Bob Foos
Webb City will be looking for its second upset in a row Friday when the Cardinals travel to Carthage for the Class 5 District 7 championship game.
Last week, the fourth-seeded Cardinals drove to play the third-seeded Grain Valley Eagles in the semifinal round. (Statistician Tim Workman notes since district play was reconfigured in 2007 the Cardinals have been in the semifinal each year and are 16-2 in those contests. It was only the second time the Cardinals weren’t the host team.)
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Carthage Tigers were enjoying home advantage as they defeated the fifth-seeded Neosho Wildcats 35-14,
It was initially a defensive contest at Grain Valley. Starting their second possession from their own 3-yard line, the ensuing punt turned into a safety. 0-2
The Webb City defense stymied the Eagles running attack for a third time, as the offense took over with better field position as the second quarter started.
Slade Hurd broke loose for a 57-yard gain to within 5 yards of the end zone. On the fourth play of the possession, he ran it in from 2 yards out to complete the 62-yard drive. 7-2
Two possessions later, Jackson Lucas completed a 72-yard pass to Andrew Young for the Cardinals’ second touchdown and a halftime lead of 14-2.
Webb City’s stingy defense continued into the second half. It wasn’t until the Eagles’ second possession that they got a short field (thanks to an interception) and their first touchdown on a 17-yard run. 14-9
The Cardinals avoided giving the ball up on downs on their next possession when the Eagles were penalized for having 12 men on the field. Lucas capped the 10-play drive with three quarterback keepers for a total of 35 yards. 21-9
The Webb City Sentinel isn’t a newspaper – but it used to be, serving Webb City, Missouri, in print from 1879-2020. This “newspaper” seeks to carry on that tradition as a nonprofit corporation.
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