Carthage Tigers

Class 5 District ?

COC Conference

School Colors: Royal Blue and White

Head Coach: Jon Guidie (142-45, 17th season)

Assistant coaches: Chris Edwards, Ricky Nichols, Chase, Carlton, William Carter, David Carter, Quincy Jones, Austin Grotts, Dave Wiemers and Scott Matthews.

COACH GUIDIE SAYS:

“I’m very excited to coach this year’s team. There are a ton of high-character players in this group. We will rely on strong leadership from our senior class, which always seems to surface as the year goes on. I really like where we are defensively. We have a lot of experience on that side. We will need to find some key players on offense to fill some big shoes from some really good players we lost to graduation. We need to build depth at each position and continue to grow and mature as a team so we can hopefully be playing our best football at the end of the season. We play in a great conference where every week is a grind. We will have three teams with new coaches. That is always an unknown, but we expect they will all generate some new excitement and enthusiasm within their programs.”

Five Year Trend (Playoffs)

• 2020: 9-1 (Third Round)
• 2019: 12-2 (State Champions)
• 2018: 11-2 (State Semifinals)
• 2017: 9-4 (State Semifinals)
• 2016: 10-2 (State Quarterfinals)

2020 REVIEW

Carthage was once again one of the best in the state last season. The Tigers went a perfect 8-0 in the regular season to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. They beat Branson in the district semifinals, before falling to Webb City in the district championship. A big story for Carthage last season was the emergence of sophomore Luke Gall. He burst onto the scene in week one with a 5 touchdown performance in week one against Ozark, while also leading the team with 14 tackles in the game. He’s already one of the best two-way players we have in the area. This Carthage team was loaded with good players last year. They lose some really good guys to graduation in Aiden Logan (Butler CC), Silas Templeman (Mid-America Nazarene), DJ Witt (Wartburg), Ian Ketchum (Wartburg) and Patrick Carlton (East Coast Prep) who moved on to play at the next level. Carlton was one of the most productive quarterbacks in the state during his career at Carthage.

RETURNING STARTERS (2020 stats)

RB/LB Luke Gall (Jr) 5’11”, 195 lb – 1st team All-COC RB, 2nd team All-State LB

OL Garrett Lilienkamp (Sr) 6’2″, 265 lb – 3rd team All-COC

OL Gavin VanGilder (Sr) 6’2″, 255 lb

WR Cale Patrick (Sr) 5’10”, 160 lb

DE Max Williams (Sr) 6’2″, 195 lb

DT Micah Lindsey (Jr) 6’0″, 240 lb – 1st team All-District

LB Sylas Browning (Sr) 6’0″, 170 lb

LB Zach Lansford (Sr) 6’1″, 185 lb

DB Caden Kabance (Sr) 6’0″, 180 lb

DB Davion King (Jr) 5’10”, 165 lb

TE/DE Tyler Willis (Jr) 6’2″, 190 lb

OL Anthony Strickland (Sr) 6’1″, 275 lb

KEY NEWCOMERS

OL Drew Musche (Jr) 5’11”, 210 lb

WR Braxdon Tate (Sr) 6’1″, 165 lb

DB Clay Kinder (Jr) 6’0″, 170 lb

HB Brett Rockers (Sr) 5’10”, 170 lb

SCHEDULE:

8/27 @ Ozark

9/3 vs. Carl Junction

9/10 @ Neosho

9/17 vs. Webb City

9/24 @ Branson

10/1 vs. Willard

10/8 @ Joplin

10/15 vs. Republic

10/22 @ Nixa

10/29 TBA Districts

2021 SEASON OUTLOOK

I look at some of the players Carthage loses from last season and wonder how good they can be. Then I remember they lose great players like that every season and are still one of the best teams in the state every year. Carthage really does have one of the best and well-coached programs in the state. Things will start with the defense for the Tigers this season. “We are really excited about this group,” coach Guidie says, “We have 10 players back with starting experience, including 7 full-time starters from last year. All three of our linebackers return (Browning, Gall and Lansford), along with Micah Lindsey at DT, who has 8 sacks last year as a sophomore.” Offensively, this team will look a little different than last year with the absence of QB Patrick Carlton, but Luke Gall will still be in the backfield, and should get plenty of work. “He rushed for 1,051 yards last year and averaged 6.6 yards-per-carry,” Guidie says of his running back, “We will look for him to carry the load for us. Up front, we have a three-year starter back in Garrett Lilienkamp, and two-year starter Gavin VanGilder. We will rely on those two for their experience and leadership.” This league is tough. I can see it going a lot of different ways. The teams at the top of the league are going to beat each other up, just like every year in recent memory. Carthage will again be one of the teams that opponents don’t look forward to seeing on their schedule.