From uncertainty to 64 first-half points, Webb City makes it to district title game in first year under McFarland

Nov. 9—Webb City is set to face Carthage in the Class 5 District 7 championship game at 7 p.m. Friday. But go back in time about three months and first-year head coach Ryan McFarland wasn't quite sure what type of a team he'd be sending to Nixa to begin the season.

The Cardinals' defense had been stellar in practice, shutting down the offense most of the time. McFarland hadn't figured out if that meant the defense was good or if the offense just wasn't very good.

"When we scrimmage in practice, the offense gets frustrated with them because of how hard they play and how much fun they have and how frustrating they are to try and scrimmage against," McFarland said. "I tell our offensive guys that's a great problem to have because on Friday nights they get to frustrate opponents."

If McFarland hadn't found out yet, he definitely learned that his offense was just fine last week after a 64-point first-half explosion against Belton High School on the way to a 71-20 victory.

"It definitely goes hand in hand. I think our defense has made us better offensively and shown us some weaknesses that we had," McFarland said. "As the season has gone on, I feel like our offense has held its own against our defense."

One thing that stands out about his defensive unit is the obvious fun the group has on the field while staying focused and serious.

"When our defense is playing well, you see 11 guys playing hard, but they have fun when they do it," McFarland said. "They're disciplined and they do their job, but they run around and have fun."

Webb City earned the top seed in the district and is hosting Carthage. The Cardinals also earned an opening-round bye prior to facing Belton in the semifinals.

Webb City used its bye week to go back and focus on fundamentals and try to find ways to take its offense to the next level. It worked to perfection last week.

But this week will come against a rival and a proven squad that already defeated the Cardinals once. That regular-season meeting against Carthage was a 20-13 final in favor of the Tigers.

"It was probably our worst game in terms of effort, enthusiasm and execution," McFarland said. "And a lot of that has to do with Carthage's style of play and they're a physical football team. And they were more physical than us."

That physicality by the Tigers showed in their control of the line of scrimmage. McFarland added that might have been the first time Webb City had that happen in a game.

Webb City has been motivated since that loss to be a more complete team in district play.

"I would say if we have more energy and are the more physical football team we will have a chance to win," McFarland said. "But it's easier to sit here and say that. To actually go out and execute that is going to be a big task for our players to do. Coach (Jon) Guidie does such a good job with that football program. They've always had good players, but him and his coaching staff put them in great situations to have success."

McFarland's senior class and their respect for one another has made a difference this year.

"I know I talk about them a lot, but we have 33 seniors and they care about each other," McFarland said. "I would say we have very few egos."

STATS

Sophomore athlete Gabe Johnson has been a utility weapon for the Cardinals this year. He started the season splitting reps at the quarterback position with senior Braden McKee but has officially taken over the job.

Johnson has 406 passing yards and three touchdowns through the air with zero interceptions. He also has 771 rushing yards on 81 attempts and nine more scores. As a receiver, he's pulled in six catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns for a total of 16 touchdowns this season.

McKee has 436 yards passing, six touchdowns and an interception.

Other rushing leaders are senior Andrew Elwell (383 yards, five touchdowns) and junior Noah Durman (413, 5).

Top receivers have been Joseph Degraffenreid (17 catches, 275 yards, three touchdowns) and Drew Vonder Haar (12, 289, 3).

Leaders on the team-oriented defense are Christian Brock (94 tackles), Connor Gayman (79) and Jordan Howard (72). Andrew Young has been the ballhawk of the defense with five interceptions.