It’s safe to say the Webb City Cardinals have put a Week 1 setback behind them.
Heading into Friday’s regular season finale, the Cardinals have won seven straight games and have outscored their opponents 271-72 during that span.
With the postseason quickly approaching, Webb City has built plenty of momentum.
“We just try to get better each week and we want to be the best team we can be by Week 10,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “It’s all a process of working through the season and trying to play your best at the end. We had to get the kids in the right place mentally to understand that. They’ve continued to work to get better and that’s the name of the game”
The Cardinals hiked their record to 7-1 overall and 6-1 in the COC with Friday’s 48-13 win at Ozark.
The Cardinals recorded 462 yards, with 339 rushing and 123 passing. Senior running back Devrin Weathers surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the season.
Although the Tigers managed just two scores, Ozark was able to rack up 269 rushing yards.
“We felt pretty good about the win, but there are some mixed feelings,” Roderique said. “I think we feel good about our offense’s performance. Defensively, we did some really good things. We got some turnovers, which was good. But I don’t think we played as well in some areas defensively. I think if you asked all of our coaches they wouldn’t be too happy with how many rushing yards we gave up.”
The Cardinals will look to extend their winning streak to eight when they host Willard on Friday at Cardinal Stadium.
Now 2-6, Willard edged Neosho 27-20 in overtime on Friday. Willard’s other win came against Joplin, 32-20, in Week 5.
Roderique noted his team will not look past the Tigers.
“That old adage about anybody can beat anybody has probably never been more true in our league than this year,” Roderique said. “Willard is a young team. They lost a lot of veterans. They’re still a physical team. And one of things we’re telling our kids is Willard has beat the only team that’s beaten us. That’s one thing we need to remind our kids of.”
DISTRICT STANDINGS
Webb City is on top of the Class 5 District 6 standings with 48.48 points. Undefeated Carthage is second (46.59), with Ozark (35.52) third. Branson (27.33), Republic (25.27) and Neosho (14.09) round out the district standings.
COC RACE
Carthage (7-0) is the lone undefeated team in the Central Ozark Conference ahead of Week 9, and the Tigers take on Nixa (7-1) this week in a highly-anticipated showdown. Carthage can secure a conference championship with a win.
If the Eagles knock off the Tigers, Webb City, Nixa and Carthage would all finish with one loss in COC play.
