CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Class 5 second-ranked Carthage Tigers moved to a perfect 6-0 on the season after cruising past the winless Willard Tigers 42-7 on Friday at David Haffner Stadium.
Carthage blew the game wide open in the first half, scoring on all but one possession.
Carthage opened things with a 63-yard, 6-play drive in roughly two minutes, capping it with a 1-yard run by RB Luke Gall for a 7-0 lead.
At 3:59 left in the half, Gall rumbled in from 14 yards out to push the Tigers’ lead to 14-0.
On the following Carthage possession, Cale Patrick broke multiple tackles down to the 4-yard line before quarterback Caden Kabance slipped through from the 2-yard line on a keeper with 9:58 on the clock to make the score 20-0.
Carthage gained possession back after recovering an onside kick, and just a few plays later with 8:56 to go in the half, Aiden Rogers punched in a 2-yard run and extended the margin to 27-0.
On the next possession, facing a fourth-down-and-2 on their own 28, Willard went for it, but couldn’t make the conversion and Carthage took over on downs.
With 5:21 to go in the half, Gall broke free from the 16-yard line for a touchdown, running the lead up to 35-0.
Micah Lindsey picked off a Willard pass and returned it 12 yards for a pick-6 score, making the lead 42-0.
Gary Walker got Willard on the board with a 4-yard rushing touchdown with 22 seconds left to play in the third quarter to bring the score to 42-7 in favor of Carthage.
Carthage is on the road with a matchup against Class 6 third-ranked Joplin on Friday at Junge Field.
