WEBB CITY, Mo. — Playing in front of a large homecoming crowd, Webb City rode a strong defensive effort and a big second half to a dominant 38-0 victory over Ozark on Friday night on John Roderique Field at Cardinal Stadium.
With a fourth straight win, Class 5 No. 2 Webb City hiked its record to 4-1.
In a stellar performance, the Webb City defense pitched a shutout, forcing seven punts and limiting Ozark’s spread offense to just 78 yards on 34 plays.
“I have to give credit to our defensive coaches (Trey Derryberry and Aaron Davied),” Webb City coach Ryan McFarland said. “Those guys coordinate the defense. We’ve talked about keeping the defense simple and letting the kids make plays. That’s something we’ve preached all summer long. They’ve done a phenomenal job and our kids show up every Friday night and just play their tails off.”
Clinging to a 14-0 lead at halftime, the Cardinals reeled off 24 unanswered points in the second half to turn a two-score game into a blowout.
The Cardinals finished with 507 yards of total offense, with 309 on the ground and 198 through the air.
Webb City’s offense played without several key performers, including do-it-all sophomore Gabe Johnson and seniors Breckin Galardo and Omari Jackson, but managed to get going in the second half.
“Gabe Johnson didn’t play tonight and we’ve got a lot of guys out, so we’re trying to find our identity on offense,” McFarland said. “We played five running backs tonight and we played three quarterbacks. We’re trying to figure out what their strengths are and how to put them in the best positions to be successful. That will probably be the plan moving forward until we get some guys back.”
In what was the lone score of the opening period, Webb City took a 7-0 lead with 4:58 left in the first quarter when junior QB Jackson Lucas connected with junior running back Noah Durman on an 18-yard touchdown pass.
The Cardinals punted and lost two fumbles in the first half, but the Webb City defense kept the Tigers in check.
Trailing 7-0, Ozark’s best scoring chance came with just under four minutes left in the first half, but a 29-yard field goal attempt was off the mark.
In a key swing of momentum, the Cardinals scored just before the break to take a two-score lead.
Facing fourth down and 19 on the 29-yard line with just three seconds on the clock, senior QB Braden McKee completed a screen pass to junior running back Andrew Elwell, who weaved his way through the defense and into the end zone to give the hosts a 14-0 lead.
The Cardinals were able to generate much more offense after intermission.
Alex Dunne’s 25-yard field goal at the 8:26 mark of the third period gave the Cardinals a 17-0 advantage.
After Andrew Young’s interception, Webb City extended its lead to 24-0 on Durman’s 1-yard touchdown plunge. The score was set by a nice gain on the ground by Lucas.
Webb City’s senior tight ends got into the act late in the game.
Homecoming King Drew Vonder Haar hauled in a 65-yard touchdown reception with 4:09 left in the third period before Jonah Spieker closed out the scoring by charging into the end zone on a 5-yard run with just over 10 minutes to play.
“We really wanted to get our tight ends involved tonight,” McFarland said. “Drew had the big touchdown catch and that was nice to see. Jonah is our blocking tight end and I told him this week he was going to get some carries. It was nice to get him involved.”
Webb City only punted once all night and recorded 28 first downs to Ozark’s five.
Durman (75 yards), Lucas (54 yards), Elwell (51 yards) and Slade Hurd (49 yards) carried the load on the ground.
Lucas completed 5 of 6 passes for 119 yards, while McKee passed for 57 yards on six completions.
Vonder Haar had 72 receiving yards, while Elwell and Joseph DeGraffenreid added 32 yards apiece.
A senior, Dunne made all five of his PAT kicks to go along with the field goal.
A newcomer to Webb City this fall, Dunne has now converted 16 of 18 PAT kicks this season.
“He moved in back in February and he’s been a blessing,” McFarland noted. “We couldn’t find a consistent kicker last year. It’s nice to know when you cross the 25-yard line you can kick a field goal if you have to.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City (4-1) travels to Willard (3-2) next Friday night. Willard suffered a 21-20 loss to Republic on Friday.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
