By Ryan Atkinson

ratkinson@joplinglobe.com

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Webb City head coach Eric Johnson spent his final game on the Cardinal sideline like he has most games during his 24-year career at the school.

He sat quietly in his chair, called few timeouts and saved his words of wisdom for the locker room or for one-on-one conversations on the bench.

After all, Johnson said, why change things now.

“You try to be pretty much the same,” Johnson said of coaching his final game. “When I started coaching quite a few years ago I was up and yelling a lot, but you mellow out over the years. It’s not that you feel like you’re wasting your time yelling at them, it’s that they don’t need to be yelled at.

“I try to coach and do it with common sense in a professional way. I just get their attention and remind them about things. It doesn’t do any god to yell at them. They respond because they’re competitors.”

Johnson announced in January that he would retire at the end of the season. He picked up his 500th win on Jan. 11 against Carthage and then led the Cardinals to 15 straight victories and a berth in the Class 4 state tournament. He finishes his career with 516 wins — more than 400 of which came at Webb City.

Minutes after his Cardinals earned the Class 4 third-place trophy with a 70-52 win over Lincoln Prep on Saturday, Johnson said it didn’t yet feel like his time at Webb City was over.

And, he said, it might take a while.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Johnson said. “Maybe in about two weeks when I’m out on the golf course, I may think about it.”

The only timeouts Johnson called during Saturday’s game came in the final two minutes, when Webb City had the game in hand. Johnson made sure the team’s underclassmen got a chance to get on the floor and that the squad’s five seniors were able to leave to standing ovations from the Webb City faithful.

Johnson shared long hugs with the seniors as they came off the court and more as the team medals were being presented.

“It feels good because of the win, but I’m sad about losing the seniors,” Johnson said. “You’re always sad about losing the seniors and it’s no different under these circumstances.”

The Cardinals struggled early, but seemed determined to send Johnson out with a win.