By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The kick felt good on contact and struck the right part of Joseph Ipsen’s foot.
“I looked up and I could tell it was going in,” he said.
Ipsen, Joplin’s junior kicker, nailed a 42-yard field goal as time expired to hand the visiting Eagles a thrilling 41-40 victory Friday night in Webb City.
“I always think about that and I always have the situation in my head but I’ve never really had the chance to prove I can really do it,” Ipsen said.
“We’ve been practicing the heck out of field goals and PATs and all that and he just stepped up and nailed it,” said Joplin coach Curtis Jasper. “Can’t say enough about the protection, the snap, the hold and obviously Joseph Ipsen.”
It was the third straight win against the Cardinals for Joplin, which becomes the first school to accomplish that feat since Mt. Vernon won four in a row between 1984 and 1984. Nobody had even won back-to-back games against Webb City since 2003.
“There were big moments the whole game,” Jasper said. “This was a heavyweight fight and everyone kept throwing haymakers. Luckily we were able to land the last one.”
With nine minutes left in the game Joplin led 38-24 and had scored 25 points unanswered. It was far from over.
The Cardinals cut it to 38-32 with 6:20 remaining after senior quarterback Cohl Vaden scored on 14-yard run and Dupree Jackson passed to Josh Howard for two.
Then came a Joplin three-and-out and Webb City got the ball inside the 50 with 4:32 left to play. The Cardinals ran 10 plays and converted three times on third down – scoring on a 6-yard Cade Wilson run with 46 seconds on the clock to tie it up. Webb City went for two again and Wilson punched it in to make it 40-38.
After the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, Joplin started at its own 35 and moved into Webb City territory on a 19-yard pass from senior Always Wright to Hudson Moore. Wright spiked the ball with 35 seconds left, then threw incomplete to set up a third-and-long. The Eagles gained six yards on a reception by Landon Atherton but still faced a fourth-and-four with 16 seconds to go.
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Wright dropped back to pass and was under heavy pressure in the backfield before flinging a pass to Jack Stanley at the 25 to move the chains. With five seconds remaining Jasper used a timeout and sent the kicking team onto the field.
“We knew we had the wind and I felt like their time clock guy ran some extra seconds off on the play before that so I wasn’t going to leave it to them to run out the clock,” Jasper said.
Ipsen’s kick was a no doubter.
“It was a great feeling knowing it was the three points we needed to win,” he said.
In a game that has become a regular early-season classic – Joplin won 41-40 last year and 35-28 in 2019 – Webb City was in control most of the first half.
The Cardinals took an 8-0 lead on an 8-yard Wilson run and a Dupree two-pointer three minutes in. Vaden was intercepted on the team’s second possession, setting up a 42-yard scoring drive for Joplin capped by a 3-yard Wright run, but the Eagles couldn’t convert the two-point try.
A 10-yard Dupree touchdown and two-point conversion made it 16-6 in the final minute of the first quarter.
Joplin answered with a 65-yard scoring drive that included a conversion on fourth-and-5 at the Webb City 35. Wright later connected with Moore on a 17-yard touchdown strike to pull within 16-13.
The Cardinals answered with a 4-yard Wilson touchdown and two-point conversion to lead 24-13 with 4:58 left in the half.
After trading punts, Joplin got the ball back at its own 19 with 1:20 left and scored with nine seconds remaining when Wright found a wide open Atherton in the end zone. The extra point hit the upright and Webb City took a 24-19 lead into the half.
Joplin opened the third with a 13-play scoring drive, pulling ahead when Wright connected with Bruce Wilbert in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play at the 8. That made it 25-24 after a failed conversion, and the Eagles’ defense then stopped the Cardinals on fourth-and-12 at the Joplin 29.
With 11:24 left in the fourth Wright found Terrance Gibson open deep for another score and Drew Vangilder’s two-point run made it 31-24.
After another Webb City punt gave Joplin possession at the Cardinals’ 44, VanGilder broke free down the Eagles’ sideline on first down to make it 38-24.
“The kids care about each other,” Jasper said. “That’s what it’s about is kids caring about each other and never giving up.”
“I love them to death and I’m glad, I’m proud to be their coach and extremely blessed,” he said.
Joplin, 1-0, will entertain Nixa next week while Webb City, 0-1, heads to Neosho.
