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PREP FOOTBALL: Kabance’s big night lifts Carthage over Branson as Tigers stay unbeaten

By:
Jordan Larimore

BRANSON, Mo. — The only drama in Carthage’s 42-14 win over Branson at Pirate Stadium on Friday night had nothing to do with the scoreboard. Just before halftime, junior running back Luke Gall, a key driver of the Tigers’ offense and a force at linebacker for the defense, limped off the field to the sideline.

Tigers’ coach Jon Guidie, though, said he simply wanted to be careful with his two-way star.  

He did return to the game, though with Carthage leading 35-0, he carried the ball just once in the second half and played one series on defense. 

“(Gall)’s fine,” Guidie said. “Just trying to be as careful as we can with everybody.”

As they have all season, the Tigers started fast, scoring on just their second play of the game as Cale Patrick dove into the end zone for a senior quarterback Caden Kabance pass and a 30-yard touchdown reception. 

Carthage scored on its next four consecutive drives to take a 35-0 lead into halftime. 

Gall, typically the Tigers’ bellwether on offense, was outdone by Kabance, even before the former was forced to the sideline, though Gall found the end zone twice before exiting the game. 

Kabance put up 179 yards on 18 carries and three touchdowns, while chipping in 102 yards and the touchdown to Patrick through the air. Gall finished with 100 yards on 10 carries and his two touchdowns, giving him 15 in just five games this season.

“Caden had some nice, big runs and Luke had some fantastic runs, too,” Guidie said. “He was Luke, just didn’t get a whole lot of carries tonight. But yeah, just having both those guys, kind of a one-two punch, and then we were able to throw on top of that, Caden had a nice touchdown pass. Just really proud of both those kids.”

Meanwhile, Branson managed just two first downs by halftime as the Carthage defense continued its season-long dominance. In fact, the only time Branson got into Carthage territory against the Tigers’ first-string defense was at 7:09 in the third quarter, helped by a defensive pass interference penalty. 

Including the win over the Pirates, the Tigers give up just a shade over 11 points per game on average this season. That’s compared with 46.4 points on offense Carthage is now averaging. Even so, Guidie said his team is staying focused on its larger goals and not thinking about the way it has arrived at its unblemished record.

“I don’t know if this is good or bad, but we certainly weren’t jumping up and down and going nuts there after that win,” he said. “I think our kids felt like they could have played a little bit better and could have executed a little bit better. And I think it’s probably a good sign that they’re certainly not satisfied with where we’re at or how we played despite the score tonight.” 

Next week, Carthage will entertain the Willard Tigers, 0-5 on the season, before a Sept. 28 matchup with fellow unbeaten Joplin at Junge Field.  

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