By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
As the saying goes, defense wins championships.
And for Webb City, it was a solid defensive performance that keyed the Cardinals 54-7 district semifinal win on Friday night at Cardinal Stadium, allowing just 186 yards of total offense and forcing six Carl Junction turnovers.
“Our defense played extremely well; having four interceptions and three of them being returned deep into their territory,” said Webb City coach John Roderique. “Anytime you get a short field on a turnover it’s always a good thing. And luckily our offense came through and did a good job when our defense set us up.”
Webb City never trailed on Friday, with the defense coming up with a turnover on Carl Junction’s opening drive.
Junior cornerback Cale McCallister snagged the first of his two interceptions, following it with a return deep into Carl Junction territory. He added his second interception later in the opening quarter.
Both interceptions led to touchdowns, helping Webb City jump out to an early 19-7 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
“That (first) interception really got our defense excited. Cale McCallister is a fighter,” said Roderique. “He knows he’s got No. 1 (Terrell Kabala) on the other side and they’re not going to throw it at Terrell very often so he knows it’s coming his way. Even if he misses one, he’s going to come back and battle. He set the tone with that big interception early and that got our offense excited, got them going, and our defense felt really good after that series.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Webb City then doubled down in the second quarter with pick-6s by defensive standouts Alex Gaskill and Terrell Kabala, part of a 28-point frame.
The Cardinals led 47-7 at the half.
It was another dominant ground performance for Webb City, rushing for 317 yards on 35 carries. Senior Durand Henderson led the way with 172 yards on just 13 carries, four of which went for touchdowns. Classmate Cade Beason added 69 yards and a score on three rushes. Sophomore Devrin Weathers totaled 48 yards on 10 carries.
Both Henderson and Weathers went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season on Friday night, continuing the balance that has keyed Webb City’s offense all season.
“Tonight was a good example of that,” said Roderique. “Devrin didn’t have many yards. Every yard he had, he fought for. There were a couple of times where they had a guy at the line of scrimmage waiting on the pitch and he’d work to get some positive yards out of it.
“Sometimes when they (opposing defense) dictate where the ball goes as a defense, it changes the balance. We stayed with more two receiver sets tonight than we normally do due to injury and it led to Durand getting more carries. And Devrin is fine with it, he’s unselfish like most of our kids are and it’s great to coach kids like that.”
Carl Junction’s seven points were not only a season-low, but the program’s lowest output since its 2016 district loss to Webb City.
For the Bulldogs, Friday night marked the end of an era with Joe Kennedy and Ray Weston never putting on a Carl Junction uniform on again.
Meanwhile, Webb City is marching back to the district championship.
As the Cardinals continue to defend their state championship, extending their winning streak to 26 games dating back to last season, senior captain Alex Gaskill maintains that for Webb City the goal is never bigger than a single game.
“We always take it one game at a time since every game is win or go home,” said Gaskill. “We know our end goal and it’s in the back of our head, but we make sure to take every game as if it could be our last.
“It’s a great feeling and opportunity for our team to be able to get here. It’s amazing and we can’t wait.”
Webb City will host Neosho on Friday night for the Class 4 – District 5 championship. The Cardinals topped the Cats 41-0 on Sep. 7.
Webb City 54, Carl Junction 7
Carl Junction 7-0-0-0 – 7
Webb City 19-28-7-0 – 54
