CARTHAGE  — Carthage wide receiver Marcus Huntley said after the game that he believes he's the fastest prep football player in Southwest Missouri.
And the senior certainly made his case with more than just his words on Friday night.
With just five touches in the contest, Huntley totaled 200 yards of offense and four touchdowns as the Carthage offense rolled in a 54-34 win over Central Ozark Conference foe Republic on Senior Night at David Haffner Stadium.
"It's a lot of credit to my coaches in both football and track," Huntley said. "I've gotten a lot faster, and I knew I was capable of having a game like this. My teammates and the way our offense blocked tonight, I have to give the credit to those guys, too. It was Senior Night, and I come into every game thinking I can have a big night."
With the win, Carthage (6-2) secured home-field advantage throughout the upcoming Class 5 District 6 playoffs. CHS has one more regular season game next Friday at Ozark before it kicks off its district playoffs campaign in the semifinals on Nov. 8.
"As a coach, you don't take accomplishments like that for granted," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "It's so hard to win in high school football. Every week is a different challenge. You have to get your kids ready to play and you have to get their minds right. So I'm proud of the coaches and players for showing the consistency they've shown."
Offensively, Carthage erupted for 528 yards and scored on its first eight drives.
"We had a lot of big plays tonight," Guidie said. "We felt like we played pretty well up front, and those guys on the O-line did just that."
And Huntley wasn't the only senior to put up big offensive numbers for Carthage. Running back Tyler Mueller also logged a four-touchdown performance as he rushed for 203 yards on 19 carries.
"They both had big nights, for sure," Guidie said. "Marcus was able to get out and run a little bit, which is something we know he can do. And of course Tyler was finally healthy and had a huge night. I'm glad to have him back."
Carthage was a perfect 6-of-6 on touchdown drives in the first half. Huntley accounted for three of the touchdowns — two on runs of 46 and 74 yards and one on a 52-yard reception — while Mueller logged three scores on runs of 4, 63 and 7 yards.
The Republic offense kept pace with Carthage in the first quarter, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions and taking a 14-13 lead with 1:19 left in the opening stanza.
The Carthage defense, however, began to bow its back in the second quarter and held Republic to seven points in its final four drives before halftime. The result was a 20-7 run in the quarter for Carthage to give it a 40-21 lead at the break.
"We got a couple of stops and settled down a little bit," Guidie said. "Republic does some really nice things offensively, but when we needed some stops, we got them and then followed them up with scores."
Another defensive stop by Carthage came on Republic's first drive of the second half. RHS attempted to punt after its first three plays, but an errant snap resulted in a fourth-down sack that gave Carthage possession at the Republic 18-yard line.
The next play saw Huntley elude a host of Republic defenders for an 18-yard touchdown run, giving Carthage a 46-21 advantage.
Following an 80-yard touchdown drive for Republic, Mueller capped the scoring for Carthage with touchdown runs of 63 and 7 yards on back-to-back drives.
Republic tallied 364 yards of offense and was led by senior quarterback Lucas Hayes, who went 18-of-26 passing for 186 yards and two touchdowns. Senior running back Riley Sigman recorded 164 rush yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries.
Carthage quarterback Patrick Carlton was 4-of-6 for 112 yards and one touchdown.

-Jared Porter, Joplin Globe Sports Online

Carthage Tigers 54, Republic Tigers 34
Republic     14      7      6    7 - 34
Carthage    20    20    14    0 - 54

Scoring
First Quarter
C-Marcus Huntley 46 yard run (kick failed)
R-Riley Sigman 2 yard run (Andre Northrup kick)
C-Tyler Mueller 2 yard run (Huntley kick)
R-Sigman 16 yard pass from Lucas Hayes (Northrup kick)
C-Huntley 52 yard pass from Patrick Carlton (Huntley kick)
Second Quarter
C-Huntley 74 yard run (Huntley kick)
R-Gavin Walker 7 yard pass from Hayes (Northrup kick)
C-Mueller 63 yard run (Huntley kick)
C-Mueller 7 yard run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
C-Huntley 18 yard run (pass failed)
R-Sigman 6 yard run (kick failed)
C-Mueller 21 yard run (Huntley run)
Fourth Quarter
R-Sigman 33 yard run (Northrup kick)