BY JIM HENRY
Almost everyone was caught off guard when Webb City began the game by recovering its onside kickoff.
And that included the head coach.
"I honestly didn't know it was going to happen tonight," Cardinals coach John Roderique said.
The Cardinals dominated from the outset and rolled to a 55-0 victory over Willard in a Central Ozark
Conference regular-season finale on Friday night.
The Cardinals (8-1, 7-1 COC) stretched their winning streak to eight games and earned a first-round bye next week in the upcoming Class 5 District 6 playoffs. But not all the news was good for the Cardinals.
Carthage capped an 8-0 regular season with a 35-12 victory over Nixa. And because the Tigers won by more than 11 points and received a boost in their strength of schedule, they passed Webb City for the top seed in the district rankings. Final point totals released Friday night by the MSHSAA were 48.53 for Carthage, 48.17 for Webb City.
Webb City, as the No. 2 seed, will play host on Nov. 6 to the winner of next week's Neosho-Ozark game.
The Cardinals couldn't have scripted a better game plan, finishing with
a 443-129 advantage in total offense. They had 318 yards in the first half while scoring on six of their first seven possessions, and the reserves scored on both of their series in the second half. The second series of the second half took 10 minutes off the clock and was extended by a fumbled punt return, one of four fumbles lost by the Tigers (2-7, 2-7).
"We played our starters just one half, and we put a lot of guys in," said Roderique, who estimated that 80 players saw action. "We had probably eight different guys carry the ball tonight (plus three quarterbacks). We tried to do everything we could do in that situation.
"I wish the score wasn't 55, but I thought our kids from the outset in all phases really competed well. I thought our kids were really focused. We talked early in the week we need to focus on ourselves and get better. We played a 5-2 team last week, a 7-0 team the week before, so you want to continue to make strides and get better. We felt like we did this week."
Willard won the coin toss and chose to receive. Webb City kicker Cameron Clark, after re-teeing the ball
twice, approached it and instead of booting it deep, he tapped the ball forward and recovered it after going 12 yards.
"Cameron, a four-year guy, he's been kicking forever here," Roderique said. "It's something he'd been working on. He watches film, and I think he mentioned it to Coach (Trey) Derryberry. ... When I saw him approach the ball, I thought something is different. Trey asked about it, and I didn't know it was going to be on the opening kickoff. But sometimes you see a big space in there, and (Clark) has been working on that. It couldn't have been executed any better."
The Cardinals scored in five plays with Devrin Weathers scoring from the 12-yard line.
Weathers scored again on a 43-yard burst when he took a pitchout around right end and cut back left to a wide-open field for a 13-0 lead after the first quarter.
Weathers added two touchdowns during a 28-point second quarter and finished with 154 yards on 11 carries.
The Cardinals' other two second-quarter TDs came on an 18-yard quarterbackkeeper by Cole Gayman and a three-yard dive by Dupree Jackson. Jackson gained 76 yards on seven carries, Gayman had 54 yards on five attempts, and backup quarterback Eli Goddard had 50 yards on three carries early in the second half.
Webb City's last two scores came on a one-yard plunge by David Neal with three minutes left in the third quarter and a nineyard run by Cy Darnell with four minutes left.
"All of them getting a chance to play really does a lot for the morale, just excitement," Roderique said. "What I really appreciate is to see a Devrin Weathers be the first one to congratulate Cy Darnell or David Neal when they come off the field. Dev, just like a lot of the guys we've had over the years, they are not concerned about individual stats. He worries about winning, worries about the other guys. That's a selfless guy, and that's what I appreciate about that kid."
Jacob Ott led the defense with six tackles, and Treghan Parker and Gavin Stowell had four apiece.
Owen Bushnell had 18 carries for 53 yards for Willard, and Blake Hultgren gained 39 yards.
Joplin Globe 10/24/2020 (Used by permission)