With the rainout on Friday, fans, players and coaches alike had to wait an additional 24 hours to kick off this game off in Willard. Carthage didn’t seem to mind, though.
Carthage hopped on the bus on Saturday – for the second time in as many days – and traveled to Willard hoping to capture another conference win. They did just that, beating Willard 41-30 and improving their record to 4-1.
“We were on the bus halfway over here last night and got the call [about the game being postponed] and had to turn the bus around and go back home,” said Carthage coach Jon Guidie. “It’s gotta affect them. You get up the next day and your whole routine is off. But I thought once we got on the bus to come back over here, I thought our focus was really good.”
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Senior running back Trey Collins showed no ill effects from the postponement. Collins scored four touchdowns on Saturday (two rushing and two receiving) and accounted for over 130 yards of total offense in the game.
“I just felt like I could come out and make a difference in the game,” said Collins. “That’s my objective coming into every game.”
Collins had an impressive night, but he did make a critical error that almost cost his team the win.
Late in the third quarter, Willard’s Nate Swadley scored a touchdown to cut Carthage’s lead to 35-22. On the ensuing possession, Collins fumbled the ball on the first play from scrimmage, giving Willard the ball on the Carthage 30-yard line.
Six plays later, Swadley was in the end zone again. A two-point conversion made the score 35-30 with over a quarter to play.
“I felt so bad for him,” said Coach Guidie. “We got the ball back with five minutes left, and of course everybody says, ‘Hey, hang on to it, two hands on the ball.’ And he fumbles the ball. He’s been a four-year starter for us and I felt so bad for him.
“We came right back to him because I knew he wasn’t going to do it again.”
As soon as Carthage got the ball back, they handed it off to Collins three times in a row. The first play went for four yards, the second play went for one yard, and on the next play Collins was scampering down the right side of the field on a 46-yard touchdown run.
“We came right back to him,” said Guidie. “That’s him. He showed his character right there.”
Quarterback Keith Guest II racked up 64 yards on the ground and 212 yards through the air in the game. He tossed three touchdowns and only one interception.
Carthage’s defense, on the other hand, came up with three interceptions, including a pick-six to put the first points on the board. Carthage made a conscious effort to take advantage of their speed, considering Willard’s exceptional size and strength.
“I don’t know who matches up with [Willard] very well,” Guidie said of Willard. “They’re so big and strong and fit, and we didn’t match up with them very well, but played hard. That’s what we try to tell them coming in. I told them, ‘Guys, they’re bigger than you and stronger than you, but here’s how you beat that. You gotta go out and out play them.’”
Carthage did outplay Willard in the second half despite going into the locker room trailing Willard 14-13 at the break.
Willard’s run game was working. The junior Swadley racked up 105 yards on 20 carries and punched in two touchdowns. Senior Brock Howard had 11 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Quintin Batson and Clay Burkett-Gipson also did work rushing the ball behind their stout O-line.
But as the game wore on, several Willard players began cramping.
“We came out and all of a sudden it was one after another cramping up,” said Willard coach Brock Roweton. “I thought our line really did a good job tonight, our backs did a really good job running hard and it was clicking there, but it sucked there early in the third quarter…
“The downfall of Homecoming and our game getting moved is, they still had the dance. And I don’t blame our kids for wanting to dance, but it cost us some cramps tonight.”
Carthage has now won four games in a row after dropping their opener to Ozark. They’re now tied with Carl Junction for second place in the conference at 4-1 behind only Nixa at 5-0. Webb City, Neosho and Ozark each sit at 3-2.
Carthage will welcome in the Bulldogs of Carl Junction next week. In a conference as jumbled and unpredictable as the COC-Large this year, Carthage is excited to be in the position they are in.
“This large COC is up in the air,” said Collins. “So it looks like what we got next is Carl Junction. That’s a big one for us again. These last couple weeks are to see what we can do in the playoffs and see what the COC turns out to be.”
“You can’t look at like, oh we have to win out here to win conference, or we gotta do this or this. It’s just like hey, what’s ahead of us right now,” said Coach Guidie.
He added, “Honestly I know it sounds cliché, but you gotta just take every day one day at a time. Every week at a time. Otherwise, it’s going to come up and get ya.”
