By: Jason Peake
The Webb City Cardinals showed no signs of rust after a bye week.
In an explosive start, top-seeded Webb City scored on its first four offensive plays in dramatic fashion en route to a dominating 71-20 win over fourth-seeded Belton on Friday night in the Class 5 District 7 semifinals at Cardinal Stadium.
"We had a great week of practice last week and it carried over to this week," Webb City coach Ryan McFarland said. "We wanted to clean some things up in the bye week and I think we proved we did that tonight. We've really been emphasizing getting off to a fast start. All year it seemed like we went into halftime struggling a little bit before playing better in the second half. Playing better in the first half was a priority and I think we accomplished that tonight."
Webb City (8-2) will host third-seeded Carthage (7-4) in the district title game next Friday night.
"It should be a great environment and it will be a big test for us," McFarland said. "Who else would you want to play to try and win a district championship?"
Playing in front of a large home crowd on John Roderique Field, Webb City built a commanding 64-7 lead by halftime in the program's first-ever meeting with Belton.
The Cardinals scored 37 unanswered points to start the night.
"We were doing things right and the offensive line played really well," McFarland said of the fast start. "That group has played well all year. And at this time of the year, you like to see the guys doing the things they've been coached to do."
GAME RECAP
On his team's first offensive snap of the night, Webb City sophomore quarterback Gabe Johnson sprinted 80 yards to the end zone.
After Belton's second punt of the night, the Cardinals once again needed just one play to score. Johnson ran 54 yards on the first play from scrimmage for the touchdown, giving Webb City an early 14-0 advantage with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter.
The Cardinals made it three touchdowns on three plays when senior running back Omari Jackson, in his first action since Week 3, sprinted 35 yards to give the hosts a 21-0 lead with 3:23 left in the opening frame.
A bad snap resulted in a safety and gave the Cardinals a 23-0 advantage.
Next, Braden McKee completed a 78-yard touchdown pass to Drew Vonder Haar on the fourth offensive play of the night for a commanding 30-0 cushion.
"That's the kids believing in our system and just doing their jobs," McFarland said of scoring four times on four plays. "We got a lot of people involved. We keep telling the guys to prepare themselves and make the most of their opportunities. They were able to do that tonight."
Jackson's 21-yard touchdown run made it 37-0 early in the second quarter before Belton got on the board on Tyrion Thomas' 84-yard kick return.
A 56-yard touchdown pass to Jonah Spieker, an 8-yard run by Andrew Elwell, Andrew Young's 84-yard pick six and Slade Hurd's 98-yard run made it 64-7 at the break.
After intermission, Jackson Lucas ran for a 95-yard touchdown run to give the Cardinals a whopping 71-7 lead.
Belton scored twice in the fourth quarter against Webb City's deep reserves for the final margin.
NAMES & NUMBERS
Webb City recorded 578 yards on just 29 plays. The Cardinals ran for 444 yards on 27 attempts and passed for 134 yards on two completions.
Webb City only had possession for 15 minutes, 16 seconds, while Belton had a time of possession of 32:44.
Johnson ran twice for 133 yards and two scores. Alex Dunne converted 9-of-10 PAT kicks.
The 71 points is believed to have tied the school record. Webb City also scored 71 points on Oct. 24 of 2014 against McDonald County (71-0). The Cardinals scored 70 against Nevada in 2004. Those are believed to be the only two times the Cardinals have reached 70 points.
Belton (6-5) compiled 235 yards on 62 plays, with 156 rushing and 79 passing.
The Webb City defense recorded four interceptions.
"Belton has a talented quarterback and we were able to get pressure on him with our D-line," McFarland said. "We were able to drop our linebackers. It was a great job by our defensive coordinators and our defensive players for sure."
WHAT'S NEXT?
Webb City will host longtime rival Carthage with the district championship on the line next Friday at 7 p.m.
Carthage knocked off second-seeded Raytown South 56-28 in the other semifinal.
Of course, Carthage defeated Webb City 20-13 in Week 7.
"Coach (Jon) Guidie does an awesome job and we know they're a talented team," McFarland said. "Our guys wanted a chance to play them again and they're going to get it. It's time to get back to work and try to figure out what went wrong last time and we'll try to fix it. They were the more physical team last time, so that's going to be a point of emphasis for sure."
CLASS 5 DISTRICT 7 SEMIFINALS
WEBB CITY 71, BELTON 20
Belton 0 7 0 13 —20
Webb City 30 34 7 0 —71
SCORING SUMMARY
WC: Gabe Johnson 80 run (Alex Dunne kick)
WC: Johnson 54 run (Dunne kick)
WC: Omari Jackson 35 run (Dunne kick)
WC: Safety.
WC: Drew Vonder Haar 78 pass from Braden McKee (Dunne kick)
WC: Jackson 21 run (Dunne kick)
BEL: Tyrion Thomas 84 kick return (Coby Clark kick)
WC: Jonah Spieker 56 pass from Johnson (Dunne kick)
WC: Andrew Elwell 8 run (Kick failed)
WC: Andrew Young 84 interception return (Dunne kick)
WC: Slade Hurd 98 run (Dunne kick)
WC: Jackson Lucas 95 run (Dunne kick)
BEL: Jacob Perez 19 run (Run failed)
BEL: Alek Colombo 58 run (Clark kick).