By Jim Connell (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
OZARK – The last leg of the regular-season redemption tour for the Webb City football team is now complete.
The perennial powerhouse Cardinals lost an uncharacteristic three games in 2016 – at Carl Junction and Carthage, and at home to Ozark.
Webb City avenged those first two losses in the first two games of 2017, and made it a trifecta on Friday night, cruising to a 41-10 victory at Ozark.
“It means more to be sitting at 7-0 right now,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “But that stuff stays with you, no question.”
The Cardinals, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4, improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the Large Division of the Central Ozark Conference.
Despite the final score, it wasn’t always easy on Friday night.
The Cardinals committed eight penalties – seven of them false starts and two coming on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter – and fumbled four times, losing one on the second play of the game and leading to a 37-yard field goal by Chandler Doss.
“Unfortunately, we had so many mistakes offensively,” Roderique said. “They challenge you, moving a lot of people around before the snap, bringing linebackers up to the line of scrimmage and blitzing.”
That 3-0 Ozark lead was a short-lived one.
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On the second play of the ensuing Webb City possession, running back Durand Henderson took an inside handoff and went untouched around the right side, outrunning the Ozark pursuit for a 48-yard touchdown.
“He’s got something that no one else in our backfield has, that great speed,” Roderique said. “Guys have a tendency to take bad angles on him.”
Henderson finished with 164 yards on just 16 carries, and he added a 2-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter for a 14-3 lead. Cash Link dropped a pretty pass into the arms of Alex Gaskill from 6 yards out late in the first half, and it was a 21-3 game at the half.
While Webb City’s offense had some trouble with penalties and missed opportunities throughout, the Cardinals’ defense was in top form all night.
Ozark’s offense managed only eight first downs and 130 yards of total offense. The Tigers finished with 86 rushing yards and a 3.7-yard average, and quarterback Danny Carr was on the run most of the night. He completed 6 of 15 passes for 44 yards and was intercepted once.
“I think defensively we’re in a good place,” Roderique said. “We’re real stingy against the run and our guys up front are playing real well. I feel good about our defense, and offensively we’ve just got to be more consistent and clean things up and not turn the ball over.”
Will Larson had a pair of short TD runs in the second half, and Kole Deadmond recovered a fumble in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to finish out the Webb City scoring.
Ozark’s lone touchdown came on a 5-yard run by Preston Carson midway through the final quarter.
Webb City 41, Ozark 10
First quarter
Ozark – Chandler Doss 37 FG
Webb City – Durand Henderson 48 run (run failed)
Second quarter
Webb City – Henderson 2 run (Henderson run)
Webb City – Alex Gaskill 6 pass from Cash Link (Sergio Perez kick)
Third quarter
Webb City – Will Larson 6 run (Perez kick)
Fourth quarter
Ozark – Preston Carson 5 run (Doss kick)
Webb City – Larson 1 run (Perez kick)
Webb City – Kole Deadmond fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed)
