NEOSHO, Mo. — Webb City’s defense rose to the occasion in the second half.
After surrendering 21 points in the first half, Webb City’s defense pitched a shutout after intermission.
That strong defensive effort led the Cardinals to a 42-21 victory over Neosho on Friday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash at Bob Anderson Stadium.
A back and forth first half ended with Webb City clinging to a 28-21 lead. But the Cardinals would not allow the Wildcats’ high-powered offense to score a single point after the break.
“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “That’s a tremendous effort against that offense in the second half. We made a few adjustments and got a little more physical with their receivers. We got some sacks and some negative yard plays.”
Neosho’s prolific spread offense entered the night averaging 46 points per game.
“Brandon (Taute) has done a great job here,” Roderique added. “They’ve scored on everybody, and they’ve moved the ball on everybody. I thought the effort from our defense was obviously the biggest difference in the second half.”
Ranked sixth in Class 5 by the Missouri Media, Webb City improved to 5-3.
The Wildcats fell to 4-4 after their first home loss.
“I think our kids played extremely hard,” Neosho coach Brandon Taute said. “They came out and fought. There were a lot of times in the game where we could have rolled over, but they didn’t do that. We kept battling back. I’m extremely proud of the effort our kids gave. The score doesn’t depict the game in my opinion. We were right in that game.”
Neosho was forced to punt twice in the third quarter and the Wildcats turned it over on downs twice in the final frame.
Taute noted his team had its chances in the second half.
“We got down in the red zone too many times without coming away with points,” Taute said. “You can’t do that against a team like that.”
Playing in front of a large Senior Night crowd, the Wildcats took an early lead when junior quarterback Quenton Hughes completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Isaiah Green.
The Cardinals tied it up when senior quarterback Landon Johnson found classmate William Hayes open for a 49-yard touchdown strike.
Webb City took a 14-7 lead with 6:26 left in the first quarter after junior running back Breckin Galardo scored on a 20-yard run up the middle.
The Cardinals took a two-score lead on the first play of the second quarter on Johnson’s 3-yard QB keeper.
Neosho’s Green hauled in a 6-yard pass from Hughes with 4:38 left in the second quarter, trimming Webb City’s lead to 21-14.
The visitors answered on the ensuing drive, as Galardo broke free for a 33-yard touchdown sprint with 2:26 remaining in the first half, extending Webb City’s advantage to 28-14.
After recovering a Webb City fumble with just over a minute to play in the first half, Neosho scored with 27 seconds left on a 33-yard pass to Green.
With that, it appeared as if the Wildcats had the momentum at halftime.
“It was a good first half,” Taute said. “I thought we executed pretty well in the first half. I thought we made some good defensive adjustments. Our defense got some big stops when we needed them.”
Omari Jackson’s 1-yard touchdown plunge finished off the opening drive of the second half and gave Webb City a 35-21 cushion.
Webb City’s defense came up with a key stop with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats had a crucial turnover on downs.
A 1-yard QB sneak by Johnson put the finishing touches on the win, as the Cardinals went up 42-21 with 5:05 left.
“In the second half, we just weren’t able to put the ball in the end zone,” Taute noted. “Our defense got some turnovers, and we hung around. We just couldn’t close that gap.”
Led by its strong running attack, Webb City compiled 498 yards, with 423 on the ground and 75 through the air.
“On offense, we knew we can’t punt the ball and we can’t give them extra opportunities,” Roderique noted. “You can’t turn the ball over…which we did. You have to produce points every time. And you have to be able to run time off the clock against a team like this. I think it was big for us to score right away in the second half. That got things rolling a little bit.”
Galardo finished with 235 rushing yards, while Jackson added 151. Landon Johnson completed four passes, with William Hayes (54 yards) and Cy Darnell (21 yards) hauling in two passes apiece.
Three Cardinals finished with eight tackles apiece, Lucas Ott, Christian Brock and Kaylor Darnell.
Neosho finished with 346 yards, with 212 passing. Hughes completed 24 of 42 passes with three TD. Green had 166 receiving yards with three touchdowns. Jared Siler led Neosho’s rushing attack with 147 yards.
Korbyn York and Nico Olivares had nine tackles apiece for the Wildcats.
“We just have to continue to get better,” Taute said. “Our goal is to be playing our best football in Week 10.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
In next Friday’s regular season finales, Webb City hosts Branson and Neosho travels to Joplin.
The Cardinals and Wildcats could see each other again, as both teams have been assigned to Class 5 District 6.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
Neosho’s Isaiah Green makes a leaping catch during Friday’s game against Webb City. Photo by Israel Perez.
