CARTHAGE, Mo. — At the end of an adversity-filled week, the defending Class 5 state champions still managed to look the part.
Carthage scored three unanswered touchdowns in the final 24 minutes, 19 seconds to pull away from Central Ozark Conference foe Branson for a 33-10 victory on Friday night at David Haffner Stadium.
The triumph, which improved Carthage's season record to 4-0, came just one day after the Tigers got 15 starters back from quarantine. Two starters were still unable to compete in the game due to being quarantined.
"It wasn't always pretty at times, and it got a little sloppy, but I thought our kids did a good job of handling themselves under the circumstance of being a little shorthanded with their training and preparation," Carthage coach Jon Guidie said. "I thought they executed the game plan really, really well."
One part of the Tigers' game plan was to rely on their offensive front to win the battle in the trenches against a Branson defense that presented a variety of different fronts, stunts and movements. The Carthage line did just that, paving the way for 306 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
"One of our keys this week was our offensive front had to play huge and be able to pick that stuff up," Guidie said. "At times, it was a really pretty thing to see those guys communicating. When they did, we got some big plays because of it."
Perhaps the Carthage offense's most pivotal moment came shortly after the Pirates scored a touchdown to pull to within 13-10 midway through the second quarter. The Tigers went on a methodical 12-play, 57-yard drive — including 50 yards on 11 run plays — and found the end zone on a one-yard rush by sophomore running back Luke Gall to go up 19-10 just before halftime.
That offensive momentum carried over into the second half as Carthage scored back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter on drives of 70 and 67 yards. Senior quarterback Patrick Carlton accounted for both of the touchdowns on runs of one and eight yards.
"With our offensive line, it's not just one man," Carthage senior offensive lineman Aiden Logan said. "It's everybody. Most of us had just come off quarantine yesterday, but we hit it hard at practice and came in tonight with the right attitude and effort. We were focused the entire time, and I think that's what allowed us to be as effective as we were."
"We stayed locked in and tried to communicate up front," Carthage senior offensive lineman Ian Ketchum said. "We really just tried to slow the game down and see what they were doing up front. With the quarantines and all of the weird things we were faced with this week, I think we showed how special this group can be. It took all of us."
Gall finished with 136 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, while Carlton finished with 131 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. Carlton also connected on six of seven passes for 59 yards.
Defensively, Carthage shut out Branson on its final four possessions, forcing two punts and a pair of intercepted passes by senior defensive back Silas Templeman and junior defensive back Caden Kabance.
Branson's two scores came on a short field goal by Cristian Berumen at the end of the Pirate's first drive and a two-yard touchdown run by Berumen early in the second quarter. The Pirates totaled 249 yards of offense.
"We went into halftime and just told our guys, 'Look, we're playing well, so just go out (in the second half) and do what you do,'" Guidie said. "Not a lot of changes defensively were made at halftime. We just wanted to keep rolling with it."
A 70-yard kickoff return by junior Cale Patrick set up Carthage first score in the first quarter. The Tigers took advantage of the short field with a one-yard touchdown run by Gall just five plays later, and after a failed extra-point kick, held their first lead at 6-3.
A three-and-out by Branson on its ensuing possession led to a short punt that gave Carthage the ball at the Pirates' 43-yard line. The Tigers quickly marched down the field before Carlton found the end zone on a 5-yard run to widen the lead to 13-3.
-Jared Porter, Joplin Globe Sports

SCORING SUMMARY
CAR     6 13 14 0 — 33
BRAN  3   7   0  0 — 10
 
FIRST QUARTER
BRAN—Cristian Berumen 24-yard field goal
CAR—Luke Gall 1-yard run (Run failed)
SECOND QUARTER
CAR—Patrick Carlton 5-yard run (Caleb Calvin kick)
BRAN—Berumen 2-yard run (Berumen kick)
CAR—Gall 1-yard run (Kick failed)
THIRD QUARTER
CAR—Carlton 1-yard run (Calvin kick)
CAR—Carlton 8-yard run (Calvin kick)