Senior quarterback Patrick Carlton combined for six total touchdowns and outlasted Branson on a night with a lot of miscues from both sides, which also included minimal defense. His big game led Carthage (9-0) to a 55-35 win and set up a meeting with the rival Webb City Cardinals in the Class 5 District 6 championship game next Friday.
“As many mistakes as we made in the first half, and we made a bunch of ‘em, we still were able to overcome them,” Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. “Still were able to bounce back and make some plays afterward, and that says a lot about the character of the kids.”
As the No. 1 seed, Carthage will host the game, which would be a rematch if not for a required quarantine that canceled the regular season matchup between the teams back in Week 4.
Despite all the offensive miscues, Carlton remained calm and stuck to the script that has powered them to an undefeated season.
“Personally, I wasn’t nervous,” Carlton said. “I don’t think our defense should have been nervous, either. Obviously, we had some miscommunications, some problems giving up big plays, which killed us. That’s just something we’re gonna work on this next week.”
Webb City defeated Ozark 49-28 in their semifinal match-up to set up the showdown next week.
The district championship game kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13.
