Cardinals win showdown

For a half Friday night at Cardinal Stadium in Webb City, it looked as if the Carthage Tigers might give the Cardinals and their streak of 78 consecutive regular-season wins a run for their money.

Carthage jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and trailed 10-9 at halftime, the only difference being a missed extra point by the Tigers.

But Webb City and its collection of playmakers pulled away in the second half, as the Cardinals topped the Tigers 41-17 in district football action.

“I can’t complain about their effort,” Carthage head coach Jon Guidie said after the game. “I can’t complain about how hard they played. This is a giant over here. You walk over here and you’ve just got to stay together and keep fighting, keep plugging away. Quite honestly, I think we just ran out of steam tonight. We’ve got so many kids playing both ways, and the same kids are on our special teams. Eventually it wears on you and you’re going to get worn down, but the kids fought hard tonight and I’m very proud of their effort. I really am.”

Webb City head coach John Roderique said the Tigers “hit us in the mouth” early in the game.

“They did a great job,” Roderique said. “They really kept us off balance. I’m not sure they had a play where they didn’t gain yards. I was starting to think they couldn’t run a play where they didn’t get a first down or get positive yardage. They did a great job. You’ve got to credit those guys.”

Webb City got the ball to start the game, but punted after three plays. Carthage took over at its own 28 and drove to the Webb City 45-yard line before the Tigers, too, were forced to punt the ball.

Carthage got a huge break, however, when Webb City fumbled at its own 15 on third down and Zach Strubberg recovered the loose ball.

It took Carthage seven plays, but with 10 seconds left in the first quarter, Seth Beckner ran into the end zone untouched from two yards out to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point.

It didn’t take the Cardinals long to respond.

Webb City quickly moved from its own 28 to the Carthage 37, then quarterback Breckin Williams connected with Jalen Vaden on a long touchdown pass. Alex Easley’s extra point made it 7-6 Webb City with 9:58 left in the first half.

The Tigers followed with an eight-minute drive that lasted 17 plays and was capped by a 24-yard field goal by Aaris Vogt, giving Carthage a 9-7 lead.

Webb City got the ball back with 1:30 before the half and went to the air. Williams passed to Klay James for 17 yards to the Carthage 36, then hit James for another pass to the Carthage 19. Two incomplete passes, including one nearly picked off by Beckner, resulted in a fourth down for Webb City at its own 15, and Easley kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Cardinals a 10-9 halftime advantage.

Carthage held possession for more than 16 minutes in the first half, while limiting the Cardinals to less than seven.

“We picked up some first downs early, which I think gave the kids some confidence,” Guidie said. “We converted on fourth down at least twice. Anytime you can convert on third and fourth down, you’re able to maintain possession and keep their offense off the field, which was certainly our goal coming in. They’re so explosive, like we saw in the second half, you just can’t keep giving them chances, and to control the clock the way we did the first half really made a difference on the scoreboard.”

Carthage punted from its own 34 on its first possession of the third quarter, giving Webb City the ball at its own 38. On second and 13, following another false start penalty, Williams passed to Jarvis Jones, who made a catch at the Carthage 13. Phoenix Johnson got two carries and moved the ball to the six, then Jamison Cady took a pitch and scored with 5:50 left in the third, giving the Cardinals a 17-9 lead.

“The big thing was the first stop,” Roderique said. “We got the first stop in the second half defensively, and that was our first decent field position. We had 20 plays in the first half and they had almost 40, but we finally had good field position and were able to get some things going offensively.”

Another Carthage punt gave the ball back to the Cardinals at their own 36. Williams rushed for 41 yards on second down to the Carthage 23, and four plays later Easley booted a 37-yard field goal to give his team a 20-9 lead.

“That kid, he’s a special kicker, a special player,” Roderique said of Easley. “He did a great job, as he has for three years now. Tremendous game for him.”

Carthage moved the ball to the 44-yard line before its drive stalled early in the fourth quarter, and Webb City took over at its own 21 following another Tigers punt. Five plays later, Williams connected with Kohl Slaughter for a 35-yard pass to the Carthage 18. Johnson ran it in from eight yards out two plays later, and Webb City took a 27-9 lead with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.

Carthage wasn’t done, though.

Quarterback Jordan Musser hit Beckner on a 68-yard touchdown pass on first down, and Beckner added the two-point conversion to pull the Tigers within 10 at 27-17.

But Webb City answered by going 71 yards in two plays, scoring when Johnson broke free on a 42-yard run with 6:49 left.

Carthage then got the ball at its own 15, but Musser’s first-down pass was intercepted by Logan Williams at the Carthage 40, and five minutes later Johnson scored again from inches out to give the Cardinals a 24-point lead.

“Carthage came out well prepared,” Williams said. “We just came out flat. I didn’t do my part as a quarterback, making reads and stuff, and I knew that so I went to the second half not disappointed, not really mad, just knowing I’ve got to do my job and we’ll be fine. In the second half, things started to open up and we started doing what we should have done the first half.”

Beckner said the Tigers knew they were underdogs coming into the game.

“We wanted to try as hard as we could and keep fighting to see if we could pull out the win,” he said. “The second half we could have come out stronger, we just let a few blocks go and then they capitalized on it.”

Webb City finished the game with 21 first downs, and Carthage tallied 12. The Cardinals rushed for 286 yards in the game and passed for 166 while racking up 452 yards of offense. Carthage finished with 116 rushing yards and 107 through the air for 223 total yards of offense.

Beckner carried 30 times for 100 yards in the game, and Musser completed six of 11 passing attempts.

Phoenix Johnson led the Cardinals with 135 rushing yards on 20 carries, with Williams rushing 10 times for 102. Cady added six carries for 35. Williams also completed seven of 11 passes.

Webb City, now 8-0, will travel to McDonald County next Friday, while Carthage, now 5-3, will return home to face Carl Junction.

The Bulldogs beat the Mustangs 44-20 Friday night.