BY JASON PEAKE
The top-seeded Webb City Cardinals took care of business early in a 55-13 victory over the eighth-seeded McDonald County Mustangs on Friday night in the Class 4 District 6 opener at Cardinal Stadium.
Clicking on all cylinders from the start, Webb City held a 41-6 halftime advantage.
"We had a couple of nice plays early and got off to a fast start," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "Overall I thought we played really well in the first half. It was a pretty clean game for us. Taking care of business is one way to describe it."
Ranked first in Class 4, Webb City hiked its record to 10-0, and the Cardinals will host Carl Junction (5-5) next Friday in the district semifinals.
The Mustangs end the season at 3-7.
"I thought our kids played extremely hard," Mustangs coach Kellen Hoover said. "Webb City is an extremely talented football team. I thought our kids fought the whole time. We competed until the last whistle, so I was proud of them."
Webb City compiled 382 yards of total offense, 292 rushing and 90 passing. Senior running back Durand Henderson ran eight times for 151 yards and three touchdowns.
McDonald County recorded 173 yards of offense, 128 on the ground and 45 through the air. Senior Oakley Roessler rushed for 104 yards on 24 carries and scored both of McDonald County's touchdowns.
After the Webb City defense forced a quick threeand- out on the opening series, it didn't take the Cardinal offense long to take the lead.
On Webb City's second play from scrimmage, sophomore running back Devrin Weathers hauled in a short pass from Cade Beason and then sprinted 43 yards past the defense to the end zone.
"The defense got the stop on the first series and then the offense put it in the end zone," Roderique said. "You can't start any better than that. That's exactly how you want to do it. You couldn't draw it up any better than that."
The Mustangs responded with a 15-play, 65-yard scoring drive, capped by a one-yard touchdown plunge by Roessler.
"That was a drive where everything clicked and came together for us,"
Hoover said. "It was good to see our kids put one together like that early in the game, especially right after they scored."
Roderique gave the Mustangs credit for challenging his team's defense.
"McDonald County had a nice drive and they showed what they can do," Roderique said. "It was kind one of those things where once we saw it, our guys did a much better job of defending them after that. It was good to see our offense come back and get another score after that."
On the next series, Weathers went up the middle nearly untouched for a 27-yard touchdown run. McDonald County's next possession ended with an interception by Alex Gaskill. On the first play of the next drive, Gaskill made a leaping catch for a seven-yard touchdown reception, giving the Cardinals a 21-6 lead at the end of the first period.
Trenten Thompson intercepted a Mustangs pass early in the second period, and the Cardinals scored three players later when Henderson scampered into the end zone from two yards.
"The interceptions were big," Hoover said. "But they really fly around on defense and those things are going to happen."
Kane Parks ran for an eight-yard touchdown and then Henderson's 47-yard sprint gave the Cardinals a comfortable 35-point lead at the break.
Third-quarter touchdowns by Webb City's Henderson (61 yards) and McDonald County's Roessler (30 yards) made it 48-13 entering the final frame and Webb City's Bronson Alcazar recorded a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
The Cardinals will now prepare for another date with Carl Junction.
"Like we told our kids, what happened in Week 1 will have no impact on Week 11," Roderique said.
Joplin Globe 10/27/2018 (Used by permission)