Behind monster second half, Webb City downs Ozark in track meet

Sep. 24—OZARK, Mo. — The staple of Webb City football has long been its power run game.

That, and the big boys up front setting the tone with pancakes.

The Cardinals offensive line plowed the way for an unofficial 480 yards rushing as Webb City's offense exploded with 41 points in the second half to pick up a 55-40 victory over Ozark on Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

Webb City, which ranks fifth in Class 5, improved its record to 3-2 in the Central Ozark Conference and remains in the hunt for the top spot in the Class 5 District 6 standings. Ozark slipped to 1-4.

The second half was a stark contrast from the first. Both teams were tied at 14 before the Cardinals scored 13 points in the third quarter and 28 in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers 41-26.

"We just kept running what we did," Webb City coach John Roderique said of the second half turnaround. "It's Week 5. Our guys are better than they were a month ago. We are just playing really hard and playing a lot of different guys. They are just trying to get better. If we have success like we did tonight, it's because of those guys up front more than anything else."

Ozark opened the third quarter with the early momentum. Quarterback Brady Dodd fired a 26-yard touchdown strike to Ethan Sutherland as the Tigers took a 20-14 lead with 7:23 to play in the quarter.

Webb City punched right back. Breckin Galardo found paydirt with a 32-yard TD run as the Cardinals tied the game at the 6:20 mark.

On the ensuing drive for Ozark, Webb City defensive back Andrew Young recovered a fumble. Max Stovern followed with a 37-yard TD run as the Cardinals pulled ahead 27-20 midway through the quarter.

Webb City wasn't done there. Quarterback Landon Johnson found tight end Trey Roets over the middle for a 17-yard TD pass on fourth-and-3 in the red zone as the Cardinals' lead extended to 14 points with 11:10 to play.

But the Tigers didn't go down without a fight. Dodd connected with Sutherland on a long TD pass, cutting the score to 34-27 with 9:31 to go in the game.

That's when the game turned into a track meet. Galardo went 75 yards to the house on Webb City's next possession, but Ozark's Jacob Kronebusch answered with a long 61-yard TD run as it remained a seven-point ballgame with 7:53 to play.

Stovern then added a 10-yard rushing TD to extend the Cardinals' lead to 48-34 with 6:52 left in the game. Webb City's freshman quarterback Gabe Johnson accounted for the team's final score on a 29-yard run.

Sutherland received a 66-yard TD pass from Dodd in the final minutes, which accounted for Ozark's final offense of the night.

Webb City couldn't have scripted a better start. Going for an onside kick on the opening kickoff, the Cardinals recovered and immediately cashed in.

Landon Johnson capped a strong opening drive with a 4-yard touchdown run off a keeper as Webb City took an early 7-0 with 8:34 to play in the first quarter.

But the Cardinals were plagued by the turnover bug in the first quarter. Ozark's Parker Elliott recovered a fumble on Webb City's next drive as the hosts received great field position.

The Tigers turned that into points. Kronebusch punched in a 3-yard TD run as Ozark tied the game at 7 with 6:03 to play in the first stanza.

Then later in the quarter, Ozark went three-and-out and punted the ball. But Webb City muffed the punt and the Tigers took over with excellent field position at the 1:31 mark.

Ozark QB Dodd broke the tie thanks to a 1-yard sneak with 11:26 to play in the second quarter.

But the Cardinals found their footing just before halftime. Webb City closed the first half with a long, methodical drive, capped by a 6-yard TD run from Stovern.

"When things aren't going great, it's never easy," Roderique said. "We put ourselves in a bad position a couple of times. The offense put the defense in a bad spot. We felt like we could move the ball after the first series. I thought our defense played really well in the third quarter. We came out tied at half, offense goes down and scores. The defense holds. That was the key in how our defense played. Our offense was able to put some more points on the board and give us a little more cushion — at least you get two scores up and then you feel pretty good about things."

Galardo ran the ball 10 times for 149 yards and two TDs to lead the Cardinals ground attack. Stovern added 136 yards on 15 attempts with two TDs, while Aidan Alberty contributed 94 yards rushing on nine carries.

Webb City utilized several QBs. They rushed for a combined 101 yards on nine carries with one TD while completing 5 of 9 passes for 65 yards with one TD and one interception.

"The kids felt pretty good. We intentionally wanted to play a couple of different kids at quarterback," Roderique said. "It's just that year. We are going to play with a lot of different kids. We've had kids injured every week, so it's who can play. You have to create depth throughout the course of the season."

William Hayes caught three passes for 39 yards to lead the Cardinal receiving corps.

Dodd completed 6 of 12 passes for 181 yards and three TDs for Ozark. Sutherland had all three scores, finishing with four catches for 154 yards through the air.

Kronebusch ran the ball six times for 75 yards and had two TDs.

Webb City plays host to Willard next Friday night. It was all smiles for the Cardinals after the game, coming off a 24-8 setback to Joplin last week.

"This was a really long week for our kids, for our coaches," Roderique said. "We are glad to have a chance to come out here and play again."