BY JASON PEAKE
They go about their business in a workmanlike fashion week after week.
While their contributions often go overlooked by the casual observer in the bleachers, their importance cannot be overstated.
And if you ask John Roderique, he'll tell you his offensive and defensive linemen have played a vital role for the undefeated Webb City Cardinals.
Ranked No. 1 in Class 4 by the Missouri Media, Webb City (7-0) travels to Ozark (1-6) tonight in Week 8 of the prep football season. The Central Ozark Conference clash is set for 7 at Tiger Stadium.
With strong play in the trenches on both sides of the ball, the Cardinals have outscored their opponents 265-80 this season.
"Those guys are vital," Roderique said. "Those guys set the tone for us. Your line has to play well and do their jobs."
This week's probable starters on the offensive line are senior Alex Pink (6-foot-2, 285 pounds) and sophomore Zetthew Meister (6 3 240) at tackles seniors 6-3, tackles, Austin Spink (6-1, 215) and Matt Miller 6-0, 230) at guards and junior Brayden Wilson (6-2, 240) at center this week in place of senior Tucker Friend (5-11, 215).
"For us, it always starts with the offensive line," Roderique said. "We can have great receivers, running backs and quarterbacks, but that doesn't really matter if we don't get the job done up front."
Webb City will start juniors Trenten Thompson (6-3, 230) and Brayden Bond (6-2, 185) and seniors Dylan Walker (6-3, 265) and Dallin Crockett (5-10, 210) on the defensive line.
"The defensive linemen are the ultimate team players," Roderique said. "They sacrifice a lot of things so the defense can have success. They can't get pushed around at the line of scrimmage. Not getting knocked off the ball is a big part of it. And they have to put pressure on the opposing quarterback."
On top of the league and district standings, Webb City is coming off its highest scoring output of the season, a 51-12 win over Republic. The defense also rose to the occasion as the Cardinals recorded 12 tackles for loss.
Senior running back Durand Henderson leads the Cardinals with 627 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, while sophomore Devrin Weathers has contributed 563 yards and six scores. Senior quarterback Cade Beason has passed for 376 yards and has rushed for 289. Junior Terrell Kabala leads the receiver corps with 252 yards and four touchdowns.
Webb City's defense is led by junior Ruben Lenker (66 tackles), senior Alex Gaskill (47) and Bond (47).
Ozark has struggled throughout the season, being outscored 188-53. Ozark has suffered losses to Neosho (35-0), Willard (19-7), Branson (6-0), Nixa (42-14), Republic (27-6) and Joplin (49-9). The victory came in Week 5, a 17-10 home triumph over Carl Junction.
In last Friday's loss to Joplin, Ozark was limited to 172 yards of offense — 93 rushing and 79 passing. Players to watch for Ozark are junior quarterback Chance Strickler, senior running back Ethan Sandoval, junior running back Max Schilling, junior receiver Jacob Skaggs and sophomore receiver Ethan Pritchard.
"Ozark's kind of unique in what they do with their triple-option offense," Roderique said. "Defensively, we have to be physical and we have to play assignment football. That's the name of the game this week. Defensively, Ozark's a team that will show you a lot of different things. They blitz on almost every play. If you don't handle that well, it can cause a lot of problems."
Roderique added this week's contest is another opportunity to improve.
"We still want to try to get better at everything," he said.
Joplin Globe 10/12/2018 (Used by permission)