Contributor – Rusty Swift
You might think it was a good sign that the Tigers won the coin toss before their home opener Friday night. But that was about the only thing that would go Republic’s way.
Facing an angry Carl Junction team that had lost last week to perennial power Webb City, an experienced Bulldog team had its way with Republic, shutting out the Tigers 39-0. After failing to score on their first possession, the Bulldogs scored the next six times they touched the ball.
It was a big change from the opening game, when Republic scored 27 straight points against Bolivar.
“They play at a different speed than Bolivar,” coach Dustin Baldwin says of Carl Junction. “When you’re not confident of what you want to do or what you’re supposed to do, you don’t play as fast. We have to get to that level still, because we’re not there yet in terms of playing the game fast.
“There’s too much processing going on from play to play, and that’s part of having a new system. In year four, five, and six, that stuff becomes second nature and they just do it. These kids are learning on the fly so they’re trying to get better, and that’s where we’re at.”
Republic finished with just 125 total yards. Riley Watkins rushed for 64 yards on 19 carries. He was 6 for 19 passing the ball, for 73 yards and an interception. Blake Hulland, Trent Rackley, Jake Jones, Skyler Owen, Tyler Ghan, and Jaden Duvall had receptions.
Carl Junction racked up 416 total yards. Quarterback Joe Kennedy completed 12 of 14 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown. Rayquoin Weston rushed for 110 yards and three TDs, and caught a touchdown pass. Aaron Ludders had six catches for 131 yards for the Bulldogs.
After winning the coin toss, Republic deferred and put the Bulldogs on offense to start the game. The Tiger defense gave up one first down, but stiffened to force a turnover on downs.
The Carl Junction defense, led by Senior lineman Zeke Wall, set the tone, giving up no yards on Republic’s first offensive series. And after a Tiger punt, Bulldog quarterback Joe Kennedy found Aaron Ludders in stride behind the Republic defenders for an 80-yard TD pass. A 2-point conversion run by Wall put CJ up 8-0 with 7:34 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldog defense held the Tigers to one yard on their next possession to quickly get the ball back. Starting on their own 33, Republic’s Landin Sigman and Riley Narber teamed up for a sack of Kennedy good for a 10-yard loss. But Kennedy, who had success through the air most of the night, found Lucas Berliew for a 23-yard pass play for a first down. Then three plays later connected with Rayquion Weston for a 47-yard TD. Putting CJ up 14-0 with 4:08 left in the quarter.
The Tigers didn’t put together much in the way of sustained drives, but they looked best at the end of the 2nd quarter. Republic took over at their own 40 yard line, and rushing to beat the clock before the end of the half, they took 13 plays and marched to the six yard line before time ran out on them. It was the closest to scoring they would come all night, and it was our Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game.
The Republic offense finally got a first down on a Riley Watkins scramble, but two running plays for no yards and an incomplete pass snuffed out the drive.
Carl Junction put together an 11-play, 71-yard drive capped by Weston’s 13-yard run, putting the Bulldogs up 20-0 with 10:52 left in the half.
The Tigers pushed into Bulldog territory on their next series, but an illegal motion penalty helped kill the drive.
The Bulldogs scored again on an 11-play, 59-yard drive with Kennedy running it in the final 5-yards to go up 26-0 with 4:03 left in the first half. Then after an interception at the Tiger 23 on Republic’s next possession, CJ took only four plays to score on Weston’s 11-yard run. The Bulldog’s led 32-0.
The Tiger’s threatened before halftime, getting to the Bulldog five yard line, but were unable to score.
Carl Junction scored once more on their first possession of the second half to go up 39-0 before taking their foot off the pedal.
The Tigers had their best drive of the night putting together a 13-play, 62-yard drive down to the Bulldog 23, but again could not keep the drive alive.
“It’s just a process for us, learning everything still,” says Baldwin. “This game, there’s a lot of moving parts, and a lot of things need to go right. We’ve got a lot of little things going on that we’re not doing right. We’ve just got to keep working at it and show up Monday ready to go.”