Against Rockhurst, Webb City proved it has no serious rivals for Missouri Supremacy (Photo: News Leader)

This week was supposed to be different. The Webb City Cardinals, winners of 29 straight and ranked at No. 21 in the USA TODAY High School Sports Super 25, were supposed to be in a fight for their lives against Rockhurst, a fellow Missouri power that could legitimately challenge the Cardinals’ annual, inexorable march toward a perfect state title.

Except, it wasn’t any different after all. Instead, the Cardinals scored first, they scored often and they shut down the Hawklets on defense to cruise to a surprisingly one-sided 49-20 victory against Rockhurst on Friday night in Webb City.

The victory solidifies the Cardinals’ spot in the Super 25, and may help Webb City make a case to move up.

RELATED: SUPER 25 SCOREBOARD

On Friday, the Cardinals cruised to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter and made sure that, aside from a brief rally early in the second when the lead was cut to 21-14, the Hawklets never got within two scores. It was 42-20 at the end of three quarters and only Webb City got on the board in the fourth, passing the final score with one final touchdown.

That’s not to say Rockhurst didn’t make any plays. For instance, this pass was one of the more notable:

The Cardinals will visit traditional Arkansas power Har-Ber (which is coming off a poor 2014 campaign)  in Week 3. Two weeks later they visit Nixa, a key rival and another traditional Missouri power. For now, both of those squads will look closely at what happened to Rockhurst to try and determine how to break through against a team that has proven one of the nation’s most consistent for three years.

Or, to put it more succinctly: