CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Second-seeded Carl Junction built an early lead and held off seventh-seeded McDonald County 18-13 in the opening round of the Class 4 District 6 tournament.
The Bulldogs (6-4) advance to take on third-seeded Bolivar (6-4) in Carl Junction in the district semifinals.
Carl Junction used the big play to get on the scoreboard first, with Tony Stewart ripping off an 81-yard rushing touchdown with less than nine minutes to play in the first quarter for an 8-0 lead.
After a Gavin Cowger 38-yard field goal with 3:33 on the clock in the first period, Marcus Lopez-Durman found the end zone from a yard out near the two-minute mark of the second quarter for an 18-0 cushion.
McDonald County answered back to get on the scoreboard before the intermission after a 60-yard passing score to Brodie Roessler to cut the CJ lead to 18-6 by halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Mustangs used a 2-yard rushing score from Malosi Sosef near the nine-minute mark to cut the lead to five, 18-13, but that would be as close as McDonald County would get.