By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com
CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — The Carthage High School football team “batted a thousand” in a jamboree on Friday night.
The Carl Junction and Monett head coaches acknowledged the Tigers’ quickness and athleticism.
Said Carthage coach Jon Guidie: “We wanted to score, we wanted to shut out our opponents and we wanted to stay healthy. Those were our goals. We achieved them against decent (Big 8 Conference) teams.
“Our kids played hard on both sides of the ball on every snap,” Guidie said. “They stepped up and gave a great effort. Coach (Chris) Wilkerson had the defense playing hard. They did a great job.”
Monett got the best of Carl Junction — the Cubs struck with both passing and rushing — before Carthage, a member of the Central Ozark Conference Large Division, stifled Monett and Carl Junction.
Said Monett coach Alan Spencer: “Coach Guidie had a good plan to fit his players. Carthage blocked well on the edge. They ran well on the edge. Those running backs (Devron Moore, Brian Poston) are pretty good.”
Said Guidie: “Brian got the tough yards. Devron shook loose some defenders. The blocking by our receivers on the edge was excellent.”
Guidie estimated the Tigers used the option 60 percent of the time.
A Carthage highlight on offense had to be junior quarterback Derek Peterson’s scoring pass to senior receiver Trevor Hole. The elated Hole is the Tigers’ No. 2 quarterback.
Junior Jordan White turned in a 53-yard scoring blast for the Tigers.
Said Carl Junction coach Bret Gosch: “Carthage was very athletic. Coach Guidie did a very good job with the personnel and talent. They took advantage of what we were giving.
“But I thought we improved from the first scrimmage to the second,” Gosch said. “That’s a major purpose of the jamboree.
“I thought our defense played very well against Monett,” Gosch said. “I actually thought we played better on both sides of the ball against Carthage.
“Defensively, Monett was very impressive on defense against us,” Gosch said. “Offensively, they’re trying to find the right combination of guys. Our offensive line right now also is under development. They (the Cubs) struggled against the Carthage speed just as we did.”
Carl Junction and Monett, which has inexperienced players at several positions, according to Spencer, clash about halfway through the regular season.
“I believe it’s Week 5,” Spencer said. “We’ll see each other a lot on film before our game.
“We did some good things (in the jamboree),” Spencer said. “We had some assignments missed. But we’ll get better. We need work on simply playing together.
“I thought Coach Gosch had a solid plan,” Spencer said. “We were feeling each other out without giving up too much.”
The games are for real next week. Carthage is at Ozark, Carl Junction entertains Lamar and Monett visits McDonald County.
