WILLARD — The Carthage offense was on full display Friday night.
The Tigers scored on long drives and quick strikes on the way to a 35-14 victory over Willard.
"We came out ready to play," Carthage quarterback Patrick Carlton said. "We got great momentum at the beginning of the game, and great momentum will kill any team."
The Tigers (5-2) took that momentum early with a 12-play, 81-yard drive on the game's first possession. After methodically marching down the field, Carlton pushed his way into the end zone from one yard out to open the scoring midway through the first quarter.
The Carthage offense wasn't done scoring in the opening quarter. Carlton capped a five-play, 53-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run on the Tigers' next possession. Then, after a Willard (2-5) fumble, it was the quick strike that was on display. Carlton hit Marcus Huntley for a 40-yard score on the first play of the third possession to give Carthage a commanding 21-0 lead just one quarter into the game.
"We got a big first quarter," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "Anytime you can score on that first possession and follow that with a stop is big, and we were able to do that tonight."
Carlton was the spark plug for the offense accounting for 284 yards of total offense (139 rushing and 145 passing) and all five touchdowns (four rushing and one passing). Tyler Mueller added 101 yards rushing and 65 yards receiving.
"Our running game is great. That is probably our biggest strength," Carlton said. "Our running game has been working really well."
While the offense was putting points on the board, it was the Carthage defense that was holding Willard at bay.
To go with the first-quarter fumble recovery and a late interception, the Carthage defense held Willard to 1-for-6 on fourth-down conversions on the night.
"That was huge," Guidie said of the defensive stands. "We got stops, but we have had work for it. It wasn't stopping them on third down. You had to stop them for four downs, and that is a difficult offense to defend for four downs."
The win extends Carthage's streak against Willard to seven straight wins and ups its record to 11-2 since 2010.
Carthage will host Republic next Friday night for Senior Night.
-TJ Brice, Joplin Globe Sports Online

Carthage Tigers 35, Willard Tigers 14
Carthage    21    7    0    7 - 35
Willard         0     7    0    7 - 14

Scoring
First Quarter
C-Patrick Carlton 1 yard run, Marcus Huntley kick
C-Carlton 3 yard run, Huntley kick
C-Huntley 40 yard pass from Carlton, Huntley kick
Second Quarter
C-Carlton 16 yard run, Huntley kick
W-Marshall Swadley 2 yard pass from Reece Dawson, Eli Aye kick
Fourth Quarter
W-Swadley 7 yard run, Aye kick
C-Carlton 5 yard run, Huntley kick