It took Webb City about nine minutes to break out against Republic. After that, it was all Cardinals.
Webb City scored 21 points in 3 1/2 minutes and rolled to a 42-0 win in Republic Friday. The Cardinals outgained Republic 362 yards to 205 and took advantage of three 1st-half turnovers by the Tigers.
Republic came out aggressively against the Cardinals, ranked first in the state in Class 4. Riley Watkins connected with Skyler Owen on a 35-yard pass completion on the first play from scrimmage, but the Tigers went backwards on their next three plays and had to punt.
Republic recovered a Webb City fumble on the ensuing series, but after a 36-yard completion to Cam Flood on the next series, fumbled the ball right back to the Cardinals.
Durand Henderson got the scoring started for Webb City on the next drive. He ran it in from 31 yards out with 3:18 remaining in the 1st quarter to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead.
Republic fumbled again on its next possession, setting up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Cash Link to Treyton Simmons to make it 14-0. A three-and-out, followed by a muffed punt attempt, led to another easy Webb City score with 11:56 remaining in the 2nd quarter, and it was 21-0.
That three-minutes stretch was a microcosm of the game, with the Tigers unable to move the ball consistently, putting the defense in difficult situations.
“The one thing we did not do well was tackle all night. I thought Coach , our defensive coordinator, did a great job. Our offense didn’t keep their offense off the field. We didn’t have enough long drives. We gave them short fields and things like that, but we were in position to make plays. Our guys have to tackle better,and they know that,” says coach Dustin Baldwin.
Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game
For the second consecutive week, the Tigers failed to put together a scoring drive, and their best chance came just before halftime, when they took possession with 2:22 remaining in the 2nd quarter. The Tigers pushed the ball into Webb City territory, with the big play coming on an 18-yard pass from Watkins to Jones. The pass put the Tigers in striking distance, and they had three shots at the end zone, but failed to score before time expired.
Webb City scored again after an interception by a Cardinals lineman on a screen pass attempt. Link ran the ball 58 yards to the end zone to make it 28-0. When Will Larson scored on a one-yard run with 2:28 left in the half, that made the score 35-0. Another touchdown by Link in the second half accounted for the final score.
Despite the lopsided final score, Baldwin saw positives to draw on as the season advances.
“We actually had some really good moments tonight. They just really expose you really quick,” he says. “Offensively, we threw the ball a lot better tonight. The problem is we have to be balanced and run the ball also in our offense. If not, we’re going to have issues.”
Riley Watkins finished with 148 passing yards, completing seven passes on 16 attempts. But the Tigers’ rushing game was almost nonexistent. They ran the ball 34 times and gained only 57 yards (1.7 yards per carry). Landin Sigman was the Tigers’ leading rusher with 16 yards on five carries.
Aside from tackling issues, Baldwin saw positives on the defensive side of the ball, as well.
“We made it difficult on at times. It wasn’t like they were just chunking it,” he says. “They converted a lot of 3rd-and-5s, 3rd-and-6s, on a little short pass route we’d give them. We knew it was coming. We watched it on film, we knew it was coming, and we didn’t play aggressively enough at the corner positions. It’s just a lot of little things that obviously added up.”
Two straight losses to the #3 (Carl Junction) and #1 (Webb City) teams in the state drop the Tigers’ record to 1-2. They’ll be on the road next Friday against Nixa.