Lots of different adjectives could be used to describe the first quarter of football on Friday night at Grain Valley. However, the old saying of its not how you start, it's how you finish rang true as the Cardinals advanced with a 21-9 win over Grain Valley.
The first quarter was spent on the Cardinal half of the field. Grain Valley had a good kickoff return that set them up at the Cardinal 28 yard line. The defense made a statement early forcing the Eagles to turn the ball over on downs as Karsen Myers knocked down the Eagle receiver on a 4th down screen pass short of the marker. The offense was forced to punt back to the Eagles who once again started their drive in Cardinal territory. This time the defense forced a three and out but the Eagle punt settled at the Cardinal three yard line. Unable to gain any ground, the Cardinals were forced to punt, but an errant snap sailed out of the end zone for a safety. Grain Valley 2 - Webb City 0. After the free kick, Grain Valley set up shop again this time at midfield. The Eagles had three first quarter drives starting in Webb City territory and had failed to convert. As the quarter ended, momentum was about to change.
As the second quarter got started, the Eagles on a fourth and seven play from the Cardinal 27 yard line, looked to have thrown a touchdown pass on a broken play. A penalty flag was dropped as the Eagle quarterback had crossed the line of scrimmage before the pass was thrown. The penalty also carried a loss of down and the Cardinals took over on the their own 38 yard line.
On the second play of the drive, Slade Hurd busted through the middle and 57 yards later was brought down at the Eagle 5 yard line. Two plays later, Hurd finished the drive as he punched it in from the two yard line. A successful PAT put the Cardinals ahead 7-2.
The scored stayed that way until just before half time. After the Eagles had punted once again putting the Cardinals back on their own 21 yard line, Andrew Young found Andrew Young streaking down the left side and hit him stride for a 79 yard touchdown. The Cardinals went to the break with a 14-2 lead.
A fast moving third quarter ended with the same score. Webb City got the ball back just as the fourth quarter was underway. On fourth down, the Cardinals made a late decision to punt and caught the Eagles with too many men on the field. With the drive continued, the offensive line began to impose their will upon the Eagles. A couple of pass plays put the offense at the Eagle 35 yard line. Lucas carried the ball three times behind blocking of the interior linemen, picking up 12 then 16 yards before finally powering his was into the endzone from seven yards out. Jared Castro's third PAT gave the Cardinals a 21-2 lead.
An Eagle score late in the fourth drew the game closer, but the Cardinals ran out the remaining 2:48 left on the clock and clinched a spot in next weeks district championship.
Finishing just shy of 200 yards rushing on the night, Jackson Lucas led with 89 yards on the ground followed by Slade Hurd with 78 yards. Lucas was also 4 of 5 passing for an even 100 yards with Andrew Young catching all four.
The defense held the Eagle offense to only 188 total yards, 148 on the ground and 40 through the air. Forcing three turnover on downs and four punts, they kept an Eagle offense that had been averaging nearly 35 points a game to only one score.
Webb City will be on the road again next Friday as they head to Carthage with a district title on the line.