Carthage scored four touchdowns on fourth down plays in building a 42-13 lead, then held on for a 42-26 victory at Republic Friday. Republic’s defense was oh-so-close to stopping the Carthage machine several times, but every time, Carthage got what it needed. They scored on fourth and 17, fourth and 11, fourth and three, and fourth and goal from the one.
Republic’s offense moved the ball, too — but in contrast to Carthage, Republic fell short or made mistakes at key moments. Republic drove to the Carthage five yard line once in the second half, but a mis-handled snap snuffed out the scoring opportunity. Republic’s only turnover came with about six minutes remaining, when they fumbled the ball on their last opportunity to pull within a single score.
“They’ve always really been good on third and fourth down. It’s just a trait that they’ve had for a long time and they do a good job of dialing up the right thing,” Republic coach Dustin Baldwin says of Carthage. “We had some guys that weren’t overly disciplined on defense and we didn’t execute, kind of out of character. So we’ve got to be more disciplined and … mentally tough to do the right thing.”
—
Carthage got on the board first with a one-yard touchdown run by Patrick Carlton. It was the first of many highlights for the sophomore quarterback.
Republic answered with a five-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a four-yard TD run by Louis Wallace. The score was tied 7-7.
On its next drive, Carthage scored on a 32-yard pass from Carlton to Tucker Downing on a fourth and 17 play. Republic went three-and-out, and Carthage scored again on a 21-yard pass from Carlton to Jayden Morgan. That made the score 21-7.
Republic cut the lead to 21-13 on its next drive, going eight plays and 65 yards. Lucas Hayes ran it in from four yards out.
Carthage finished the first-half scoring with a seven-yard TD run by Morgan on fourth-and-three. It was 28-13 at halftime.
Carthage built the lead with two more touchdowns in the third quarter: one was a one-yard run by Carlton on fourth and goal from the one, and the other was a 43-yard pass from Carlton to Morgan.
At that point, Carthage led 42-13, but the Tigers didn’t quit. They responded with a drive of 75 yards and seven plays, finishing with a nine-yard touchdown run by Hayes.
Cam Flood recovered an onside kick, and Republic scored again on a 10-play, 44-yard drive. Hayes scored from one yard out to make the lead 42-26, but the extra point hit the left upright and banged out. That was as close as Republic would get.
“I like the way our kids played. We fought, we battled, and certainly had an opportunity,” Baldwin says. “We had a lot of opportunities to get them off the field, so hopefully we can keep our head up and bounce back.”
Carthage passed for 169 yard and rushed for 267 yards, for 376 total yards. Republic had 39 passing yards and 272 rushing yards, for a total of 311 yards.
Louis Wallace had 100 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries. Riley Sigman rushed for 98 yards on ten carries. Hayes had 69 yards on 17 carries, and scored three touchdowns.
Republic falls to 2-6. They travel to Neosho next week for the regular-season finale.