BY JASON PEAKE
A dominant first quarter propelled Webb City to a convincing 49-6 win over Republic on a chilly Friday night in Central Ozark Conference action at Republic High School Stadium.
Now 6-1 on the season after a fifth straight win, Webb City scored 28 unanswered points in a oneperiod.
The Cardinals scored on all four of their possessions in the opening frame while forcing the Tigers into a three-and-out four times. Republic's lone first-quarter possession that didn't end in a punt saw the Tigers throw an interception.
"We couldn't have had a better first quarter," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "The offense and defense both came out and played really well. But we have to be able to sustain that throughout the game. We some letdowns
after we got up 28-0 and maybe lost some intensity, but overall it was a good night for us."
Ranked second in Class 4 by the Missouri Media, the Cardinals held Republic's potentially explosive spread offense to 88 yards and a single score.
The Tigers (2-5) had been scoring 34 points per game and recorded more than 500 yards of offense last week.
"Our guys on defense played really well for most of the game," Roderique said. "They had one series in the second quarter where we gave up some first downs and a score. You'd like to not see that from your first group, but those guys responded well in the second half."
"Our coaches had us prepared," Webb City senior defensive lineman Trenten Thompson said. "They spend a lot time watching film to prepare us in practice. And our defensive linekilled it tonight."
While Webb City's defense was stout, the offense clicked on all cylinders for most of the night.
Sustaining drives or scoring quickly, Webb City finished with 422 yards, with 352 on the ground and 70 passing.
Senior quarterback Kade Hicks led the Cardinals with 104 rushing yards on eight carries. Devrin Weathers had 94 rushing yards on nine attempts. Weathers and Terrell Kabala,who added 49 rushing yards on four carries, scored two touchdowns apiece.
Hicks completed 4-of-8 passes for 70 yards. Mekhi Garrard had two receptions for 37 yards and Cale McCallister caught two passes for 33 yards.
Ruben Lenker made nine tackles and Sergio Perez had six.
Republic was limited to 64 rushing yards and 24 passing. Riley Sigman ran for 38 yards on 12 carries and quarterback Lucas Hayes ran 17 times for 24 yards. Hayes completed 5-of-16 passes for 27 yards.
In the first quarter, Webb City took advantage of great field position on one end while allowing virtually nothing on the other.
The Cardinals needed just two plays to score on their first drive as Kabala sprinted to a 33-yard touchdown. Kabala capped his team's second drive with a two-yard plunge.
A 35-yard sprint by Weathers and a 44-yard QB keeper by Hicks made it 28-0 at the 1:29 mark of the opening frame.
But the Cardinals failed to score in the second quarter as they lost a pair of fumbles.
Republic got on the board with 4:07 remaining in the first half on Hayes' oneyard score, but the Cardinals led 28-7 at the break.
The Cardinals won the second half 21-0.
McCallister hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass from Hicks to finish off the first series of the third quarter before a three-yard scamper by Weathers made it 42-6.
A nine-yard run by Cade Wilson late in the fourth quarter accounted for the final score.
"Our team faced some adversity in the second quarter, but we overcame it and rolled in the second half," Thompson said. "Hopefully we'll keep the ball rolling."
Joplin Globe 10/12/2019 (Used by permission)