The Carthage Tigers are the 2021 Central Ozark Conference champions.
The game was widely expected to be a marquee matchup between two teams with a combined 15-1 record this season.
Instead, it ended under MSHSAA’s accelerated clock, as Carthage romped to a 49-14 win over the Nixa Eagles.
The win caps off an undefeated regular season for the Tigers at 9-0, and secured their first outright COC title since 2016.
“I feel really happy for our players and our coaches, and certainly our school and community,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Just so proud of our players, man, they just show up every single week and despite who we play or what’s on the line, they just go out and play so hard and with great attitudes and great effort.”
Guidie said he expressed that same pride and appreciation to his team after the regular season-ending win.
“I just told them, you know, you didn’t get here by accident,” he said. “You need to feel very good about what we were able to accomplish in this first season, but we don’t just play one season here any more, we’ve got to gear up and get ready for a new season next week. Enjoy this one for a couple of days and get back to it.”
All year, the Carthage offense has ridden senior quarterback Caden Kabance and junior running back Luke Gall. That was no different in this one, but senior Cale Patrick also got in on the action, finishing with two touchdowns and 93 yards on six carries.
“Cale had a great night,” Guidie said. “He’s one of our best blocking receivers, for sure, which never gets noticed, but we do. But we were able to get him the ball tonight on some jet sweeps and he had some really, really nice runs at opportune times.”
For their part, Kabance and Gall did what they’ve done all season, with maybe even a little extra. In addition to 127 yards on 13 carries, Kabance completed 6-of-7 passes for 87 yards, including two eye-opening passes, one for a score and one that set the Tigers up at the Eagle 1. In the first quarter, he hit tight end Tyler Willis down the right sideline for a 31-yard play before punching it into the end zone himself on the next play. Just before halftime, junior wide receiver Hudson Moore ran an out route just inside the end zone, and Kabance led his receiver perfectly for a score in the corner.
Gall, for the second week in a row, was called on to execute a halfback pass. Last week, it was a touchdown to Kabance. Friday night, it was a 37-yard gain to Moore, down to the 3-yard line. The junior running back, who this past Saturday tweeted photos of a visit to the University of Kansas, finished 170 yards rushing on 18 carries.
The other constant for Carthage all year has been a defense that has suffocated opponents, allowing an average of just 12.4 points. Nixa came into Friday night’s matchup averaging 39.5 points per game.
“It starts with defense for sure, we came out and got a stop right off the bat. They’re a tough team to defend. They score 40 points a game and have some really good, really talented athletes. For our guys to be able to step up and cover them, I thought they were outstanding.”
CARTHAGE 49, NIXA 14
Carthage 14 21 14 0—49
Nixa 0 14 0 0—14
SCORING SUMMARY
CAR: Cale Patrick 44 run (Mejia kick)
CAR: Caden Kabance 1 run (Mejia kick)
NIX: Jordyn Turner 35 pass from Connor Knatcal (Messenger kick)
CAR: Luke Gall 48 run (Mejia kick)
CAR: Kabance 1 run (Mejia kick)
NIX: Austin McCracken 57 run (Messenger kick)
CAR: Hudson Moore 5 pass from Kabance (Mejia kick)
CAR: Patrick 34 run (Kick blocked)
CAR: Gall 3 run (Patrick run)
