Blaze Carano scored on a quarterback keeper with 8.8 seconds left in the game, as Republic beat Willard 17-13. The Tigers had struggled on offense the entire night, before marching 70 yards in 14 plays for the winning touchdown. The winning drive featured two game-saving fourth-down conversions before Carano punched the ball into the end zone from the 1-foot line.
Willard wasted a great effort by running back Taylor Ball. Ball rushed 42 times for 247 yards in a losing effort. Willard ran only ten plays all night in which they did not call Ball’s number.
Corey Davis had a big night on defense for Republic, with one interception and two fumble recoveries. Two of those turnovers set up scores for the Tigers.
In the first quarter, Davis picked off a pass in Willard territory and returned it 17 yards. Republic scored soon after that on a 6-yard run by Colton McCarty, taking a 7-0 lead.
Willard made it 7-6 in the second quarter, on a 4-yard run by Ball. That capped an 80-yard, 11-play drive.
Just before halftime, Willard took over on its own 25 yard line with a few seconds left, and could have run out the clock. Instead, coach Brock Roweton had his offense stay on the attack. The decision cost Willard, when Ball fumbled at the 30-yard line. Republic’s Davis recovered with less than five seconds left in the half, and Blake Baumberger promptly kicked a 40-yard field goal to give Republic a 10-6 lead at the half.
Ball continued to dominate after the break, carrying the Willard offense on his shoulders. Willard’s first drive ended when Ball fumbled at the Republic 25 yard line. But its second drive led to a touchdown on a 36-yard run by Ball. That gave Willard a 13-10 lead with just about three minutes to go in the game.
Republic took over on its own 30 yard line to start the game-winning drive. On the first series, Republic converted on 4th-and-4. On the second series, they converted on 4th-and-9. By then, the clock had ticked down under a minute remaining. But three passes by Blaze Carano moved Republic to the goal line, and Carano’s quarterback sneak into the end zone gave the Tigers the 17-13 victory.
Carano threw only one pass before the final drive, but finished 5-of-8 for 45 yards. Colton McCarty led the rushing attack with 88 yards on 22 carries. Ryan Sifferman rushed 7 times for 19 yards; Chase Mills ran for 24 yards on 3 carries; and Carano ran 7 times for 25 yards.
Republic improves to 2-4, and Willard falls to 0-6.
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