The weather was great, the competition OK, as the Carthage Tigers round into form for the opening of the 2009 prep football season. With less than a week left until the Tigers begin the season, Jon Guidie praised his team’s effort during the Carl Junction Jamboree at Carl Junction High School.
“The boys played hard on both sides of the ball on every snap,” said Guidie. “They came out and gave a great effort.”
The Tigers, behind new starting quarterback Derek Peterson, put together a solid performance Friday against Monett and Carl Junction, despite a few mistakes here and there. But that’s what jamborees are for, and the Tigers worked out their fair share of kinks in preparation of next week’s season opener.
Guidie pointed out he wanted the Tigers to score, remain healthy and shut out the opposition and, well, he witnessed all three against Monett and Carl Junction.
“Those were our three goals,” explained Guidie. “We achieved all three against two pretty good (Big 8) football teams.”
The next time the Tigers take the field, outside of practice, they will be opening up the season on the road at Ozark, which lost to Carthage in the season opener last year at K.E. Baker Stadium.
Perhaps the biggest challenge the Tigers face when they take the field vs. their Central Ozark Conference brethren next Friday will be to keep from committing costly penalties.
Penalties hurt the Tigers on a couple of occasions Friday and, as Guidie pointed out, mistakes won’t get the Tigers very far in the Central Ozark Conference.
“We can’t (commit penalties) and expect to win,” said Guidie, now in his fifth year as Carthage’s head coach. “I guess that’s why you have jamborees.”
In Friday’s case, the positives outweighed the negatives, as the Tigers, who used the option for most of the evening, had little trouble moving the ball against Carl Junction and Monett. Monett, by the way, was ranked No. 1 in Missouri Class 3 for much of last season and expects to challenge for the Big 8 title this season under head coach Allan Spencer.
Brian Poston, now a three-year starter, ran the ball extremely well outside the tackles during Carthage’s first segment against Monett. Poston, who also possess the ability to square his shoulders and hit holes, scored Carthage’s second touchdown of the evening against Monett on a 7-yard run, setup by senior Devron Moore, who also showed explosive speed to the outside.
