CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage Tigers took care of business on Friday night.
Now, a rematch with the rival Webb City Cardinals awaits.
Top-seeded Carthage handled fifth-seeded Willard 42-20 on Friday night in a semifinal contest of the Class 5 District 6 tournament at David Haffner Stadium.
Carthage will host Webb City at 7 next Friday night in the district championship game.
The Tigers defeated the Cardinals 42-14 on Sept. 17. Of course, Webb City knocked off Carthage in last year’s district championship game.
Ranked second in Class 5 by the Missouri Media, Carthage scored 35 unanswered points in the first half en route to the lopsided victory.
Luke Gall scored a pair of touchdowns in the opening half, a 70-yard scamper and a 12-yard run. Caden Kabance’s QB keeper from 2 yards out made it 21-0.
In the second quarter, Kabance’s 4-yard run and Gall’s 6-yard sprint gave the Tigers a commanding 35-0 advantage.
Willard’s Owen Bushnell scored on a 2-yard run with 3:13 left in the third period before Carthage’s Cale Patrick ran for a 53-yard touchdown, giving the hosts a 42-6 lead.
Willard scored twice in the fourth quarter, a 2-yard run by Bushnell and a 22-yard pass from Russell Roweton to Trey Pulford.
Coming off last week’s win over Neosho, Willard ends the season with a record of 1-10.
Carthage will take a 10-0 record into next Friday’s district title game.
