The Republic offense made big plays when it needed them in a cold, wet win over Neosho at home Friday, 35-21.
James Desjardins rushed the ball 17 times for 161 yards to lead the Tigers, and Jace Duvall picked up 86 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries, including a key 2nd-half score. Colton Peltz also scored two touchdowns for the Tigers, who broke a five-game losing streak.
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The Tigers came out strong early, marched down the field, and broke ahead on Peltz’s first TD, a 5-yard run with eight minutes left in the 1st quarter. The two-point conversion failed, and it was 6-0.
Peltz scored again to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead, on a two-yard run that was set up by a 57-run by Desjardins. Neosho answered when Austin Hailey scored on a one-yard run, and it was 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter.
The lone score of the 2nd quarter came on a 19-yard run by Jace DuVall, and after the two-point conversion failed, it was 20-7 Tigers at halftime.
Neosho made a game of it with 2:40 left in the 3rd quarter. A six-yard pass from Austin Hailey to Bryce Murphy cut the lead to 20-14, and the Wildcats had the momentum. On the ensuing drive, Neosho forced a fumble and had the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead.
“I’ll have to look at the film. I don’t know right now whether it’s a lack of execution or whether we had trouble getting our footing and hitting the hole hard,” says coach Wes Beachler of the offense’s troubles in the 3rd quarter. “But when we needed to make some plays, we executed pretty well. That’s encouraging.”
The Tiger defense came up big to force a stop, and that’s when Republic put together the key drive of the game. After good runs by Peltz and DuVall, Desjardins scampered 28 yards for another Tiger touchdown to make the score 26-14. A two-point conversion on a pass from Zach Hall to DuVall made the lead 14 points, 28-14.
After another stop by the Tiger defense, DuVall scored another touchdown on a 47-yard run to put the game away. A late TD by Neosho in the final 10 seconds accounted for the final score.
Beachler says one key to the Tigers’ success was their ability to make a change on the line when Levi Cook was forced to leave the game.
“I’m proud of Andrew Workman,” Beachler says. “Levi Cook went out there, and Andrew came in and did a really nice job.
“I’m proud of all the kids for working hard on a nasty night and playing some good football.”
Republic improves to 3-5. They’ll be on the road at Nixa next week. Neosho falls to 0-8.
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