CARTHAGE — Willard coach Brock Roweton would have preferred not to have a front-row seat in Carthage's best offensive showing of the season.
But that's where he found himself Friday night at David Haffner Stadium. The CHS offense wreaked havoc through the air and on the ground as it amassed 430 total yards and registered its highest point total of the campaign.
By the end of the all, Roweton didn't know if there was his anything his team could have done differently to contain the offensive fireworks that resulted in a 50-24 Carthage win in the Central Ozark Conference contest.
"To the teams that play Carthage the rest of the season, good luck trying to stop them," Roweton said. "They're as good as I've seen them in the last 10 years. I don't know if they've been this sound on offense all season, but when they're firing on all cylinders like that, they're going to be able to beat almost anybody they'll play."
A balanced offensive attack saw Carthage (6-1) log 264 yards on the ground and 166 through the air. And it was sophomore quarterback Patrick Carlton who led the production in both areas.
Making just his third varsity start, Carlton accounted for six touchdowns and 368 total yards — 202 yards on 23 carries and 166 yards on 8-of-13 passing.
"I thought we protected well, and (Carlton) was poised back there, made some good decisions," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "He throws a great ball, and he's got a strong arm. He was really big for us tonight, and he just keeps getting better each week."
Following a 7-7 tie in the first quarter, Carlton gave Carthage its first lead on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Morgan. The Carlton-Morgan connection produced six receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone.
"I was just trying to get open as much as possible so that Pat could find me," Morgan said. "He and I have been working together a lot to keep building that chemistry. I think we're getting more comfortable with each other each game."
Carlton also found the end zone on runs of 4 and 37 yards in a second second quarter that saw CHS score 21 points to take a 34-7 with less than three minutes remaining until halftime.
Willard (2-5), however, put together a 74-yard touchdown drive before the second quarter came to a close.
The longest touchdown run of the night came on Carthage's first drive of the second half when Carlton eluded a trio of Willard defenders to break loose for a 55-yard score and a 42-14 lead.
Willard closed the third quarter with 10 straight points to trim the Carthage advantage to 18 points. One score followed a Carthage fumble at the CHS 36. And three plays later, quarterback Reece Dawson hit running back Garrett Rice for a 19-yard touchdown pass.
An ensuing onside kick was recovered by Willard, who went on to convert a 45-yard field goal.
The final score of the night came on a 10-yard touchdown run by Carlton at the midway point of the fourth quarter.
"It was a tough, physical game just like we knew it would be," Guidie said. "A lot of strange things happened. We had that turnover that resulted in a short field for them, and I also thought we had a ton of penalties. But you're going to have games like that, and you're going to be tested. Credit to Willard for coming out and playing hard."

Carthage Tigers 50, Willard 24
Willard          7     7    10   0 - 24
Carthage    13    21    8    8 - 50

W - Maurice Grayer 62 yard pass from Reece Dawson (Eli Aye kick)
C - Trulyn Kendrick 24 yard run (Marcus Huntley kick)
C - Jayden Morgan 55 yard pass from Patrick Carlton (kick failed)
C - Carlton 4 yard run (Huntley kick)
C - Carlton 37 yard run (kick failed)
C - Morgan 37 yard pass from Carlton (Tucker Downing run)
W - Grayer 14 yard pass from Dawson (Aye kick)
C - Carlton 52 yard run (Colton Winder pass from Carlton)
W - Aye 45 yard field goal
C - Carlton 10 yard run (Kendrick run)

-Jared Porter, Joplin Globe

Carthage will head to Republic next Friday before closing out the regular season at home against Ozark on Oct. 19. The win keeps the Tigers in the driver's seat of Class 5 District 6 standings. 

District Standings as of Oct. 7:
1. Carthage 6-1, 45.93 points
2. Parkview 4-3, 32.43 points
3. Republic 2-5, 27.26 points
4. Branson 2-5, 26.48 points
5. Nixa 3-4, 26.36 points