BY JASON PEAKE
With the arrival of the regular-season finale, Webb City can lock up the No. 1 seed for the Class 4 District 6 tournament with a win at Nixa.
The Central Ozark Conference football clash between the Cardinals (7-1) and Eagles (4-4) is slated for 7 tonight at Eagle Stadium.
Of course, the top seed in the district standings will be at home throughout the eight-team tourney.
"We control our destiny for sure," Cardinals coach John Roderique said.
Webb City currently has 51.75 points, with West Plains (7-1) in second with 50.12 and Bolivar (8-0) in third with 48 points. Willard (35.79), Carl Junction (35.29), Hillcrest (28.23), Neosho (23.86) and McDonald County (19.21) round out the district standings.
Winners of six straight, Webb City has outscored its opponents 333-75 this season. The points allowed is the lowest in the COC by far, as Carthage has allowed 150 and Joplin has given up 151.
The Cardinals are averaging 42 points per game while surrendering just 9.4 per contest. Webb City's offense is averaging 378 yards per game, while the defense is allowing just 177.
Webb City senior quarterback Kade Hicks is questionable for tonight's game after suffering an ankle injury last Friday. If Hicks can't go, junior Eli Goddard will start under center. Goddard has passed for 268 yards and five touchdowns this season. Top receivers are Cale McCallister (222 yards) and Mekhi Garrard (177).
Junior running back Devrin Weathers leads Webb City's ground game with 748 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.
Richard Rehagen's Nixa squad owns wins over Willard (10-7), Neosho (20-6), Carl Junction (21-14) and Branson (41-3), with losses to Carthage (35-0), Republic (25-14), Ozark (20-14) and Joplin (45-14).
In last week's loss to Joplin, Nixa recorded 322 yards of offense, 164 rushing and 158 passing.
Junior quarterback Reid Potts completed 8-of-17 passes againt Joplin, with senior Evann Long hauling in four passes for 92 yards. Freshman running back Ramone Green ran for 138 yards on 21 carries. Nixa's Clayton Uber made 10 tackles, while teammate KeShawn Murdie had seven.
"Nixa's a well-coached team," Roderique said. "They'll have guys in the right spots and their schemes will be sound. They're always fundamentally sound. They play a physical style and they have some guys who can run. They'll do a lot of different things defensively. They make you earn your yards. Offensively, they seem to be a power run team this year."
In Week 9, Roderique said he wants to see his team keep its momentum going forward ahead of the postseason.
"For us, it's a matter of executing offensively," he said. "Defensively, we have to pick up and defend their formations against the run and the pass. Overall, we're hoping to keep our momentum going into district play."
Joplin Globe 10/25/2019 (Used by permission)