Jerney Jones turned in a monster night and the Republic defense forced five turnovers, but Webb City made plays down the stretch to pull away for a 36-18 victory at Webb City Friday.
For the first time in years, the Tigers hung with Webb City until the 4th quarter. With 10:39 left in the game, the Tigers trailed 22-18. Republic’s defense forced a Webb City punt and the Tigers took over at their own 20 yard line with a chance to take the lead. But Webb City’s defense stopped Republic on three straight plays, forcing a punt, and the Cardinals scored on their ensuing possession to stretch the lead to 29-18.
Republic had more chances, including a last-ditch drive after Nic Daigh’s second interception on the Webb City goal line, but the Tigers couldn’t move the ball against a rejuvenated Cardinal defense.
Offensively, the night belonged to Jerney Jones. He shredded the Cardinal defense for 246 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries.
“He’s a tough son of a gun,” says Republic coach Wes Beachler. “You look at him and you may think, ‘Aw, I can run him down’ or ‘I can tackle him one on one,’ then when he hits you, you’re like ‘Oops,’ and when you try to catch him you’re like ‘holy smokes.'”
Beachler says it’s the best game he’s ever seen Jones play. The rest of the Tiger offense did just enough to keep Webb City’s defense honest. The Tigers gained 377 total yards, while Webb City rolled up 400. Riley Watkins carried the ball 15 times and gained 86 yards. David Feil contributed 31 yards on nine carries.
On defense, the Tigers have now forced nine turnovers in their past two games. Nic Daigh had a hand in three of them Friday night, picking off two passes and recovering a fumble.
“I think good teams have the right turnover differential. I think when you’re a good ball club, you don’t turn it over and you force some things to happen. Hopefully that continues,” Beachler says. “You’ve got to play fearless… That’s how our kids are starting to play, and we’ve got to keep playing like that.”
Webb City had scored on its first drive of the second half and looked like it might be on the verge of pulling away. But Republic’s offense wouldn’t back down, and their next possession would be the Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game.. The Tigers got the ball on their own 29 yard line and drove 71 yards on only four plays, cutting the lead to 22-18. The drive was highlighted by a spectacular 54-yard run by Jerney Jones that set up a Riley Watkins touchdown.
Webb City scored first after the Tigers went three-and-out on their opening drive. The Cardinals marched 51 yards on seven plays and scored on a 15-yard run by Keaton Burroughs to take a 7-0 lead.
Republic responded quickly with a five-play, 79-yard scoring drive of their own. Riley Watkins got the Tigers out of Webb City territory with a 39-yard run, and Jerney Jones ran for 39 yard a few plays later, making it into the end zone. After a missed extra point, it was 7-6.
Cooper Powell picked off a pass on the next Webb City drive, and Republic took the lead two plays later on a 74-yard touchdown run by Jerney Jones. The two-point conversion was no good, and with 2:03 left in the first quarter, it was 12-7 Republic.
Webb City scored on a five-yard run by Hunter Vanlue and made a two-point conversion on the next drive, taking a 15-12 lead. That’s where the score stood at halftime.
The Cardinals extended the lead on the first drive of the second half when Burroughs rushed in from two yards out to make it 22-12.
Republic responded again with a 71-yard drive that included a 54-yard run by Jones. Watkins ran it in from the eight yard line, and after a blocked extra point, it was 22-18.
From there, the Webb City defense stiffened up and held Republic scoreless while the Cardinal offense tacked on two late scores to put the game away.
Beachler says he believed all week that his team would not back down against the state champion Cardinals, and he knew his team believed they could win, too.
“There’s such a cohesiveness and unselfishness to this group of kids. I hope we can keep that going. They’re not concerned about their stats,” Beachler says. “I really felt like they were not going to come down here and throw in the towel. They were going to line up and go toe-to-toe with them and give ’em heck for four quarters.”
Republic falls to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Central Ozark Conference. Webb City remains undefeated at 4-0. They’re still undefeated in the regular season since joining the COC.
The Tigers return home for just the second time this season when they host Branson next Friday. We’ll have the Hines Street Pharmacy Pre-game Show at 6:45, with play-by-play at 7:00.