BY JASON PEAKE
The final home game of the regular season has arrived for the Webb City Cardinals.
Webb City's seniors will be recognized ahead of tonight's Central Ozark Conference football contest with Ozark. The Week 8 clash is slated for 7 at Cardinal Stadium, with Senior Night activities set to begin at 6:30.
"Senior Night always seems to get here so fast," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "It's always ht It gives you a special night. a chance to reflect on the high school careers of the kids and how much they've grown. It can be an emotional night. It's also great to recognize the parents and everyone else who has played a big role in the lives of the kids."
Winners of five straight and ranked second in Class 4 by the Missouri Media, the Cardinals are 6-1 on the season.
it fa ad w ru in Webb City has outscored its opponents 268-75 this fall, including a 206-40 advantage in the last five weeks.
With an average of 272 rushing yards and 84 passing yards per game, the Webb City offense is averaging 38 points per game.
"We've come quite a ways offensively," Roderique said. "We felt like we had a chance to be a good offensive team, but we just needed experience. We're playing a lot of different guys on the line, in the backfield and even at quarterback. Each week you learn a little bit more. And we know there's always something we can do better, too."
Junior running back Devrin Weathers (515 yards, 8 TD), senior quarterback Kade Hicks (359 yards, 5 TD) and senior running back Terrell Kabala (283, 5 TD) lead Webb City's ground game. Hicks has passed for 306 yards, while backup QB Eli Goddard has contributed 196 passing yards. Senior Cale McCallister is the top receiver with 167 yards and two scores.
Webb City's fast and physical defense is allowing just 11 points per game on the season. Leaders in tackles are Sergio Perez (45), Treghan Parker (39), Ruben Lenker (31), Trenten Thompson (31), Gavin Surber (28) and Brayden Bond (28).
Ozark comes to town with a 4-3 record. Like a number of the Springfield-area teams, the Tigers have had their ups and downs. The Tigers own wins over Neosho (21-7), Branson (14-13), Nixa (20-14) and Republic (51-49). Ozark has suffered losses to Willard (40-3), Carl Junction (56-20) and Joplin (50-14).
In last week's loss to the Eagles, the Tigers gave up 43 unanswered points in the first half and were limited to less than 100 yards of offense. Quarterbacks Chance Strickler and Cannon Cox and running back Ethan Pritchard are key performers for Ozark.
"Ozark does a good job with their personnel," Roderique said. "They've got some speed and their option game can be tough to defend. They make you play honest. We'll have to be disciplined and physical on defense. Defensively, Ozark will give us a lot of different looks. They'll blitz quite a bit, so we'll have to pick that up."
NOTES: The Cardinals remain on top of the Class 4 District 6 standings. Webb City has 50.62 points, while West Plains (6-1) has 49.71 and Bolivar (7-0) has 47.76. Willard (34.62), Carl Junction (32.62), Hillcrest (27.88), Neosho (25.86) and McDonald County (19.67) round out the standings.
In addition to the football team, seniors of the cross country, band, dance and cheerleading teams will also be recognized tonight.