CARTHAGE — There was a moment in the second quarter when a swarm of Ozark defenders seemingly had running back Luke Gall dead to rights in the Carthage backfield.
Seemingly, however, is the key word.
"When I'm running, most of the time I'm not even thinking," Gall said. "I just run hard, move my feet and try to get in the end zone. That's the goal as the running back."
About four or so broken tackles later, Gall managed to find the end zone for a seven-yard score that put his Carthage team up two touchdowns with under nine minutes remaining in the opening half.
It was simply that type of the night for the sophomore, who made his second career start at running back and finished with five touchdowns and 259 yards. Gall, who also played most of the night on defense at linebacker, ended up scoring on runs of 46, 7, 7, 16 and 84 yards as Carthage claimed a 35-14 season-opening victory over Ozark on Friday night at David Haffner Stadium.
"He's a 15-year-old kid, you know," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "Just a sophomore. That wasn't his first start (at running back), though. He had one start last year at Branson. But he had a great night. He had several carries and several big runs. It's really great to see because he's a kid who works his butt off throughout the week."
"A big part was the offensive line," Gall said. "The holes were giant. I just kept running my feet, running hard, and that was pretty much it. Other than that, I have to thank my offensive line."
A jamboree-less preseason hardly slowed the Carthage offense as it erupted for 490 total yards on the night. CHS jumped out to a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the game before it eventually closed with 14 unanswered points in the second half.
But the night wasn't completely adversity-free for the Carthage. Two red-zone turnovers as well as a couple of defensive miscues in the opening half enabled Ozark to pull within seven points by halftime. The CHS offense finished with four turnovers.
"I don't feel good about the turnovers for sure,"Guidie said. "Maybe that has something to do with a lack of a jamboree. But a couple of them were just (misfires) on the snap. That's stuff that you can clean up and fix. Good teams will do that. I thought we were really good at ball security last year, and we'll go back and iron that stuff out."
The Carthage defense surrendered a couple touchdowns in the opening half — one on a 44-yard pass and another on an eight-yard run — before it took hold of the second half and shut down Ozark on its final five possessions.
"We gave up that big pass play at the beginning, but after that, I thought our guys got used to the game speed and the physicality," Guidie said. "I thought our kids settled in really well and did a nice job."
Following a quick three-and-out for the Ozark offense to open the second half, Carthage used a four-play, 51-yard drive that was capped by a 16-yard TD run by Gall to go up by two scores early in the third. Carthage's final score followed a turnover on downs by Ozark when Gall won an 84-yard foot race to make it a three-score game.
Carthage senior quarterback Patrick Carlton finished 6-for-9 passing for 124 yards and rushed for 48 yards on 14 carries. Senior wide receiver Silas Templeman was the recipient of three passed and totaled 76 yards.
For Ozark, senior running back Tylr Bolin had 16 carries for 105 yards while senior quarterback Cannon Cox went 5-for-13 passing for 81 yards and one touchdown. Junior running back Jake Beets had 45 yards and one touchdown on seven carries.
Carthage plays at Carl Junction, a 29-12 winner over Willard, next Friday at 7 p.m.
-Jared Porter, Joplin Globe Sports online

Ozark Tigers 14, Carthage Tigers 35
Ozark            7    7    0    0 - 14
Carthage    14    7    7    7 - 35

Scoring by Quarters
First Quarter
C - Luke Gall 46 yard run (Chris Mejia kick)
C - Gall 7 yard run (Mejia kick)
O - Ethan Pritchard 44 yard pass from Cannon Cox (Thomas Rushing kick)
Second Quarter
C - Gall 7 yard run (Mejia kick)
O - Jake Beets 8 yard run (Rushing kick)
Third Quarter
C - Gall 16 yard run (Mejia kick)
Fourth Quarter
C - Gall 84 yard run (Mejia kick)