A touchdown pass from Drew Crain to Thomas Ligon late in the fourth quarter gave Ozark a 14-10 homecoming win over Republic Friday. The eight-yard reception in the back corner of the end zone capped a 97-yard drive for Ozark. Their defense stopped Republic on its final drive of the game to seal the victory.
Republic stayed in the game early, despite being dominated on the stat sheet in the first half. Ozark led just 7-0 at halftime, even though they outgained Republic 152 yards to 73, and had nine first downs to Republic’s four. The lone touchdown of the first half came on a two-yard run by Tim Allen in the second quarter.
In the second half, Republic took the ball 39 yards on their first possession, and got on the board with a 33-yard field goal by Blake Baumberger. That made the score 7-3.
The defenses took over for the rest of the third quarter, until Republic got the ball back on its own 40 yard line with three seconds left. On first down, Blaze Carano hit Chase Mills with a 60-yard touchdown pass over the middle, and Republic took its first lead at 10-7.
Both defenses held until Ozark took over on its own 3-yard-line, and used a couple of big plays to get deep into Tiger territory. A 38-yard run by quarterback Drew Crain, followed immediately by a 34-yard run by Jared Cohen, set up the winning touchdown pass to Ligon.
Republic got the ball back for one final drive, but came up short on a 4th-and-3 at the Ozark 48 yard line in the final minute.
For the game, Republic managed 196 yards of total offense — 103 on the ground. Blaze Carano was 4-for-11, for 93 yards passing. He threw one touchdown and one interception. Colton McCarty ran for 53 yards, and Ryan Sifferman ran for 42. Chase Mills caught three passes for 78 yards, including the touchdown.
Ozark racked up 353 yards of total offense, including 279 yards rushing. Drew Crain rushed for 128 yards, and threw for 79. Ozark had 15 first downs, to Republic’s 8.
Republic falls to 1-4. They’re back on the road next week at Willard.
