The Joplin Eagles will venture away from home to square off against the Webb City Cardinals at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Joplin is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 32 points per game this season.
Joplin's defense heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They blew past Willard 35-0 on the road. Given the Eagles' advantage in MaxPreps' Missouri football rankings (they are ranked 29th, while the Tigers are ranked 141st), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Daniel Rose had an outrageously good game as he threw for 214 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per attempt, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in rushing yards. Another player making a difference was Davin Thomas, who picked up 82 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Webb City took on Carthage on Friday. Webb City was just a hair shy of victory and fell 14-13 to Carthage.
Webb City might have lost, but man, Jackson Lucas was a machine: he rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.5 yards per carry, and also threw for 72 yards and a touchdown while completing 71.4% of his passes. Lucas' longest rush was for an incredible 73 yards.
Even though they lost, Webb City was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 201 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 171 rushing yards in seven consecutive matchups.
The win made it two in a row for Joplin and bumps their season record up to 5-3. As for Webb City, their loss dropped their record down to 3-5.
Friday's contest might be decided in the on the ground. Joplin has been excellent on the ground this season, having averaged 150.1 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Webb City struggles in that department as they've been averaging 241.9. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches.
Joplin lost to Webb City on the road by a decisive 38-21 margin when the teams last played back in September of 2023. Can Joplin avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
