Republic’s defense scored the first points of the night, turned the momentum after a sluggish first quarter, then closed the door on Nixa in the second half to help the Tigers topple the Eagles 25-14 Friday in Republic.
On Nixa’s second possession of the night, a snap sailed over the head of the Nixa punter and into the end zone, allowing Republic to take a lead with 5:57 left, 2-0. But that’s all the points Republic could muster for the first quarter and a half, and the Tiger offense was unable to move the ball more than a few yards per possession. On their first six drives, the Tigers had one first down and six punts. For one series, Coach Dustin Baldwin even tried putting backup Jarod Hughes in at quarterback to shake things up — but the results weren’t any better.
“I put Jarod in just to try to get a spark,” Baldwin said. “It wasn’t all Lucas’ fault. That’s just the nature of it. We substitute guys all the time, but when you substitute a quarterback, it’s like the end of the world.”
Meanwhile, Nixa capitalized on a few big plays to take the lead. After Republic went three-and-out on its next drive, Nixa connected on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Reid Potts to Evann Long. With 3:43 left in the first quarter, Nixa led 7-2.
The Eagles extended their lead to 14-2 on their next possession, but they needed a little luck to do it. On a run play from Republic’s 20-yard line, Alex Wentz fumbled the ball and it rolled all the way into the end zone, where Long jumped on it.
After his brief appearance at quarterback, Hughes made one of the biggest plays of the night on defense when he picked off a pass to snuff out another potential Nixa scoring drive. The Tigers immediately responded with their first touchdown of the night, tacked on another TD before halftime, and never looked back in a 25-14 win in their home opener.
The first touchdown for Republic was the result of a 72-yard drive after Hughes’ pickoff. On 3rd and 15, a 28-yard pass to Josh Sterling kept the drive going. A 26-yard TD pass from Hayes to Landon Porter made the score 14-8. Nixa blocked the extra point.
On Nixa’s next possession, Haiden Moody recovered a fumble, setting up the Tigers with great field possession with 1:26 left in the half. Republic drove 31 yards and scored on an eight-yard run by Hayes with 42 seconds remaining to take the lead for good.
With Republic leading in the second half, the Tiger defense locked down the Eagles. Nixa lost the ball on downs twice, punted three times in a row after that, and failed to score before time ran out on its last drive of the game.
Baldwin said the defensive turnaround was the result of an adjustment by defensive coach Zac Nelson. “There’s probably three plays there in the first quarter and a half, then after that, I thought we did an awesome, awesome job,” said Baldwin.
The defensive performance was even more impressive because of the number of new faces in the lineup.
“We played a lot of different guys tonight. We played backups – guys that came in and were ready to play, and that is huge to any team, when the guy who’s next in line is mentally and physically ready to go and make plays. That happened all over the field tonight.”
In-between the defensive stops, Republic scored another touchdown on a 66-yard, six-play drive early in the third quarter. Landon Porter’s 29-yard reception on third and eight put the Tigers inside the Nixa ten, and Hayes ran the ball into the end zone from six yards out on the next play.
The Tigers put the game away with a 13-play, 64-yard drive that consumed more than six minutes. It ended with a 25-yard field goal by Marco Donjuan to give Republic an 11-point lead with just 2:07 remaining.
In total, Republic racked up 298 yards – 131 on the ground and 167 through the air. Lucas was 15 of 26 for 169 yard and a touchdown. He also threw one interception on a tipped ball that deflected to a Nixa defender. He rushed 19 times for 73 yards and two TDs.
Landon Porter caught four passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Riley Sigman carried the ball 11 times for 56 yards. Four other receivers – Sigman, Claye White, Gavin Walker, and Sterling – caught passes as well.
Nixa gained 353 yards, most of it on a few big plays early and the final drive of the game, with Republic playing conservatively on defense.
Republic is 1-1. The Tigers travel to Carl Junction next week. Nixa is 0-2.
