BY JASON PEAKE
Terrell Kabala had a night to remember.
A 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back, Kabala made key plays on both sides of the ball and scored all three of his team's touchdowns as Webb City earned a 21-12 victory over rival Carthage on Friday night in a Central Ozark Conference showdown at a packed Cardinal Stadium.
Kabala's first-quarter touchdown receptions gave the Cardinals an early advantage, while his lategame pick-six changed the momentum of the contest and gave Webb City some much-needed breathing room.
"What a great game he had tonight," Webb City coach John Roderique said of Kabala. "He's a certainly a great football player. And it couldn't happen to a better kid. Everybody feels great for him for the night he had. We're glad he's playing for us."
Ranked first in Class 4 by the Missouri Media, the defending state champion Cardinals hiked their record to 5-0 while taking a big step toward securing a conference title. Carthage, ranked fourth in Class 5, fell to 4-1.
"Our guys played extremely hard the entire game," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "It's frustrating for them, and it's frustrating for me to play as hard as we did and have the results fall that way. Hopefully we can learn from it, forget about it and move on."
Webb City had 240 yards of total offense, with 161 rushing and 79 passing. Senior running back Durand Henderson ran 14 times for 97 yards. Kabala caught three passes for 79 yards.
Carthage compiled 366 yards of offense, with 225 on the ground and 141 through the air. Starting in place of the injured Zeke Sappington, sophomore Patrick Carlton ran 30 times for 145 yards while also completing 9-of-15 passes for 141 yards.
Back in the lineup after missing the last two games, Webb City senior quarterback Cade Beason completed a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes to Kabala, the first from 28 yards on fourthand- 6 and the second coming from 40 yards out on the first play of the second drive of the night.
"On the first one, Beason just threw a perfect ball," Kabala said of the fly route. "The second one was a post (route) and it was another great ball by Beason. It was a good read."
"We knew they'd be coming at us, and I knew if I could get a good play-action and throw it over the top it would be there," Beason said. "And I can't say enough about Terrell. He came up big."
Webb City came up with three key defensive stands in the second period, two inside the red zone, to take a 14-0 lead into the break.
"We won that game with good defense," Roderique said. "I can't say enough about how those guys played tonight."
Carthage marched 80 yards on 10 plays to start the second half, with Blake Schrader's 19-yard touchdown run to cap the drive.
Down 14-6, the Tigers were threatening late in the third period when Kabala broke up a Carlton pass in the end zone.
Two plays later, Kabala intercepted Carlton's pass intended for Jayden Morgan and sprinted 65 yards to the house, giving the hosts some breathing room at 21-6.
"I just read it right," Kabala said. "I saw it coming. It felt amazing running down the field. I heard the crowd get loud. It was a big play because they were moving down the field on us."
On Carthage's first drive of the fourth quarter, the Tigers were once again threatening. The Tigers were on the 1-yard line when a fumble was recovered by Webb City junior Kade Hicks.
"I just saw the loose ball, and I was thinking, 'Get on top of it,'" Hicks said.
"We had a couple more breaks than they did tonight," Roderique said. "That was a big key to the game."
After a Webb City turnover, Carthage's Tucker Downing hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass with 44 seconds left.
Joplin Globe 09/22/2108 (Used by permission)