 24-8 Central Ozark Conference win over the Cardinals on Friday at Junge Stadium.
The win for Joplin is the fourth straight to start the season and the fourth consecutive win over Webb City. The Eagles’ record improves to 4-0.
“I don’t think you can say enough about the defense—the defensive staff, the effort, the adjustments and the defensive line,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “The defensive line, after I felt like we struggled at times against Ozark (last week), came to practice all week long and worked their tails off. I couldn’t be more proud of the defense as a whole, but especially the defensive line and everything they were able to accomplish tonight.”
The loss is Webb City’s first since falling to state-ranked Class 6 Nixa in the season opener. The Cardinals are 2-2 on the season.
“Not to take anything away (from Joplin), but I felt like we matched up really well with them,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “I don’t think our guys—in the first half on offense—played as well as we could. I thought we got outplayed. When you get the ball down (in opponent territory) and you turn it over or don’t make plays you need to make at the most crucial time, whether it be a pass, a handoff, a carry, a block or a tackle on the defensive side—we just aren’t making the plays we need to to finish drives.”
“We probably need to look at personnel and make sure we have the right guys playing the amount of plays they should,” Roderique added when asked what the teaching moment was for his team after the loss. “It’s not a complex situation. It’s pretty simple. It’s about what kind of pride the kids have and if they are willing to work. We have some great kids in our program and I am sure they will bounce back and be ready to work on Monday.”
TEAM STATS
Joplin’s offense picked up 274 yards of offense on 43 plays (6.4 yards per play) and had 11 first downs in the win, drawing five penalties for 43 yards. Webb City gained 371 yards on 68 plays (5.5 YPP), picked up 20 first downs and held a 28:36 to 19:24 advantage in time of possession, but the Cardinals lost the turnover battle 4-0.
“I bet we had quite a few yards tonight,” Roderique said. “But those don’t matter until you get the ball across the goal line. … I feel like in Week 4, you shouldn’t be making the mistakes we were making tonight. Certainly, that had a lot to do with our lack of success.”
STAT LEADERS
Joplin RB Quin Renfro carried 16 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while RB Drew VanGilder gained 97 yards and a score on six carries. TE Whit Hafer caught two passes for 20 yards, while WR Terrance Gibson caught two passes for 15 yards. QB Hobbs Gooch completed 7-of-13 passes for 63 yards.
Defensively, LB Jonathan Williams unofficially had nine tackles, while LB Draven VanGilder finished with eight tackles. DE Blake Farmer and DB Bennett Dall each came up with two turnovers.
“We really had to prepare this week,” Farmer said when asked his thoughts on Joplin’s defensive effort in the win over Webb City. “It was kind of a different game plan and something we’ve never really run down before. We had to switch up a couple of our alignment stunts and our linebackers did a phenomenal job filling.”
Webb City RB Breckin Galardo carried the ball 29 times for 167 yards and a touchdown, while QB Landon Johnson gained 28 yards on nine carries and completed 11-of-17 passes for 127 yards and an interception. WR William Hayes caught six passes for 86 yards, with TE Trey Roets hauling in four passes for 35 yards.
GAME ACTION
Joplin deferred after winning the coin toss and Webb City took the opening possession at its own 23 and marched down to the Joplin 9-yard line on 11-plays, chewing more than five minutes of game clock up before a fumbled exchange on the first-and-goal snap went for the game’s first turnover as Farmer fell on the ball for Joplin.
“It was a huge moment,” Farmer said. “It really gave us some momentum for the rest of the night.”
The Eagles took possession at their own 10-yard line with a high snap on second-down and 10 sailing over the head of Gooch, who chased the ball to the back of the end zone before scooping it out for a safety to avoid a defensive touchdown.
Joplin’s defense forced back-to-back turnover-on-downs and the offense found rhythm on its third drive, marching 69-yards on nine plays with Renfro taking a handoff left, planting his foot in the turf and cut upfield for a 16-yard touchdown with 7:40 left in the first half for a 7-2 lead.
“Our guys didn’t flinch when we got down, just like at Ozark when we weren’t playing well,” Jasper said about his team’s ability to fight the early adversity. “You obviously don’t want to start this game giving them a safety and giving them the ball right back, but our guys didn’t flinch. They just kept playing hard and playing together. It is so much fun to coach this group and watch them work and play together.”
After a Webb City punt, the Eagles took possession on their own 27 and Drew VanGilder took his first carry of the night up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown, high-stepping his way out of a tackle at the 15-yard line before rumbling across the goal line to give Joplin a 14-2 lead with 5:46 left in the first half.
Needing points before the half, Webb City once again orchestrated a nice drive that went for 13 plays, 65 yards and nearly five and a half minutes of clock. The Cardinals drove down inside the Eagles’ 1-yard line with 20 seconds left in the quarter and were looking at a third-down and goal before a second fumbled exchange on the snap allowed Farmer to drop on the loose ball once again for his second fumble recovery of the game, which allowed Joplin to hold onto a 14-2 lead into the intermission.
Joplin went three-and-out on the opening possession of the third quarter, giving Webb City an opportunity to strike first in the second half—an opportunity they ran with. Galardo broke loose for a 31-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession to trim the Eagles’ lead to 14-8 with less than nine minutes to play in the third quarter.
The Eagles answered back with points, getting a 25-yard field goal from PK Joseph Ipsen, who made a game-winning 42-yard field goal last season against Webb City, to push the lead back to two possessions, 17-8, with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
“The field goal to go up by two scores from Ipsen was a big deal,” Jasper said. “The cool part about it was (everyone on the team) knew, and obviously we wanted to punch it in, but once we got within field-goal range, if it came down to it on fourth down, we were going to kick the field goal because of the situation. … He just drilled it. Great snap, great hold, great blocking and Ipsen did it again.”
Webb City took the next possession and drove down to the Joplin 5-yard line looking at first-down and goal to go before the Eagles’ defense came up big once again. The Eagles stopped the Cardinals on four straight plays, including a touchdown-saving tackle at the goal line by Draven VanGilder on a fourth-and-goal-from-the-2 run up the middle by Galardo for a third turnover-on-downs.
“They are gigantic, game-changing,” Farmer said about his defense constantly making impactful plays all game long. “It can change the entire momentum of the game. It throws your opponent off and gives you a chance to solidify a ‘W’.”
The Cardinals gained possession after a quick Joplin punt and were driving near midfield when Johnson was picked off by Dall, who added a second interception later in the win, for the third forced turnover of the game.
On the very next play, Renfro ripped off a 37-yard touchdown to ice the Eagles’ fourth win over the Cardinals in as many years, making the score 24-8.
“Honestly, we were wanting to run some more clock off,” Jasper said with a smile. “But Quin is an explosive player and we were ecstatic he could take it to the house. … We just continued to play complimentary football in all three phases of the game.”
UP NEXT
Webb City is back on the road with a matchup against Ozark on Friday before returning home for a matchup against Willards on Sept. 30.
Joplin is on the road with a matchup against Class 6 fourth-ranked Nixa (4-0) in a battle of the lone unbeaten teams in the Central Ozark Conference.
