A strong second half carried Webb City past Nixa 49-21matching unbeaten Central Ozark Conference Large Division teams on Friday night at Cardinal Stadium.

The Cardinals scored 36 points in the second half against a team that had yielded only nine total.

Webb City, ranked No. 1 in Class 4 and its two-time defending champion, improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the COC Large. Nixa, No. 7 in Class 5, fell to 4-1, 2-1.

Said Webb City head coach John Roderique: "I was proud overall of the way everyone played.

"The second half? I'm not really sure," Roderique said. "We made a few adjustments at halftime.

"But we wanted to keep them off balance in the second half," Roderique said. "I think we did that. I thought our (offensive coaches) did a great job. We hit on a couple of things. I was surprised we were able to score that many points (in the second half)."

Said Cardinal defensive coordinator Mike Smith: "Obviously, I'm looking more at our defense. But I thought our offensive line played very well. ... especially in the second half. They had to play well. Nixa is a good team."

Webb City, leading 13-7, took the second-half kickoff and moved 80 yards in just five plays with halfback Cooper Smith hitting Jalen Vaden for the 49-yard scoring play at 10:16 on first down. Vaden, off the reverse, hit Kohl Slaughter for the conversion pass.

Kiante Hardin's fourth interception of the season led to John Roderique's 49-yard scoring run at 6:11 on second-and-10. Alex Easley's kick made it 28-7.

But Nixa bounced back with an 80-yard scoring drive that was capped by quarterback Austin Schweiss' 2-yard run. Shelby Harris' kick made it 28-14 at 1:19. Schweiss' 57-yard swing pass to Jonathon Hukill was the key play for the Eagles.

But Webb City answered in startling fashion. First, the Cardinals scored on Roderique's 20-yard pass to Slaughter at 10:16. Then, following the Eagles' fumble of the kickoff — two Eagles collided with Webb City covering the ball at the Eagle 22 — Roderique hit Vaden for the TD on first down. Easley's kick made it 42-14 at 10:06.

Two more scores followed in the fourth period — the Eagles' Carney Wilmes scored on a 29-yard pass from Christian Wilmes on a reverse and the Cardinals' Phoenix Johnson scored on a 4-yard run.

Johnson, who rushed for 114 yards on 19 carries, scored on an 8-yard run in the second period to catch the Eagles and the Cardinals claimed their halftime lead on field goals of 25 and 45 yards by Easley. The 45-yarder topped his previous best of 37.

Roderique, who threw for 167 yards on 11 of 18, rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries. Smith, in addition to the scoring pass, added 49 yards on five carries.

Vaden had eight receptions for 141 yards and Slaughter three for 59.

The teams remain in the league next Friday night. Webb City visits Willard and Nixa entertains Neosho.