BY JASON PEAKE
The last time a Webb City football team failed to capture a district championship, Cade Beason and his fellow Cardinals hadn't been born yet.
With that in mind, Beason and his teammates definitely didn't want to allow the program's impressive streak to end on their watch.
"Winning district championships is a tradition here," Beason said. "It's one of the goals we put up on our board at the beginning of every season. We didn't want to see it end."
Thanks to a dominant first half, the streak continues.
Webb City rolled to a 35-7 victory over Neosho for the Class 4 District 6 championship on a chilly Friday night at Cardinal Stadium. It's the 19th straight district crown for the Cardinals.
"You think about 19 years, and that's a lot of players and coaches involved," Webb City coach John Roderique said. "It's a good accomplishment, and we're excited about it."
"It's always a goal, so we're glad to win it again," Beason added.
Webb City will host Camdenton in the quarterfinals on Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
Ranked first in Class 4 by the Missouri Media, Webb City hiked its record to 12-0 and extended the program's winning streak to 27 games. The Webb City defense limited Neosho to 89 yards total offense, 54 passing and 35 rushing. The Wildcats recorded just two first downs while Webb City had 18.
"Our defense played outstanding," Webb City junior defensive lineman Trenten Thompson said. "Our goal was to shut down their running game, and that's what we did."
By sustaining drives, the Cardinals compiled 406 yards of total offense, with 260 rushing and 146 passing.
Senior Durand Henderson rushed for 86 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns, while Beason completed 9-of-13 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.
"Our O-line was getting after it and they were moving bodies," Beason said. "And Durand was going to town."
Senior Alex Gaskill hauled in three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown, while junior Terrell Kabala had two receptions for 58 yards.
The Cardinals held a 28-0 lead at intermission.
"Defensively, we played real well all night," Roderique said. "Our guys up front played really well. Whenever your defense gives you short fields, it helps out the offense. Offensively, we moved the ball and put the ball in the end zone like we needed to do."
On a night where the temperatures were in the 20s, Webb City limited Neosho to just 20 yards of offense in the first half, as the Wildcats went three-and-out on their first four drives and had just one first down in the opening half.
After the Cardinals forced a quick three-and-out to start the game, Webb City sophomore Devrin Weathers capped a seven-play, 41-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown run with 8:07 left in the opening frame.
Henderson's 1-yard touchdown plunge gave the Cardinals a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the speedy senior made it a three-score advantage with a 5-yard run at the 6:18 mark of the second period. Henderson's second touchdown finished an 11-play, 74-yard drive.
A 41-yard touchdown strike from Beason to Gaskill gave the Cardinals a 28-0 lead with 2:45 left in the first half.
After a scoreless third quarter, Webb City scored on the first play of the final frame when Henderson sprinted 44 yards to the end zone, giving the Cardinals a 35-0 cushion and resulting in a running clock.
Neosho got on the board with 4:27 left in the game when Tre Letts hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Gage Kelley.
"We got beat by a better team and it's as simple as that," Neosho coach Leon Miller said. "They controlled the line of scrimmage."
The Wildcats end the season at 8-4, a six-win improvement from 2017.
"We had a good season," Miller said. "We've got a good bunch of kids. They worked hard, played hard and did things the right way. I'm real proud of them. We probably exceeded a lot of people's expectations."