Carthage ran roughshod over Republic, scoring 49 points on seven first-half possession on the way to a 63-29 win. Carthage quarterback Patrick Carlton had a huge night, rushing for 248 yards to keep his team undefeated and atop the Central Ozark Conference standings..
Carlton’s performance overshadowed a great performance by Republic sophomore quarterback Gavyn Beckner, especially in the first half. In the first 24 minutes of play, Beckner completed three touchdown passes of 60+ yards. He finished with 300 passing yards and also rushed for another score.
Carthage scored two quick touchdowns before the game had barely started. After stopping Republic on a 3-and-out, Carthage scored on a 2-play, 40 yard drive to take a 7-0 lead, capped by a 10-yard run by Hunter Santillan. After another defensive stop, Carthage marched 91 yards in seven plays, scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Carlton to Cooper Jadwin.
Republic got on the board on its next possession, one of three quick-strike scores in the first pass.It took the Tigers two plays to go 61 yards – 60 of them on a touchdown pass from Beckner to Landon Porter. That made the score 14-7.
Carthage scored again on a seven-play, 63-yard drive, going ahead by two touchdowns on a one-yard plunge by Carlton.
Republic responded with another long scoring play – one of the best plays of Beckner’s young career. Flushed out of the pocket, Beckner eluded pressure by dodging to his left, then to his right, then back to his left. He finally got space to throw and found an open Ezekiel Meads 25 yards upfield. Meads did the rest, running to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown reception. That cut the lead to 21-14 with about 10 minutes left in the first half.
But Patrick Carlton took the game into his own hands from there. He ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run on Carthage’s next drive, then led Carthage on an 8-play, 45-yard drive after Carthage recovered a short kickoff. That made it 35-14.
Republic’s third big scoring play of the half came on the next drive. Beckner found Porter behind the defense, completing an 80-yard touchdown pass on the run, bringing Republic within two scores again at 35-21.
Carthage wasn’t done for the half yet, though. They scored on a 68-yard run by Luke Gall, got a defensive stop, and scored again before halftime, making the score 49-21.
Carthage scored twice more to push its lead to 63-21, and Republic scored once more in the second half on a four-yard run by Beckner to account for the final score.
Carthage amassed 495 rushing yards to go with 64 rushing yards, 559 total. Republic rushed the ball for 128 yards and threw for 300 yards for a total of 428.
Carthage is 7-0. Republic falls to 2-6 with a game at Branson on the schedule for next week.