A month ago, it took a last-second scamper by Cam Flood for Republic to beat Neosho on homecoming night. Friday, the Wildcats got even, pulling away down the stretch for a 42-21 victory, ending Republic’s season, and advancing to the district semifinals.
“They’re playing better,” Republic coach Dustin Baldwin says of Neosho. “We knew that. We saw it on film. They’re a huge offensive line. They outweigh us probably 50 pounds to a man, and we didn’t do a great job in terms of our run fits, especially on the back side.”
Neosho owned the first half, gaining more than 200 yards on the ground without completing a pass. They led 20-0 at halftime. Quarterback Gaven Kelly had touchdown runs of 33 and 22 yards, and Adrian Hitchcock scored from one yard out with :32 remaining in the half to account for the scoring. One of the only early bright spots for Republic was a touchdown return by Cam Flood that was called back because of a penalty.
For the second week in a row, Republic’s performance was better after the break, and for the second week in a row, the Tigers couldn’t climb out of the hole they were in. The half started with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Riley Watkins to Cam Flood, making the score 20-7 with 11:38 remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Neosho answered early in the 4th quarter on another touchdown run by Hitchcock, and the two-point conversion made it 28-7. With just 10:00 remaining, the game looked out of reach.
Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game
The Tigers trailed 28-7 when they suddenly caught fire. They went 69 yards on three plays, fueled by two receptions by Trent Rackley. Then they recovered an onside kick and went 32 yards in five plays, ending in another touchdown for Rackley. The two scores came about a minute apart and got the Tigers back in striking distance, and they are our Yocum Automotive Drives of the Game.
But Republic answered with two quick touchdown drives. They scored 30 seconds after Neosho’s touchdown on a five-yard pass from Watkins to Rackley. That had been set up on a long halfback pass by Jaden Duvall to Rackley.
Just a minute later, after recovering an onside kick, Republic scored again on a 25-yard pass from Watkins to Rackley, making it 28-21. With 8:24 remaining, Republic was back in the game.
But on the very next play, Neosho’s Jarvis Funk returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to take the wind out of Republic’s sails.
“We kicked it to the one man on the field we didn’t want to kick it to,” says Baldwin. “We work on things in practice, but I’ll take responsibility.”
The Funk kickoff return made the score 35-21, and Neosho tacked on one last touchdown by Cade Lyerla to make it 42-21.
Riley Watkins, in his last game as a Tiger, completed 13 of 24 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw three interceptions. Neosho’s defense kept his running attack in check. He carried the ball 10 times but only gained 19 yards.
Skyler Owen — Republic’s most consistent runner over the last half of the season — was also shut down. He gained just 33 yards on 10 carries. Cam Flood had two receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Republic finishes its season at 3-7, failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the second straight season.
“We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to be better coached,” says Baldwin. “We can’t have penalties on the two yard line. We can’t have penalties on kick returns for touchdowns. You get 14 points on the board I think it’s a little different game. But that’s my job to fix over the next nine months, so we have to create a culture with a little more toughness and a little more discipline.”
Despite the disappointing end, Baldwin says he’s proud of his players in a transition year.
“We have great kids great seniors in terms of their leadership. They have good attitudes and continued to work, and did everything we asked in terms of leading the program and working hard every day.
“I do appreciate them, and I do thank them, because…I’ve seen it go the other way, where people kind of resist the new regime, and they did not. They bought in and did everything we asked, and I really appreciate that.”
