CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Webb City Cardinals entered the highly-anticipated showdown at Carthage in an unfamiliar position — the underdog.
But by night’s end, there was no doubt who was still the top dog in Southwest Missouri.
Looking nothing like a lower seed, second-seeded Webb City took control early and rolled to a convincing 42-21 victory over top-seeded and previously undefeated Carthage on Friday night in the Class 5 District 6 championship game at a packed David Haffner Stadium.
Webb City (10-1) captured a district championship for the 21st straight season and advanced to next Friday’s quarterfinal round, where the Cardinals will host Lebanon (7-3).
“I’m just amazed at the kids’ effort and how hard they played,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “We had a fantastic week of practice. I’m just so, so proud of our players and coaches. Playing that team brought the best out of us. I can’t say enough about the effort of our kids.”
Carthage ends the season at 9-1. The loss snapped Carthage’s 18-game win streak and put an end to the Tigers’ hopes of repeating as state champion.
The longtime rivals who have been getting together on the gridiron for more than 100 years met for the first time as a pair of defending state champions.
And perennial power Webb City, the 15-time state champ, was in an unfamiliar position—on the road as the lower seed. The Tigers were the team that came into the night as the top seed with an unblemished record.
“We put on our scouting report that they were the defending state champions, they were undefeated and they were the No. 1 seed,” Roderique said.
Webb City junior wide receiver and defensive back Cohl Vaden, who hauled in a touchdown pass, ran for another score and recovered a muffed punt, said the Cardinals were not only highly-motivated for the clash, but also well-prepared.
“This win is big for our program,” Vaden said. “There was a lot of hype coming into this game. We just wanted to play next week. We had a good week of practice. Our coaches tell us everything they know.”
With a solid performance on both sides of the ball, and taking advantage of Carthage’s miscues, Webb City took a 28-7 lead into halftime. The Cardinals led 35-7 entering the final frame.
Offensively, the Cardinals were able to sustain drives. Defensively, Webb City limited Carthage to 102 yards in the first half.
“You try to control the game with your offense,” Roderique said. “That’s grinding it out and getting first downs. The defense didn’t give up big plays. Our quarterback played well. The guys up front played well. We had a good plan going in and the kids executed it pretty well.”
NAMES & NUMBERS
Webb City racked up 349 yards on 49 plays, with 246 rushing and 103 passing.
Senior Devrin Weathers ran 19 times for 152 yards with a pair of scores. Senior quarterback Cole Gayman added 54 rushing yards on 12 carries, while junior Dupree Jackson added 31 yards on 10 carries.
Gayman completed 4-of-7 passes for 103 yards with two touchdowns, with Mekhi Garrard and Vaden hauling in touchdown receptions.
Webb City had no turnovers and just one penalty.
Defensively, Treghan Parker made seven tackles, Eli Goddard had six, Cooper Crouch made 5.5 and Brayden Hollingsworth added five.
Carthage finished with 325 yards on 62 plays, 202 rushing and 123 passing.
The Tigers had five penalties and two costly turnovers. Senior quarterback Patrick Carlton ran 26 times for 126 yards in his prep finale.
GAME RECAP
Carthage’s first drive ended when Carlton’s pass was intercepted by Webb City’s Crouch, and the Cardinals took over with great field position on the 28.
Webb City needed just three plays to score, as Weathers sprinted to a 15-yard touchdown at the 7:22 mark of the opening frame.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 14-0 when Jackson plunged into the end zone from 1-yard out on the first play of the second quarter. The TD capped a seven-play, 64-yard drive.
Carthage’s Justin Sneed took the ensuing kick 81 yards to get the Tigers on the board with a much-needed response.
But the visitors answered with an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Gayman completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Vaden, giving the Cardinals a 21-7 lead with 7:33 left in the second quarter.
“It was a boot,” Vaden said. “He bit and I went up. It was a good ball.”
After Webb City was forced to punt late in the first half, the Tigers were unable to secure the ball. Vaden recovered the loose ball that bounced several times.
“I was trailing behind and I saw the ball pop up and I was there,” Vaden said. “I think that was pretty big.”
“That was a big one,” Roderique said. “I didn’t know if that ball was ever going to get picked up by anybody. It bounced around and about 25 guys touched it.”
Two plays later, Gayman connected with a wide open Garrard on a 40-yard touchdown strike. The score gave Webb City a comfy 21-point cushion.
The Cardinals got the ball to start the second half and put together an 11-play, 80-yard drive, with Weathers sprinting to a 39-yard touchdown, going nearly untouched up the middle on a counter. That made it 35-7.
The Tigers threatened late in the third quarter, but an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs.
Carlton scored on a 5-yard QB keeper with 8:04 remaining, but a 9-yard run by Vaden on a reverse with 4:31 left made it 42-14.
“Gary (Clinton) got a good block on the edge,” Vaden said. “That allowed me to walk in.”
Carthage’s Hudson Moore hauled in an 8-yard touchdown reception with just under a minute to play for the final margin.
It was Carthage’s first setback since they lost to Webb City 32-7 in Week 5 of the 2019 season.
Up next for the Cardinals is Lebanon, a 52-18 winner over Glendale. The quarterfinal clash will be at Cardinal Stadium on Friday, with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
MORE ON CARTHAGE
For more on Carthage, including thoughts from Tigers coach Jon Guidie, click the link below to read Jordan Larimore’s story.
FOOTBALL: Carthage’s perfect season comes to an end with first blemish against Webb City
CLASS 5 DISTRICT 6 CHAMPIONSHIP
WEBB CITY 42, CARTHAGE 21
Webb City 7 21 7 7—42
Carthage 0 7 0 14—21
Scoring Summary
WC: Devrin Weathers 15 run (Cameron Clark kick)
WC: Dupree Jackson 1 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Justin Sneed 81 kick return (Caleb Calvin kick)
WC: Cohl Vaden 37 pass from Cole Gayman (Clark kick)
WC: Mekhi Garrard 40 pass from Gayman (Clark kick)
WC: Weathers 39 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Patrick Carlton 5 run (Calvin kick)
WC: Vaden 9 run (Clark kick)
CAR: Hudson Moore 8 pass from Carlton (Calvin kick)
Records: Webb City 10-1, Carthage 9-1.
