Webb City v. Carthage

Game Pictures

For anyone living outside the center of the universe (a.k.a. Webb City) last night saw the renewal of a long-standing high school football rivalry. In week 2 of the season Webb City took down Carthage 35-21. At the time WC fans recognized 2 things.

1. Carthage was better than previous years.

2. WC played a mediocre game and would have to play better to have a good season. This fact was highlighted in a tough match-up with Pittsburg a couple of weeks later that signaled a turning point in the Cardinals' season.

Fast-forward to last night and you find 10-0 and #1 ranked WC playing a first-round playoff game at home against 9-1 and #3 ranked Carthage. According to an eye-witness (my wife, whose classroom has a window that over-looks the stadium) fans began lining up at 8:30 on Friday morning. To say it was a highly anticipated match-up would be an understatement. All week there was speculation that somehow WC's win in week 2 was a fluke. Then again, that speculation flies around every time WC and Carthage square off. I've only lived here for 3 football seasons and it's been the same every year.

Early on Carthage looked very good and had WC on their heels for a time. Missed tackles on WC's part and an improved offense for Carthage gave Carthage an early lead that they held until nearly halftime. Down 13-12 and having just given the lead back to Carthage, WC mounted a drive to take the lead into halftime at 20-13. Bottom line, this was the same thing we saw in Pittsburg. Tight game, momentum going the wrong way and not much time. Same result as in Pittsburg, precise passes, well-executed routes, sure-handed catches, and WC was in the endzone. Like it or not, the WC offense knows how to move the ball and put points on the board when they need to. There's the WC offense that will pound you all night long (ask Carthage about that in the second half of this one) and there's the "we're going to pick you apart like an NFL team because we have no choice" offense. I think the coaching staff prefers the ground game, it's more familiar, but this Cardinal squad has proven they can come through in the wide-open version as well.

While I'm not yet convinced that this WC team has the overall depth of talent of the last 2 squads, they certainly are getting the most out of their offense at this point and are able to rely on the passing game more than in the past. Typical WC offense relies on the running game and a lot of options (which this squad does as well). But with the very legitimate downfield threats this season teams cannot load 8 or 9 in the box against WC and expect to have success. If the WC defense can play like we've seen them at times this season, this team has the potential to go deep into the playoffs. For the record, I'm still holding the Friday after Thanksgiving open on my calendar (don't tell my parents, they weren't happy about that 2 years ago).

Back to Carthage. Up by 7, WC took the ball in the 3rd quarter and just shoved it down Carhage's throat. First drive of the second half featured one play to the left and about 6 running plays to the right. The next drive was about the same thing with a couple of surprises to the left just to keep Carthage honest. Both resulted in touchdowns. At that point the practice field (where the Carthage fans had parked) started emptying.

An injury to Caleb Sanders late in the 3rd quarter had no real impact on the outcome. Carthage, who was already down by 21, scored on the drive that he was injured on, but never really threatened again and down 24 (after WC added another touchdown and a 40-yard field goal) it didn't matter. When Webb gets you down and you can't stop their run (or pass) it's over, they're just going to run the clock out on you.

Sanders is a good athlete. And I sincerely hope he is okay. Both games this season he has averaged between 6.5 and 6.8 yard/carry. Very impressive, though not nearly his season averages. The attention that Sanders draws to himself probably makes it harder to succeed, you can fairly assume that WC will find a way to contain anyone that flamboyant. And for the 2nd time this season, they did.

During the game good news came to the WC side, Nixa had routed Union. This means round-two will be at Cardinals' Stadium on Monday night against Nixa (whom WC beat 27-0 at Nixa early in the season). If anybody asks, I've got an off-site meeting at noon on Monday and it may go all afternoon and into the evening.