Stifling defense lifts Howell past Carthage in Class 5 semis

Nov. 27—CARTHAGE, Mo. — The Carthage football team saw its accolade-filled season come to a close in a 35-13 loss to Francis Howell in a Class 5 state semifinal game at David Haffner Stadium on Saturday.

The second-ranked Vikings, improving to 13-0, punched their ticket to the Class 5 Show Me Bowl to take on Fort Osage, a 56-20 victor over Central (Cape Girardeau), on Dec. 2 in Columbia, Missouri.

The top-ranked Tigers finished the season with an 11-2 record after claiming the District 5 title as well as a share of the Central Ozark Conference title with Nixa.

"I didn't want this day to take away from the season they put together," Carthage head coach Jon Guidie said when asked about his post-game message to his team. "They did some really special things this year ... and we're really proud of them. Obviously it hurts, but the 21 seniors that stayed with us throughout their four years, it's been a great ride with those guys.

"I certainly want them (the seniors) to feel a sense of pride. ... I know they won 39 of their last 43 games. You think about that, 39-4, that's pretty remarkable. It really is. I think they set the bar as high as you could set it for the next few years."

The difference in the game proved to be a stout Howell defense that held Carthage, a team averaging more than 40 points per game heading into the day, to a season-low point total. The Vikings generated six turnovers while Carthage went scoreless on 11 of its 13 possessions.

"There's no weaknesses over there," Guidie said of Howell's defense. "You know, you try to exploit some things and think you might have an advantage here, and all of a sudden they've got that covered too. So it's a big credit to those guys. They're very talented and have a lot of very good players."

Carthage trailed by 21 points early in the third quarter when a 71-yard pass from senior quarterback Cooper Jadwin to senior wide receiver Hudson Moore brought the Tigers to within the Howell 5-yard line.

Senior running back Luke Gall then cashed in with a short touchdown run, and after a failed PAT, Carthage had pulled to within 15 points of the Vikings, 28-13, with 7:38 left in the third.

The CHS defense forced a punt on Howell's ensuing drive, allowing the Tigers' offense to set up shop at their own 17 late in the third quarter. But after driving to midfield, a pass by Jadwin was intercepted by Howell's Jude James and returned to the Vikings' 38.

The Tigers stood tall on defense once more and forced a three-and-out to reclaim possession at their own 22 early in the fourth as they still trailed by two scores. But on the fourth play of their drive, a fumble by Jadwin was recovered by Howell at the Carthage 29.

The Vikings capitalized on the takeaway four plays layer when running back Brady Hultman found the end zone on a 4-yard run, giving Howell its largest lead of the day at 35-13.

"(Turnovers) were pretty huge," Guidie said. "I think we ended up with six of them. Some were forced, some were unforced. But they (the Vikings) had a lot to do with that as well. Uncharacteristic of us to turn the football over like that, so that part is disappointing.

"But there's a lot to be proud of — even today with our defense playing as well as they did. You turn the ball over six times and lose by three scores still. That part of it stings a little bit."

Howell jumped out to a 21-0 lead by the latter stages of the second quarter. It wasn't until the final two minutes of the half that Carthage got on the scoreboard with a 54-yard TD run by Gall to make it a 21-7 ballgame at halftime.

Carthage received the second-half kickoff but advanced just three yards in three plays before having to punt back to Howell, which got a lengthy return from Kendall Gurley to the Carthage 32.

The Vikings later converted on a third-and-15 play from the Carthage 37 as QB Adam Shipley connected with tight end Brett Norfleet for a 33-yard gain to the CHS 4. Hultman plunged into the end zone two plays later to give Howell a 28-7 lead with 8:11 remaining in the third.

Gurley scored a pair of touchdowns for Howell in the first quarter on runs of 37 and 15 yards. Shipley had a 11-yard TD pass to Norfleet to give the Vikings their 21-0 lead with 3:38 showing in the second quarter.

Howell was a longtime competitor in Class 6 prior to the 2022 season. Just a year ago, the Vikings went 10-2 en route to an appearance in the Class 6 quarterfinals.

Contact Jared Porter on Twitter at @JaredRyanPorter.