By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
How many people outside Webb City thought the Cardinals would win their 16th state championship last season?
Probably not many, especially after the Cardinals lost by four touchdowns at Carthage and dropped three games in the Central Ozark Conference. But the Cardinals proved once again to never count them out and beat Carthage 28-21 in a district rematch then rolled through Lebanon, Jackson and Holt for the Class 5 title and an 11-3 record.
“Something I always talk about but I don’t know how many people listen is just about being a team that’s going to play really well at the end of the season,” head coach John Roderique said. “We don’t do as much as other people probably in the summertime. We don’t do any scrimmaging against other people. We start at whatever point we are, knowing we’re going to be able to get better throughout the course of the year.”
“We were a pretty average team, really,” he said. “We had to replace a lot of really good players from 2020, which had a lot of two- and three-year starters. Last year’s group we didn’t have that much. We didn’t have a lot back on defense and how our defense performed down the stretch I think made a huge difference. We moved some guys around and just kind of found our way.”
The defensive improvement was certainly noticeable. After allowing 27.25 points per game the first eight contests, Webb City allowed just 13.8 per game in the final six. And those final four wins came against teams with a combined record of 45-5.
This fall’s team appears to be more experienced on defense; the Cardinals return three or four players who got a lot of time on offense and five or six with experience on defense. The team has to replace first team All-State players Buddy Belcher (offensive line) and Cooper Crouch (linebacker), second team All-State running back Cade Wilson and honorable mention All-State players Christian Kinney (offensive line) and Brody German (defensive line). The team should be strong up front on both sides, though.
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“I’m really excited about where we’re at up front,” Roderique said. “If we were going to talk about a strength I would think it’s in the offensive and defensive lines.”
The offense returns one tight end, a quarterback who started four games, some receivers and one lineman.
Junior Nate Miller is the returning lineman; he’ll play at tackle. Seniors Braedan Christian, Dalton Thurlo and Thomas Mouser will help fill the other spots, with underclassmen like Tucker Liberatore (junior), Jace Wright (sophomore) and Brode Shull (sophomore) also in the mix.
Senior Treyton Roets returns at tight end after logging 160 yards, nine catches and two touchdowns in 10 games. He’s joined by junior Jonah Spieker, and junior Drew VonderHaar and sophomore Noah Duley.
Senior Landon Johnson is the heir apparent at quarterback with the Cardinals graduating last year’s starter Cohl Vaden. He completed 27-of-48 attempts for 457 yards and five touchdowns and rushed 23 times for 99 yards and two scores. Behind him it may be running back by committee. Senior Max Stovern rushed for 270 yards and two touchdowns last year, junior Omari Jackson had 177 yards and three scores, senior Aidan Alberty had 48 yards, and senior Ethan Baird and junior Breckin Galardo each appeared in two games. Additionally, the team has moved receiver Cole Cavitt, a junior, to the running back position.
Last year’s top two receivers are back as seniors. There’s Dante Washington, who led the team with 612 yards, 28 catches and eight touchdowns, and William Hayes, who caught 23 passes for 375 yards and two touchdowns. Washington was a second team All-COC receiver and a second team All-State return specialist. Seniors Cy Darnell, Eli Miller and Grayson Smith are also in the mix there.
The defense, meanwhile, returns senior Lucas Ott, a first team All-State defensive end (third team COC, All-District), and senior Kaylor Darnell, a second team All-State defensive back (second team COC, All-District ). Ott had 125 tackles and nine for a loss (three sacks) while Darnell had 115 stops.
Senior AJ Bash (46 tackles) and Ott should anchor the defensive front. Junior Jace Jones and junior Rowdy Webb could also play up front.
Senior Billy Wolfe brings the most experience to the inside linebacker position, but several others are also vying for time there: senior Mcquade Eilenstein, senior Colton Gordon, junior Jordan Howard and junior Christian Brock.
Joining Kaylor Darnell and Washington in the secondary will be players like Smith, Hayes, junior William Headrick, senior Kenley Hood and junior Luke Gayman.
“We’ve got a lot of competition at several positions,” Roderique said. “You start eleven guys but you’re maybe playing 16 or 18 guys out there. Coach (Scott) Bailey does as good as anybody I’ve been around at subbing guys in to the defensive line and rotating guys around, giving them an opportunity to see what they can do.”
Webb City’s coaching staff has added even more experience this year. Former Seneca head coach Ryan McFarland is still coordinating the offense, and former Lamar coach Scott Bailey is still coaching the defensive line. The newcomer is Dave Wiemers, who will coordinate the defense. He and Roderique coached together 30 years ago at Pittsburg State and Wiemers later spent six years as head coach at Emporia State and a decade as Pittsburg State’s defensive coordinator.
Wolfe has been offered by some MIAA schools, and Roets, Shull, Washington and Ott are also drawing college interest.
Webb City will host a jamboree with Lamar, Seneca and Joplin. The Cardinals begin the season at home against Nixa.
