Joplin and Webb City football fans got their first glimpse of the 2026 editions of those teams during the Webb City Football Jamboree on Friday at Cardinal Stadium.
Both coaches also got a chance to evaluate their players.
Because they both compete in the Central Ozark Conference, Joplin and Webb City did not scrimmage, but each faced Big 8 schools Lamar and Seneca.
Joplin opened against Class 3 champion Seneca and followed with a scrimmage against Lamar to end the night.
“Obviously, we had a couple of penalties, and we can’t have that,” Joplin head coach Curtis Jasper said. “But I thought our guys played hard. We have to come out a little bit quicker in some scenarios, with a little intensity at the beginning of some situations. But overall, we saw a lot of good things. We will look at the film and clean up the little details.”
Eagles fans were treated to a display of scrambling by quarterback Trenton McCadney.
“I did feel comfortable,” McCadney said. “It was a fun experience, and I was glad to be out there with my guys.”
He also talked about what seemed to be working for him.
“Definitely the scramble game. As I was looking for passes. I was also looking for an escape route to run,” McCadney said.
McCadney, the likely starter under center for Joplin this season, will be moved from receiver to quarterback, leaving a competition for his position as receiver.
Jasper said a couple of contenders have stood out at receiver but that evaluations continue.
“Malachi Beckham is dong a good job and Aidan Harvey is also doing a good job, but there’s a lot of guys still competing for there,” Jasper said.
Joplin defensive end Judah Meredith evaluated the defensive unit’s performance Friday.
“I feel like our first series against Seneca was a bit rough,” Meredith said. “We had some communication issues, but I feel like toward the end we really figured it out. We started moving like a unit. Against Lamar, I think everything really came together. We communicated well, we executed well, and that’s what good defense is really all about.”
Webb City head coach Ryan McFarland also shared his takeaways from the jamboree.
“No. 1 thing is we came out healthy,” McFarland said. “As far as I know, everyone is healthy and ready to go for next week. As a coach, that is always kind of in the back of your mind.”
As for his players’ offensive performance on the field, McFarland said he was pleased with the run game but wanted to see a little more from the passing game.
“We are going to be a grind-it-out, pound-the-ball football team, and I thought we were able to do that tonight,” McFarland said. “Probably the thing I’m most disappointed in offensively at this point is that we have to be able to throw the ball better than we did tonight. There were times we got receivers open and made great throws and there were time where receivers just didn’t run very good routes.”
Quarterback Mason Young shared his thought on the Cardinals offensive performance.
“Our O-line looks good, backs were getting out of their stances fast and receivers were hustling downfield,” Young said. “There were few times where there were little mental mistakes, but overall I felt like we looked good. I felt like we were kind of clicking today.”
Joplin will travel to Springfield for a 7 p.m. Friday season opener against Kickapoo. The Eagles are on a seven-game winning streak against the Chiefs.
Webb City will face Glendale at 7 p.m. Friday in Springfield. It will be the first matchup between the teams in recent history.
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