Revisiting Webb City's run to the 2021 football state championship

Dec. 17—WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City football head coach John Roderique doesn't pick favorites when it comes to the 13 state championships he's claimed with the Cardinals since 1997.

But he can't deny that the most recent one was both unique and special.

"It is certainly one for the ages," Roderique said. "I mean it. It was a very, very special year."

In a 2021 campaign that saw Webb City get off to an uncharacteristic 4-3 start, the Cardinals managed to close the season with seven straight wins and claim their 16th state championship in program history with a 26-21 win over Holt in the Class 5 Show-Me Bowl in Columbia, Mo.

And the Cardinals were forced to earn every bit of it.

The title run was arguably Webb City's most difficult under Roderique as the team was tasked with taking down the three top-ranked teams in the state — No. 1 Jackson, No. 2 Carthage and No. 3 Holt — as well as No. 7 Lebanon in the final four weeks of the playoffs.

Ahead of their matchups with Webb City, Jackson (12-0), Carthage (10-0), Holt (13-0) and Lebanon (10-1) were a combined 45-1.

"The one thing about this team more than ever, I don't know if we've played four teams that were as good," Roderique said. "I mean, there was one loss between those four teams. I guarantee that doesn't happen every year. That's probably the one thing we're most proud of.

"This football team, they earned it. They went out every week and they battled some of the best teams in the class."

Roderique said the team's turning point came during the bye week between the end of the regular season and the district semifinals. The Cardinals were ranked fourth in Class 5 with a 6-3 record at the time, but they'd have to get past a tough Republic squad and then an undefeated Carthage team — one that defeated them 42-14 in the regular season — just to make it out of the district portion of the playoffs.

"That's when I think we really grew as a team," Roderique said. "We felt like we were going to play Republic and then Carthage. So we kind of worked ahead a little bit on fundamentals and game planning. ... When you can kind of narrow it down to that, you feel like you have a little jump there.

"The one thing we really kind of started stressing with our kids ... is we just wanted them to keep buying in, working and getting better. That's the one thing you learn through having some really, really good teams. Nothing really matters much until you get to the district tournament."

Webb City opened the playoffs with a commanding 35-7 win over Republic. Then in the rematch with Carthage in the district finals, the Cardinals shocked many around the state with a 28-21 win on Carthage's home field.

"That's kind of when you started to see things click for the kids," Roderique said. "I think the second time against Carthage, the district final, it was really big for us to go out in that environment and play really well, and especially with how things went in the first game."

Webb City rode that momentum to a 35-13 win over Lebanon, which set up a state semifinal tilt with a Jackson team that was a defending state champion and riding a 26-game win streak.

The Cardinals took command early and ultimately stifled the Indians' potent offense for a 35-21 triumph at Cardinal Stadium.

A resurgent defense proved to be a difference maker for Webb City in the postseason. After surrendering 40-plus points in four games in the regular season — three contests that resulted in losses — the Cardinals surrendered no more than 21 points to the opposition in the playoffs.

In the Class 5 Show-Me Bowl, Webb City jumped out to a 26-7 lead and staved off a comeback attempt by Holt in the fourth quarter to secure their first Class 5 crown in program history.

With its 16th state title overall, Webb City passed Valle Catholic for the most championships in state history.

"It really is a testament to all of the players, coaches and people that have been around this program over the years," Roderique said. "It will be fun to look back on all of this one day and kind of marvel at the things these kids accomplished on the football field and then went on to do other great things in their lives."

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.