Week 8 Southwest Conference football preview

Carthage

Have the Tigers done enough to prepare for their new Class 4 District 11 opponents?

The results of the first test will be revealed on Friday at K.E. Stadium as Carthage hosts the Willard Tigers.

Willard has struggled so far this season, going 2-5 overall in non-district play, and the team will be looking for its first win in nearly a month when it comes to Carthage. Willard has scored 137 points on the season, an average of 19 points per game, but has also surrendered 188 -- an encouraging sign for Jon Guidie's high-powered Carthage offense.

Guidie said he is not taking this week's opponent lightly, however, citing that Willard hasn't allowed much through the air.

"Their secondary is very solid," he said. "They base out of a 4-4, but will change fronts frequently."

Guidie said that Willard's offense seems to be very balanced. "They don't appear to have a go-to guy," he said. "They're all involved in the offensive production. They will spread the field, they like to throw the ball, but also play some smashmouth out of various formations."

Willard is coming off of a 43-14 loss to 5-2 Ozark last week and has not won a game since defeating Reeds Spring 48-0 on Sept. 22. Willard's other win came in the first week of the season, when they defeated Springfield Central 34-0.

Carthage has won five straight games after losing to No. 1 Webb City 35-21 in Week 2, but is coming off of a 33-16 victory over Neosho -- a team who played the Tigers surprisingly tight, especially in the first half.

"We didn't start that game the way we would have liked," Guidie said. "We had too many mistakes and allowed them to sustain long drives.

"But, we had to play four quarters of football. We needed a game like that."

Guidie said that his team must play good defense throughout the entire game in order to come away with a win.

"We're going to have to control the clock and play great defense early," he said. "We're excited to be starting district play."

Friday's kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Carthage preview courtesy of Jacob W. Brower, Carthage Press.

Mac-Webb City

ANDERSON, Mo. -- On the heels of a third come-from-behind victory of the season, the McDonald County Mustangs will face one tough challenge come Friday night -- No. 1 ranked Webb City.

The Mustangs will be battling a team that has been tough to beat in the regular season and more importantly in the conference and district races.

The first week of Class 4, District 12 play is the start of a three-game race with the winner advancing to a first round playoff match, likely against Carthage.

The Mustangs will enter the game on the heels of 27-24 victory over Nevada on the road, picking up its first conference win.

"We definitely feel we have some momentum after winning the way we did at Nevada and that it was a great character win," McDonald County coach Jeff Wilkie said.

Now, with its third conference game on the forefront, the Mustangs will need to play well in all aspects to keep pace with the Cardinals.

"It's always a great challenge to play Webb City and this year is no different," said Wilkie. "They are probably as balanced offensively as they've ever been in the years I've been here and they are very good on defense as well. Collin Howard is a super quarterback both as a runner and a passer and shows great composure. (Landon) Zerkel is an outstanding player on both sides of the ball and (Nick) Sanders is a dominant linemen. Their O(offensive) line and D(defensive) line players are very physical and as technically sound as anybody we play. They are always the best coached team on our schedule."

Webb City is entering with a perfect 7-0 record, following a 42-0 blowout over St. Charles West. When it comes to the regular season, Webb City hasn't lost a game since 2003, a 20-13 loss to Pittsburg, Kan.

The Cardinals only close game this year has came against Pittsburg, a 28-21 win.

"From a scheme point, I think Pittsburg had a great plan against Webb City," said Wilkie. "There are definitely some things that they did that are helpful, but you have to keep in mind they were executing that plan with some awfully good players. Webb City presents a number of problems for you offensively, because of their many ways they attack you. They attack you with their option game, as well as the play action passing attack the run game sets up. It is very important for us to have success on first down and try to put them in more predictable down and distance situations. We must to somehow create some turnovers."

Neosho

NEOSHO, Mo. -- The Neosho Wildcats will enter their next Friday night game in a very unfamiliar situation -- coming off a loss.

Last week's 33-16 loss to Carthage was the second loss of the season and the first since the season-opening loss to Seneca.

Now, the Wildcats will prepare as the "second" season begins with the kickoff of district play at Carl Junction.

The meeting is the first between the two schools since the fall of 1999, a win by Neosho at the old Bulldog Stadium.

"The kids are very excited about entering district play," said Neosho coach Ray Godfrey. "We are looking forward to starting a new season."

The game for Carl Junction will mark the first ever at the Class 4 level.

Carl Junction enters with a 1-6 record, but a handful of the games have been one-possession games.

"I know that our kids will play to the 4A level that they are capable of despite our record," said Carl Junction coach Bret Gosch. "Our record does not indicate the effort that our kids have made every Friday night to win."

Godfrey noted that despite the Bulldogs' record, the team is talented.

"Carl Junction looks very good on offense," said Godfrey. "They run the ball very well and have two good running backs (Scott Thompson and Derek Slade) as well as a good quarterback (Zac Porath). Their offensive line is aggressive and plays hard. We need to focus on responsibilities in their option attack."

Neosho was held below 300 yards against Carthage, but managed to out gain Carthage on the ground.

Tommy St. Louis went over the 1,000-yard mark in the game and around 500 yards in the final three games to reach his goal. Carl Junction is preparing for a steady dose of St. Louis and the rest of the rushing attack in the game.

"They are a very big and physical football team," said Gosch. "They are much improved and have a lot of confidence going for them right now. We need to play hard and play assignment football on offense and play aggressive defense against both the run and the pass. Our secondary will have to get a lot better this week in practice."

McDonald County-Webb City preview and Neosho preview courtesy of Cody Thorn, Neosho Daily News.