WEBB CITY, Mo. — Led by a strong first half, Webb City rolled to a 49-28 victory over Willard on Friday night in a Central Ozark Conference clash at Cardinal Stadium.
Ranked fifth in Class 5, Webb City hiked its record to 4-2.
The Cardinals led 21-0 early and 35-6 at the half against their district opponent.
“It was a great first quarter and a great first half,” Cardinals coach John Roderique said. “We gave up a score on a long pass where someone got out of position. But overall, I thought we did a really good job controlling the game. Offensively, I thought we were pretty sharp. Defensively, we were good early. I know it was a while before they had a first down.”
Webb City led 42-6 by the end of the third period.
In Week 6 of the 2022 season, Webb City scored 21 unanswered points in the opening period.
Landon Johnson’s 1-yard QB keeper finished off Webb City’s opening drive, while Aidan Alberty’s 11-yard sprint made it 14-0 before Breckin Galardo’s 1-yard touchdown plunge gave the Cardinals an early three-score lead.
Willard got on the board with 7:13 remaining in the second quarter on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Russell Roweton to Clayton Scott.
Omari Jackson’s 4-yard touchdown scamper made it 28-6 with 2:35 left in the first half.
Cy Darnell’s 23-yard touchdown sprint on a reverse gave the Cardinals a 35-6 halftime advantage.
Webb City scored the lone TD of the third quarter—a 4-yard run by Alberty.
The Cardinals’ final touchdown of the night came on Ethan Baird’s 39-yard run with 7:49 left.
Willard scored 22 points in the fourth quarter against Webb City’s reserves for the final margin.
At the same time, Roderique noted the importance of getting lots of younger players experience under the Friday night lights.
“We’ve had that situation so many times over the years,” Roderique said. “You get up, so you want to get other guys in the game. It’s so good for morale. It’s just good for the younger kids to get a chance to play on a Friday night. For some of them, it was their first significant playing time this year. They got their feet wet a little bit.”
The Cardinals recorded 482 yards of offense, with 434 rushing and 48 passing.
A senior running back, Alberty had 118 rushing yards on 10 carries with two scores. A junior, Galardo ran 10 times for 79 yards. Baird, a senior, added 76 rushing yards, while Jackson, a junior, contributed 65 yards in his return to action.
Webb City used three different quarterbacks in the game, Johnson, junior Braden McKee and freshman Gabe Johnson.
“We started Landon on defense tonight because we’ve been so decimated by injuries,” Roderique said. “Landon is such an unselfish kid. He was willing to do whatever we needed him to do.
“We’ve been wanting to work Gabe in there more,” Roderique added. “He’s a pretty dynamic kid. He does a great job with the football in his hands. And Braden is our two-minute drill guy. He had a great series before halftime for us. I thought all of our quarterbacks did a nice job for us tonight.”
Trey Roets went 7-for-7 on PAT kicks. William Hayes and Andrew Young both had interceptions for the hosts.
The Tigers (0-6) had 299 yards, 228 passing and 71 rushing. Roweton completed 14-of-27 passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions.
Webb City is now 22-0 all-time against Willard.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City hosts top-ranked Carthage (5-1) next Friday.
FULL STATS: Webb City HS (webbcitycardinals.com)
