By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
CARTHAGE – Addressing his players after their quest for a state championship came to an end on Saturday afternoon, Carthage football coach Jon Guidie made one thing abundantly clear.
This group of Tigers will not be remembered for how their season ended – an uncharacteristic, turnover-filled, 35-13 loss to Francis Howell in the Class 5 semifinals – but everything that allowed them to reach this point.
It began with a near-perfect run through the Central Ozark Conference, which vaulted them to the top of the state rankings. They added another district championship, their seventh in the past nine years. And there was the ever-present influence of 21 seniors – the largest such contingent in the coach’s tenure – whose mark on the program will be felt for years to come.
“I didn’t want this day to take away from the season that they’ve put together,” Guidie said. “They did some really special things this year. They really did – and we’re really proud of them.”
The Carthage seniors hoped their high school careers would end as it began, as they were freshmen on the 2019 team that won the only state football championship in program history. But No. 2 Francis Howell had other plans, as the St. Charles-based school outdueled the No. 1 Tigers in a highly anticipated clash of the state’s top-ranked teams.
Carthage players fumbled three times and threw three interceptions during the rain-soaked affair at David Haffner Stadium, and the undefeated Vikings (13-0) scored 21 points off those turnovers to advance to the state championship game. Francis Howell will face Independence-based Fort Osage (11-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at Columbia’s Faurot Field for the title.
“Uncharacteristic of us to turn the ball over like that,” Guidie said. “That part of it is disappointing.”
The turnovers overshadowed a commendable performance from the Carthage defense, which held the Vikings to just two other touchdowns. Francis Howell had been averaging nearly 50 points per game and the 35 tied the team’s season low.
But Francis Howell’s defense was even better, allowing only a pair of Luke Gall rushing touchdowns. The Air Force commit broke free for a 54-yard scoring run in the second quarter and added a 4-yard run in the third.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Otherwise, the Vikings largely held Carthage’s run game in check. Gall’s other 12 carries went for just 45 total yards, and he finished with 103 yards on 14 attempts.
That forced the Tigers to turn to the air – not an ideal situation in the rainy conditions. The Tigers went scoreless on 11 of their 13 possessions, nearly half of which ended in a turnover.
“Their (defensive) line was just killing us at the point of attack,” Carthage quarterback Cooper Jadwin said. “Their safeties … just had a day. They have those good running backs. They’re a very solid football team and I think you can already start sizing them up for their ring.”
Francis Howell was able to immediately establish its own run game, with Kendall Gurley scoring on a 38-yard run on the game’s opening drive and adding a 15-yarder later in the quarter.
The Vikings made it 21-0 late in the second quarter when Adam Shipley found Brett Norfleet in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out.
Gall got the Tigers on the scoreboard before halftime, but they were never able to cut the deficit below 14. Brady Hultman added two second-half rushing touchdowns to seal it for the Vikings.
“There are no weaknesses over there,” Guidie said. “You try to exploit some things and think you might have an advantage here and all of a sudden they’ve got that covered, too. Big credit to those guys. They’re very talented. They’ve got a lot of really good players.”
Opposing coaches have been able to say the same thing about Carthage for the past four seasons.
This year’s graduating seniors finished their careers with a 42-6 record, including a 39-4 mark in their final 43 games.
“You think about that – 39-4 – That’s pretty remarkable,” Guidie said. “It really is. I think they set the bar as high as you could set it for the next few years.”
Guidie said he hoped the graduating seniors felt “a sense of pride” about their final season.
“They came to work every single day,” Guidie said. “They showed up. They worked with great attitudes. They were very coachable. They were a very close, cohesive group of players. When you have that, obviously you have something special. But when you have that, you’re going to have success. You grow to love those kids and you’re certainly going to miss them.”
The feeling is mutual for the Carthage players.
“I’m really going to miss being able to come out every day and be in the locker room with all my best friends,” Jadwin said. “We’re a family – not a football team – and it’s just going to really (stink) not being able to do that anymore, but I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. We fought to that very last second. Nobody quit and what happens happens.”
FRANCIS HOWELL 14 7 7 7 — 35
CARTHAGE 0 7 6 0 — 13
