By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Webb City’s quest for a 16th state championship ended at midfield with a defender draped around quarterback Eli Goddard and a desperate heave downfield.
The ball landed on the turf at Cardinal Stadium and visiting Platte County celebrated a 24-21 win in a Class 5 semifinal on Saturday afternoon.
“This is like the mecca of high school football, so to come in here and be able to get this win, it’s a huge win for our program,” Platte County coach Bill Utz said.
In a rematch of last year’s Class 4 championship game – which Webb City won 48-0 – the Pirates took control early with two touchdowns in the first 15 minutes and forced the Cardinals to play catch-up most of the afternoon.
Only briefly in the fourth quarter did Webb City (11-2) lead.
The Cardinals trailed 17-14 at the half after Platte County kicker Cole Rhoden booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired, and Webb City’s defense was on its heels most of the third quarter as the team’s offense struggled to get anything going.
The Pirates (12-1) drove to the Webb City 37-yard line to open the third quarter but Cardinals senior Treghan Parker picked off a pass at the 2 to end the scoring threat.
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Platte County started its second possession at the Webb City 32 after a short punt but missed a 26-yard field goal.
The Pirates turned it over again in Webb City territory in the final minute of the quarter – again on a leaping interception by Parker.
Webb City’s offense, meanwhile, went three-and-out on the team’s first three possessions of the second half and gained a total of six yards in the process.
“Our D line is good, our linebackers are pretty quick and then our secondary is pretty quick too,” Utz said. “We were able to mess some stuff up there, cause some disruption and we were able to get on them before they really could get their legs moving and be able to create any kind of big yardage plays. We saw in the first half that if they had open space they were going to score.”
The Cardinals finally got things going early in the fourth through the air. Senior quarterback Cole Gayman completed a 49-yard pass to junior Cohl Vaden on a third-and-14 and then connected with senior Mekhi Garrard on a 33-yard pass to the Platte County 3.
Junior Dupree Jackson punched it in two plays later and Webb City led 21-17 with 9:25 remaining after senior Cameron Clark’s extra point.
The Pirates converted twice on third down and moved quickly into the red zone on Platte County’s ensuing possession. Quarterback Christopher Ruhnke threw incomplete on a third-and-9 but the Cardinals were penalized for roughing the passer, setting up a first-and-goal from the 9.
On fourth-and-goal from the same spot, Ruhnke scrambled and found Colby Rollins in the back left corner of the end zone for the go-ahead score with 5:58 left in the game.
“For whatever reason we find ourselves coming from behind a lot so to be able to go down and get that drive is not something that’s new to us but obviously on this stage I’m super proud of them,” Utz said. “Couldn’t be happier for them.”
Ruhnke hurt the Cardinals all afternoon while on the run. He passed for 227 yards in the game, completing 19 of 44 attempts.
“We wanted to get him out of the pocket a little bit and make him move his feet and not let him stand back there which I thought we did but he really threw the ball well,” Webb City coach John Roderique said. “The last play for a touchdown there down in the left corner of the end zone, what a terrific throw, what a great play. He’s a great player. I wish him the best of luck in the future.”
Webb City turned it over on downs at its own 29 after that, but forced Platte County into a fourth-and-7 with 2:55 left to play. Ruhnke scrambled for a 10-yard gain, and when the Pirates finally gave the ball back, just 25 seconds remained.
A helmet-to-helmet penalty and another for roughing the passer moved the Cardinals from their own 15 to the 48 but the last-second effort ended there.
“When you start the playoffs, we talk about it, every team except for one is going to end with a loss and only one team’s going to have a win in their last game of the year,” Roderique said. “Hats off to Platte County. They did what they needed to do, had a great plan. Defensively they played really, really well against us. Like I said before to our kids, I said if there’s a line to take credit for today I’m the first one in line. I’ll be the first one in line. The buck stops with me and I wasn’t good enough today and we just had so many situations, so many things that maybe we weren’t prepared for. Hats off to those guys. Our guys played their guts out. Defensively we got the ball back several times there in the second half, early third quarter we just couldn’t do enough offensively and that’s on me.”
The Pirates out-gained Webb City 361 to 333 but ran 33 more plays. Platte County led time of possession 28:43 to 19:17.
Webb City rushed 34 times for 245 yards and was led by senior Devrin Weathers, who rushed 16 times for 192 yards. Jackson added 10 carries for 60 yards.
Platte County opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown reception by Carter Salzman with 7:25 left in the first quarter. The Pirates led 14-0 at the 9:27 mark of the second after Salzman hauled in a 16-yard pass for another score.
The Cardinals turned it over on a fourth down sack and fumble and another fumble into the end zone that took away a touchdown.
Big plays from Weathers – an 82-yard touchdown and then a 38-yard score – tied the game with 3:32 left in the half.
“It just felt like we couldn’t ever get the advantage,” Roderique said.
“Sometimes it’s a real fine line between winning and losing and we’ve been really fortunate we’ve been on the good side of that most of the time,” he said. “Today it wasn’t to be.”
Platte County will meet unbeaten Jackson (13-0) in the Class 5 championship on December 5 in Jefferson City.
