BY JASON PEAKE

Four first-half takeaways and an explosive running attack propelled top-seeded Webb City to a 54-7 victory over fourth-seeded Carl Junction on Friday night in a Class 4 District semifinal at Cardinal Stadium.

Webb City (11-0) will host second-seeded Neosho (8-3) next Friday for the district championship.

The defending state champion Cardinals recorded four interceptions in the first half, with two returned for touchdowns. The other two takeaways gave the Cardinals great field position en route to a comfortable 47-7 halftime advantage.

"Any time you get a short field on a turnover it's always a good thing for your offense," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "Luckily our offense came through and did a good job when our defense set us up. I thought our defense played extremely well. Sometimes you only need one or two things to get you going."

Carl Junction coach Doug Buckmaster noted the early turnovers were too much to overcome.

"You can't make those kinds of mistakes if you want to stay in the game against a team like Webb City," Buckmaster said.

"They answered off of our mistakes quickly. After the first two interceptions, it kind of rolled downhill from there. We didn't get any breaks. Any ball that bounced in the air, they got. But I'm proud of our kids.

They came out and competed hard."

Webb City compiled 389 yards of total offense, with 314 yards on the ground and 75 through the air.

Senior running back Durand Henderson ran 13 times for 172 yards with four touchdowns to lead the Cardinals.

"I just have to give credit to the guys up front," Henderson said. "They did an amazing job right from the start of the game."

Carl Junction had 191 yards of offense, with 105 passing and 86 rushing.

Sophomore Alex Baker completed 7-of-16 passes for 96 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions, while senior Joe Kennedy rushed for 40 yards on 17 carries in his final outing for the Bulldogs (5-6). Webb City's Cale McCallister grabbed an interception on the third play of the night, and the Cardinals needed only two plays to score after the takeaway as Henderson charged in from three yards out.

"That interception really got off us to a good start," Roderique said. "That got our team excited."

The Bulldogs responded with an eight-play, 75-yard drive, with Baker completing a game-tying 36-yard touchdown pass to Cole Stewart with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

The game wasn't tied long, as the Cardinals put up 47 unanswered points.

Webb City took the lead for good after a 39-yard touchdown run up the middle by Henderson at the 2:35 mark of the first period.

After another interception by McCallister, Cade Beason's 49-yard sprint on a quarterback keeper made it 19-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The second period was all Webb City. Beason's 26-yard touchdown pass to Alex Gaskill and Gaskill's 26-yard pick-6 gave Webb City a 33-7 lead with 9:41 left in the first half.

Henderson's third touchdown of the night, a seven-yard scamper, followed by Terrell Kabala's 38-yard interception return to the house gave the Cardinals a 40-point halftime cushion.

"The interceptions were key for us," Henderson said. "They gave us great field position."

Henderson added a 42yard touchdown run in the third period for the final margin.

With another rivalry game victory secured, Henderson noted the Cardinals aren't done yet.

"It feels good to move on," Henderson said. "Now we want to win a district title again and carry on the tradition."

Joplin Globe 11/03/2018 (Used by permission)