By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Webb City Football will have a different feel this year.
For the first time since 2016, Webb City isn’t coming off at least a Final Four run. For the first time since 2009, the Cardinals aren’t coming off of a district championship. And, for the first time since 1996, someone other than John Roderique will be leading the Cardinals.
That task will now fall on Ryan McFarland, who is about as much of a Webb City native as it gets. McFarland played under Roderique for four years as a freshman on Rod’s first Webb City team – eventually winning a state championship as a player – and spent more than a decade as an assistant at Webb City, most recently as the offensive coordinator.
McFarland also had stints as the head coach at Riverton (Kan.) and Seneca.
“This was a blessing in that I have been able to watch and learn from him on a daily basis,” said McFarland. “I was given an opportunity to come back here two years ago and these past two seasons may have been very important in my development as a coach. The last two seasons, going from a head coaching position to an assistant, has allowed me to focus on the weightroom, X’s and O’s and relationships with our players. It also gave me some time to reflect on my time as a head coach and to start putting together a plan for the next opportunity.
“Upon being hired in January I met with all of our coaches and we started the discussion of what we do that we really like and what we do that might need to be changed in our program. Obviously, with the success of Webb City, this program didn’t need a rebuild, but we did come up with some areas that needed to be reemphasized. That started with how we ran our off-season program and summer programs.”
McFarland has plenty to work with as Webb City welcomes back several starters on each side of the ball, headlined by one of the league’s most dynamic backfield tandems with seniors Breckin Galardo and Omari Jackson.
Galardo rushed for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior while Jackson added 614 yards and eight touchdowns in limited action due to injury.
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF OUR FALL SPORTS PREVIEWS
“We expect Breckin and Omari to be two of the better backs in Southwest Missouri this year,” said McFarland. “Omari had a big game Week 1 last season against Nixa. He then had an ankle injury Week 2 that he battled for the rest of the season. That injury opened the door for Breckin to have a breakout year. Both of these guys have spent significant time in the weight room this offseason and we are excited to see them both in the backfield this fall.”
There will be some continuity up front with several seniors back on the offensive line. Shaun Hunt (6-0, 250) and Nate Miller (6-2, 250) were both All-COC picks with Hunt earning all-state honors as well. Classmates Kole Carr (6-4, 250) and Tucker Liberatore are also back in the trenches, as is senior tight end Jonah Spieker (6-3, 220).
There will also be several new faces looking to earn roles.
The quarterback competition is between senior Braden McKee, junior Jackson Lucas and sophomore Gabe Johnson with McKee and Johnson taking varsity snaps under center last year.
McFarland believes while they all have different skill sets, all are capable of helping the Cardinals win games. Johnson, the most athletic of the bunch, is likely to see action somewhere on the field even if it’s not at quarterback.
“Gabe was also able to get some varsity experience on the basketball court last winter and on the track team last spring,” said McFarland. “We feel that with these experiences Gabe comes in this season as more of an upperclassman instead of a traditional sophomore. Gabe has worked hard in the weightroom since the end of last season and has gotten bigger and stronger over the offseason. Gabe is a very dynamic athlete, and he has the ability to make a big play anytime he touches the ball.”
Juniors Brady Belcher (6-1, 240) and Eric Lathan (6-0, 245) are in competition for spots on the offensive line. Classmate Joseph DeGraffenreid will see action at receiver and senior Drew Vonder Haar will see time at tight end.
“We will continue to be a split-back option offense; that has seemed to work pretty well over the past few years,” said McFarland. “We do plan to add some wrinkles that will hopefully help expand what we are able to do on offense, but not get away from what has made us who we are.”
Senior Christian Brock tallied 87 tackles last year, the most of any returning Cardinal, and he’ll look to lead the unit from his linebacker spot. Classmate Conner Gayman is back at safety after finishing his junior season with 43 stops. He’ll be joined by junior Andrew Young who started at corner as a sophomore.
Seniors Jace Wright and Rowdy Webb will bring experience to the defensive line. Classmates Jace Jones (6-7, 255) and Jordan Mason (6-4, 225) will see larger roles this year on the line, being two guys McFarland is expecting to make a significant jump in terms of leadership and production.
Senior Jordan Howard will join the linebacking corps, as well as classmate Aaron Bell.
The defensive unit will be led by a couple of local legends in Aaron Davied and Trey Derryberry.
“Coach Davied and I were teammates on the 2000 state championship team and Coach Davied’s dad (Tim Davied) was the defensive coordinator when I played for Webb City,” said McFarland. “Coach Davied also played for Missouri Southern. Coach Derryberry played at Carthage High School, QB (2007) who beat WC for the first time in 20 years, and later at Pittsburg State and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our defense.
“These two are both veteran coaches who have been around the Webb City program for many years. They have had the opportunity to work under some really good defensive coaches and I am excited to watch them lead their own defense this fall.”
New names and new faces won’t change the expectations of Webb City. The Cardinals still expect to compete for championships at every level.
With a league that continues to transition to Class 6, Webb City will have no shortage of challenges as the Cardinals prepare for yet another playoff run.
“The COC should be a very competitive league again this year,” said McFarland. “If you look at the talent that is coming back you could argue that it is as talented as it’s ever been. Nixa and Joplin have proved they are top programs in Class 6. Carthage has established itself as the team to beat in the COC. Republic proved last season that they can compete at the top of the COC. Willard, Neosho, Branson are programs that have made coaching changes in recent years and are trending up. Ozark and Carl Junction have the momentum and excitement of a new coaching staff. From a competitive standpoint the COC is an exciting conference to be a member of, but it is definitely a grind week in and week out.
“For us to have a chance to be successful this season we need to be the most physical, hardest playing team on Friday nights. We can’t control our talent level or our opponent’s talent level, but we can control how disciplined and how hard we play as a team.”
Webb City will jamboree at Joplin with Seneca and Lamar before opening the 2023 regular season at Nixa on Aug. 25.
