Story by Rusty Swift
After suffering through two straight games where the Tigers came up short at the end, Republic’s Cam Flood made sure it didn’t happen on Homecoming Night.
Trailing 19-14 with 15 seconds left, Riley Watkins connected with Flood on a tunnel screen at the Republic 43. Flood split two defenders in the middle and broke to the outside, where he outran several defenders. The play ended with Flood diving into the end-zone just ahead of the reach of two converging defensive backs. The Republic crowd held its collective breath – making sure there were no penalty flags – before going crazy when the head official raised his arms to validate the score — making it 20-19 Republic with 1.2 seconds left.
After a missed 2-point conversion and a penalty for excessive celebration, Neosho got one last play with .5 seconds left from the Tiger 45 yard line, after recovering the short squib kick. Neosho quarterback Gavin Kelly did connect with running back Jarvis Funk in the flat, but Funk slipped as he cut, and fell at the Republic 40, giving the Tigers their first conference win and first home win for new coach Dustin Baldwin.
“It feels good. Anybody could have won that game. Give credit to Neosho. Their kids fought,” Baldwin says. “I’m certainly proud of our kids. I felt like had we not shot ourselves in the foot, we probably could have won to two, three, four scores. Three touchdowns called back, a missed field goal, a fumble there in the 4th quarter.”
Baldwin says the Tigers’ letdown in the 4th quarter nearly spoiled what had been a good night and a well-played game.
“Take away three penalties, and for three quarters we played an excellent football game. But the defense can’t let up in the 4th quarter,” Baldwin says.
The defense for both teams controlled most of the opening quarter. The Tiger defense held Neosho to only 19 yards on 14 plays, while the Wildcats forced Republic to a quick 3-and-out on its initial possession. But on their second possession, the Republic offense got some traction.
Starting on their own 10, the Tigers put together an 11-play, 90 yard drive capped off by a 31-yard Skyler Owen run. The score came one play after another TD run by Owen was nullified by a holding penalty. The extra point kick by Grant Holmes gave Republic a 7-0 lead with 10:44 left in the opening half.
It looked like Neosho was going to answer, driving all the way to the Tiger 11 yard line, but Republic defensive back Blake Hulland intercepted a Kelly pass to halt the drive.
Republic threatened to score on its next drive, but a chop block on a Watkins-to-Flood TD nullified the play. The Tigers drove to the Neosho 13 right before halftime, but a 30-yard field goal attempt by Holmes was wide right.
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and again had a score called back, this time with a holding penalty. After the drive ended in a punt, Republic got the ball back just three plays later when Landon Sigman pounced on a Neosho fumble at the Wildcat 32.
The Tigers wasted no time capitalizing, with Watkins connecting with Flood down the left sideline for a TD on the next play. The Holmes kick made it 14-0 with 6:52 left in the third period.
The teams swapped possessions before Neosho started to come back. The Wildcats drove 81-yards in 14 plays, ending with a 10-yard TD run by James Renfro. The successful extra-point kick made it 14-7 with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter, and suddenly it was a game.
The Tigers helped keep the momentum on the Wildcats side, when a Watkins fumble gave Neosho the ball on the Republic 34 on the next play. Three plays later and Renfro found pay dirt again with a 29-yard run. An excessive celebration penalty before the score resulted in the Wildcats having to attempt the extra point from the Tiger 18, forcing Neosho to attempt a 2-point conversion. A Jordan Gold sack of Kelly preserved the Republic 14-13 lead.
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Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game
Sometimes, the best things come in small packages. Friday, the drive of the game was short and sweet — lasting just about 40 seconds and culminating in Cam Flood’s sprint to the end zone. It gave Republic the lead and the win, and it was our Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game.
The Republic offense could not recapture any momentum on the next drive, hurt by two illegal procedures. And with 4:40 left in the game, Neosho got the ball back. Starting from the Republic 36, the Wildcats began to grind their way down the field. Neosho found the end zone when Kelly connected with Tre Letts on a 21-yard score with just 42 seconds left. The extra point run failed, leaving the Wildcats with a 19-14 lead and setting the stage for Flood’s heroics.
“We were down to one play, and the fact that playing off so much, I thought maybe we could run what we did and get down to the 20 or 30 and throw one up in the end zone,” Baldwin says. “We made a lot of blocks on that last play, and Cam made a tremendous play.”
Flood ended the game with 152 receiving yards on seven catches. He scored two touchdowns. Owen had three catches for 73 yards and ran the ball 11 times for 52 yards.
Watkins completed 11 of 20 passes for 231 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also rushed for 60 yards on 12 carries.
The Tigers improve to 2-4. Neosho falls to 0-6. The Tigers travel to Branson next week.
