Webb City dominates after early Branson score, wins 56-14

Oct. 22—WEBB CITY, Mo. — The start wasn't necessarily clean, but the final outcome was a desirable one for Webb City nonetheless.

After surrendering a 70-plus yard touchdown on Branson's first offensive play, the Cardinals went on to limit the Pirates to just one more score the rest of the night en route to a 56-14 triumph in a regular-season finale on Friday inside Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals finished the regular season with a 6-3 record and clinched the 2-seed in the Class 5 District 6 playoffs behind top-seeded Carthage (8-1). They'll have a first-round bye next week before hosting a semifinal game on Nov. 4.

Webb City took a 14-point lead into halftime before breaking the game open with four unanswered TDs in the second half. Branson, meanwhile, was held scoreless on all four of its drives in the final two quarters as the Cardinals' defense forced two turnovers on downs and a punt. Branson's final possession was ended by the game's expiration.

All four of the Cardinals' second-half TDs came via the run.

Breckin Galardo scored on the first offensive play of the second half when he bounced a run to the outside and tiptoed near the home sideline before making a host of Branson defenders miss for a 68-yard TD scamper.

Omari Jackson tacked on a pair of rushing TDs on runs of 63 and 14 yards to balloon the Webb City lead to 49-14 by the latter stages of the third quarter.

"Coming out of halftime when you get the ball, the big thing is you want to have a good drive, want to put points on the board and kind of establish the second half," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "It probably couldn't have worked out any better. ... Good things happen when you can score big and really get the momentum going on your side."

Ethan Baird put the final touches on the Webb City win with a 1-yard TD run in a fourth quarter that was played with a turbo clock due to the Cardinals' 35-plus point advantage.

The beginning and end to the game proved to be polar opposites.

A wild start to the first quarter saw the Pirates score on their first offensive snap. Running back Cade Grimm broke loose for a 72-yard run and fumbled at the 1-yard line before his teammate, Patrick English, jumped on the loose football in the end zone for a TD.

"Every first drive of the game, it's a matter of trying to figure things out — the timing, the speed whatever," Roderique said. "It was a good play for them. But the thing you try to teach the kids is don't panic. One play is not going to define the game."

And indeed, the Cardinals didn't panic.

Webb City responded to Branson's early score with three straight TDs to take a 21-7 lead by the midway point of the first quarter.

The first score came on a 70-yard drive that was capped by a 3-yard TD run by Jackson. The ensuing extra-point kick was blocked to preserve a 7-6 lead for Branson.

But after a takeaway by the Webb City defense on a fumble recovery by Colton Gordon, the Cardinals took their first lead of the game on a 28-yard TD pass from Landon Johnson to Eli Miller.

A two-point pass from Johnson to Trey Roets after the TD gave Webb City a 14-7 lead with 7:09 still to play in the first.

Webb City picked up a defensive score on the Pirates' third possession when A.J. Bash delivered a big hit on QB Luke McCormick as he was throwing, leading to an errant pass that was hauled in by linebacker Lucas Ott and returned 18 yards for a TD.

"I read pass and I went upfield and had a couple of guys in front of me," Ott said. "I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it to the football. But I saw the ball pop up in the air and I went and tracked it down, got in open field and took off."

Ott credited his defense's "discipline" to its ability to hold Branson scoreless in the final three quarters.

"It definitely doesn't feel good to allow a touchdown like we did on the first play," he said. "But we just started playing our speed and playing how we knew we could. We got to our assignments, our alignments, and we got everything done correctly. It really shifted the momentum toward us."

Branson logged its last TD of the night in the latter stages of the first quarter, marching 70 yards and finding the end zone on a 46-yard pass from McCormick to English. The score trimmed the Cardinals' lead to 21-14 with 1:35 left in the period.

The Cardinals accounted for the only score of the second quarter on a 1-yard TD plunge by Galardo that made it a 28-14 ballgame by halftime.

Webb City finished with 421 yards of total offense while limiting Branson to 214.

Galardo recorded 153 yards and two TDs on nine carries, while Jackson finished with 100 yards and three scores on six rushes. Johnson completed 4 of 5 passes for 59 yards and a TD.

William Hayes led the receiving for the Cardinals with three catches for 31 yards.

Christian Brock paced the Webb City defense with seven tackles and was followed by McQuade Eilenstein (six), Kaylor Darnell (five) and Ott (five).

Webb City enters the playoffs as the defending Class 5 state champion. The Cardinals were also 6-3 at the end of last year's regular season before they went 5-0 in the playoffs to claim their 16th gold ball in program history.

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.