Joplin coach Curtis Jasper preaches a one-game mentality to his team, and in 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic a concern all over the country, that mentality has never been more accurate.
Like every team, the Eagles don’t know how many games they will get to play this season, but one thing is certain — the returning Class 6 runner-ups start the 2020 season 1-0 after Joplin defeated the reigning Class 4 state champion Webb City Cardinals 41-40 on Friday night at Junge Field.
“That is what we talked about all summer long,” Jasper said. “Let’s work our tails off and pray to God we get to Game 1. If we get (the first game), we better be 1-0, and we are 1-0.”
“This was a great way to start off the season, especially against a great team like Webb City,” said Joplin junior quarterback Always Wright, who made his first-career start. “Right now, we just need to have fun for tonight, but we need to get back to work tomorrow, improving on things we can improve on.”
Joplin came out of the locker room at the half with a two-point, 27-25, advantage. And after the first half saw scores on 8-of-10 drives combined between both teams, Webb City’s opening possession ended in a punt, the only one all game, and Joplin followed with a turnover on downs. Joplin’s defense again came up big after forcing Webb City to turn the ball over on downs, giving the offense a chance to strike first in the second half.
“I am super proud of our guys and I told them at halftime that there is going to be adversity,” Jasper said. “And there was. But we had to keep battling, keep chopping wood and keep believing in each other, and the best team would win. I told them I felt like we were the better team tonight, and they went out and proved me right.”
Joplin’s second possession of the second half only lasted two plays, with Wright faking a handoff and completing a pass to the flat to sophomore wideout Dante Washington, who sprinted upfield past everyone up the sideline on the way to a 49-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up two scores, 34-25, with 25.1 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Keaton Renfro and Bruce (Wilbert) blocked their tails off that play, so you have to give them credit there,” Jasper said. “That was a great read on our RPO (run-pass option) and (Always) made a nice throw. Dante has a different gear, so he went and hit it.”
“As soon as I saw him over there by himself, I knew he was going to make a play,” Wright said. “He is great in space, he is fast and he really deserves a lot of the credit for our win tonight.”
Webb City senior running back Devrin Weathers, a Kansas State commit, showed off his speed as well, ripping off a 29-yard score on the ensuing drive to trim Joplin’s lead to 34-32 with 9:28 to play in the game.
Joplin drove the ball deep into Cardinal territory when a pass from Wright to senior WR Renfro was fumbled and recovered by the Cardinals at their own 8-yard line.
Six plays into the Cardinals’ following drive saw Webb City give the ball right back to the Eagles following an option pitch by Webb City quarterback Cole Gayman that found the turf, with Joplin’s Korey Read falling on it for the turnover.
Joplin made the most of the takeaway, again needing just two plays to find paydirt when senior running back Nathan Glades ripped off a 41-yard touchdown run, his fourth score of the night, to put the Eagles back up by two possessions, 41-32, with 3:43 left in the game.
“I was proud of my guys,” Jasper said. “They didn’t hang their head, complain or worry about (the turnover). They went and lined up and played the next play.”
Webb City refused to go down without a fight, as Cade Wilson capped a 12-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to cut Joplin’s lead to 41-40 with 43 seconds left in regulation.
Joplin recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and closed out the win in victory formation.
“Obviously, we would have liked to not let the score there at the end, that would have saved me some years of my life,” Jasper said with a laugh. “But, again, we battled and made them take most of the clock to finally score. When they did, we made the play we needed to on the onside kick. … We’ve played in great games like this against great teams, and we found a way to win. We did that again tonight.”
FIRST-HALF FIREWORKS
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with Webb City and Joplin trading touchdowns to go into halftime with the Eagles leading 27-25.
Weathers got the fireworks started to open the game with a 55-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with 7:42 to play in the opening period.
Joplin responded with a 12-play, 73-yard scoring drive that saw Glades carry the ball into the end zone from 2 yards out to tie the game at 7-7 at the 4:26 mark of the first quarter.
It didn’t take long for Webb City to respond, as Weathers took the ensuing kickoff back 97 yards to the house for a score, putting the Cardinals back on top 13-7.
Again, Joplin’s offense went on a lengthy scoring drive that went 54 yards on nine plays, culminating with Glades scoring from 5 yards out to give Joplin a 14-13 lead with 1:14 left in the first quarter.
Webb City answered back with an 11-play drive, which ended with quarterback Gayman scoring from 9 yards out. The Cardinal’ two-point conversion attempt was no good, giving Webb City a 19-14 advantage.
Joplin got in on the special teams scoring fun when Glades fielded the ensuing kickoff before finding daylight on the way to a 92-yard touchdown return to put the Eagles up 20-19 with 7:12 left in the half.
Webb City regained the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Weathers to cap an 11-play drive to make the score 25-20 with 1:33 seconds left before the intermission.
Working with little time left on the clock, Joplin took possession near midfield after a strong return by Bruce Wilbert. Following a 9-yard run by Glades with a facemask penalty on the Cardinals tacked on, Wright threw a deep ball up the right sideline, finding senior wideout Trayshawn Thomas for a 28-yard touchdown to send the Eagles into the locker room with a 27-25 lead.
JOPLIN STATS
Joplin finished with 353 yards in total offense, with Glades scoring four total touchdowns while finishing with 161 rushing yards on 26 carries to lead the charge.
“He is just such a competitor and so hard to tackle,” Jasper said. “He never gives up. The line did a great job providing some holes, and he did a great job finishing off every run he had.”
“I am proud of this offense,” Glades said. “We did good things, and we did bad things. What I am most proud of is we can still get better. The O-line killed it … and I just can’t thank them enough. The wide receivers are physical on the perimeter, and if they aren’t blocking, the running game isn’t anything. Always was calm and composed all game, and I was proud of him.”
Wright completed 15-of-19 passes for 177 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Washington hauled in six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, while Thomas, who had a score, and Renfro each caught three passes for 43 yards. Wilbert added two receptions for 19 yards.
UP NEXT
Joplin hits the road to face Nixa (1-0) on Friday at 7 p.m.
