Missed opportunities on extra point conversions and a lack of defensive stops doomed the Webb City Cardinals in a 41-40 Central Ozark Conference setback to the Joplin Eagles on Friday night in the 2020 season opener at Junge Field.
The Cardinals missed a PAT kick in the first quarter and then failed to convert a pair of two-point conversions in the second period in a hard-to-swallow one-point loss.
“There’s a lot you can attribute to the first game, but they were better than we were tonight,” Webb City coach John Roderique said of the Eagles. “We missed that extra point. Maybe we should have kicked another one…you question yourself. You hate to chase points, that’s the toughest thing. That’s why the kicking game is so important. We obviously didn’t do a great job in some areas. We were down nine, so I’m really proud of our kids for battling.”
The Webb City defense was unable to contain Joplin’s high-powered offense throughout the rivalry clash. The Eagles recorded 353 yards of total offense, with 187 passing and 166 rushing. At key points, the Cardinal defense was unable to get off the field.
“Defensively, it will be disappointing to see how many missed tackles we had,” Roderique said. “Our kickoff coverage seemed poor. Our tackling, I thought, was not very good. We’ll find those things out. We’ll have a lot of great film to watch. There’s a lot of good things we can take from this to build on. We just need to improve. There’s only three things we need to get better at—offense, defense and the kicking game.”
Webb City totaled 423 yards of offense, 390 rushing and 33 passing.
STANDOUTS
Webb City’s Devrin Weathers and Joplin’s Nathan Glades showed all those in attendance that they should be regarded among the COC’s top running backs.
A Kansas State recruit, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Weathers scored four touchdowns and ran for 150 yards on 23 carries.
The 5-10, 180-pound Glades had a breakout performance for the Eagles, scoring four touchdowns and running for 161 yards on 26 carries. The two seniors both had impressive kick returns as well.
“I tell you what, they were both outstanding,” Roderique said. “No question. I was very impressed with the Glades kid. We knew he was outstanding and he was certainly that way tonight. Devrin busted the first one and then had the kickoff return.”
Roderique noted Weathers dealt with some cramping issues.
NAMES AND NUMBERS
Making his first varsity start at quarterback, Webb City senior Cole Gayman ran 20 times for 115 yards with one score. Junior Cade Wilson also totaled 115 yards on the ground on 18 carries. Senior QB Eli Goddard completed one pass, a 33-yard strike to tight end Gary Clinton.
Safety Treghan Parker made eight tackles for Webb City, while linebacker Jaystin Smith had seven. Webb City wide receivers Mekhi Garrard and Cohl Vaden both missed the game due to injuries.
The Cardinals were flagged eight times for 60 yards and Joplin was penalized four times for 20 yards. Webb City had 23 first downs to Joplin’s 17.
GAME RECAP
The clash between last year’s Class 4 state champion and last year’s Class 6 runner-up was entertaining from the start on a steamy night.
After Parker intercepted an Always Wright pass on the first series of the night, the Cardinals needed just four plays to score after the takeaway, as Weathers sprinted 55 yards up the middle to the end zone.
The Eagles tied the game with a 2-yard run by Glades, but Weathers sprinted 97 yards to the house on the ensuing kickoff. The PAT kick failed, however.
Joplin led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter after a 5-yard run by Glades, along with the kick by Keaton Huff.
Gayman scampered into the end zone from 9 yards out to give the visitors a 19-14 lead with 7:27 left in the second quarter, but the two-point conversion failed. Glades answered with a touchdown on a 92-yard kick return.
Weathers’ third TD of the game, a 10-yard run at the 1:33 mark of the second period, gave the Cardinals a 25-20 lead. Again, the two-point try was no good.
The Eagles responded once again, as Wright completed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Trayshawn Thomas to give the hosts a slim halftime advantage at 27-25.
The lone score of the third period came when Joplin’s Dante Washington hauled in a 49-yard TD pass.
Weathers sprinted to a 29-yard score with 9:28 left in the game, but the Eagles answered back when Glades broke free for a 41-yard touchdown sprint.
After the teams traded turnovers, Webb City’s Wilson scored on a 2-yard plunge with 43 seconds remaining. It was too little, too late.
The Eagles fell on the short kickoff and ran out the clock.
LIMITED CAPACITY
The crowd size was limited to 2,000 fans due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.
Face coverings were mandatory and social distancing was encouraged. Both student sections were much smaller than normal, but it was a small price to pay in order to have a marquee matchup.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Webb City hosts Neosho next Friday at Cardinal Stadium.
