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By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was hyped as the game of the week in southwest Missouri. Two undefeated teams at the top of the conference standings. The top two offenses in the conference and two of the top three defenses. One team ranked third in Class 6, the other ranked second in Class 5.
So what was Carthage coach Jon Guidie’s message to his players entering Friday’s showdown at Joplin with so much at stake?
“Nothing. I’m not kidding,” Guidie said. “We didn’t even talk about anything being at stake. I’m not lying. We never mentioned one word about it. Didn’t want to hype it up too much, didn’t want to build it up too much. I’m sure they heard it all over the place. Social media, school, community, all that stuff but we literally didn’t talk about it intentionally and went to practice like we always do.”
Turns out, Guidie didn’t need to say anything. Luke Gall amassed nearly 300 yards of total offense and the Tigers built a 27-point lead en route to a 34-22 statement win at Junge Field to seize the Central Ozark Conference lead with two weeks remaining.
“It’s not us, it’s them,” Guidie said. “It’s these kids. They’re so good and so experienced and understand things, understand the big picture. I think that’s the biggest thing. And it’s a really mature group and an experienced group. Just so proud of them.”
The Tigers, 7-0, won for the third time in four meetings against Joplin and avenged a 56-55 loss on the field two years ago. They entered the game allowing just 10.5 points defensively and limited a Joplin offense that was scoring more than 42 per game to just seven points through the first three quarters.
Carthage set the tone early. Gall, a junior, ran up the middle untouched for a 58-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. Senior quarterback Caden Kabance added a 2-yard score to cap an 89-yard drive on the team’s second possession, and senior receiver Cale Patrick scored on a 69-yard reverse early in the second quarter to make it a 21-0 game.
“We talked about having to grind out some plays, some three and four and five-yard plays but we also talked about being able to hit a big play,” Guidie said. “That happened a little sooner than we thought. What a special kid (Gall) is. He had a great night offensively and defensively.”
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Joplin, 6-1, punted on its first two possessions before scoring on a 14-play drive with 5:55 left in the first half. Senior quarterback Always Wright fired a laser to senior Bruce Wilbert for 22 yards on a fourth-and-20 to set up a 3-yard plunge by junior Drew VanGilder.
The Tigers answered two plays later when Kabance passed to Gall for a 65-yard score. Carthage nearly scored again before the half but Joplin senior Luke Vieselmeyer picked off a pass near the goal line and the Tigers settled for a 27-7 advantage at the break.
It was 34-7 with 4:32 remaining in the third when Kabance scored on a 39-yard run. Carthage junior Clay Kinder intercepted a Wright pass three plays later inside the 50.
The Tigers threatened to turn the game into a rout early in the fourth with the ball inside the Joplin 20, but the Eagles came up with a fourth-down stop and found themselves back in the game in quick order.
Wright heaved a deep ball down the home sideline to junior Terrance Gibson for an 80-yard touchdown with 10:09 remaining to make it 34-14. After a Carthage punt, Joplin struck again on a 7-yard touchdown catch by sophomore All Wright. Senior Bruce Wilbert passed to senior Landen Atherton for two to make it a 12-point game.
And then sophomore Jonathan Williams recovered an onside kick at the Carthage 45 with 3:16 remaining.
But four-straight incompletions ended the threat, with Carthage senior Braxdon Tate breaking up a fourth-down pass to effectively end the game.
“Our guys kept fighting,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “Super proud of them. Obviously a little bit too little, too late but the fight, the drive, we had a chance to get it within a score there and then you never know. Proud of my guys for fighting.”
Carthage out-gained Joplin 478 to 343 in total offense. The Tigers rushed for 363 yards and limited the Eagles to 58 on the ground. Wright completed 16 of 33 passes for 285 yards and two scores.
“They’re a really good ball team,” Jasper said. “Offensively, defensively they’re really good. We saw some things throughout the first half we were able to use the second half to open it up a little more but sometimes when you face a good team you struggle a little bit. Obviously we’ll go back and look at film and see what things we can do better but ultimately hats off to Carthage. They’re a good football team.”
Guidie said a “mixture of things” helped slow Joplin’s vaunted offense.
“Our offensive line played really well,” he said. “We were able to run a lot of clock off and keep them on the sideline. I think they had one possession the first quarter, maybe they got on there at the end but then our defense – man. That’s a difficult offense to contain and obviously the quarterback’s really special. He had a big night still but we got him a couple times which is what we wanted to do.”
Gall rushed 24 times for 211 yards and two scores and added the 65-yard touchdown reception.
“Big, strong and fast,” Jasper said. “And he’s a complete back. He’s not just a straight ahead guy. He can run it inside, can run it outside, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Big, strong and fast.”
Kabance rushed for 83 yards and Patrick had the 69-yard run. Kabance was 9-of-14 passing for 115 yards and a score.
Joplin’s leading rusher was Quin Renfro, who totaled 41 yards on 12 carries. Gibson led the team with 127 receiving yards on five receptions.
