After a near-miss against Nixa last week, Republic coach Ryan Cornelsen wanted to see his team take the next step – winning against a quality opponent. His Tigers did that in convincing fashion, sprinting to a 28-0 lead in the first half on the way to a 48-28 win on the road at Ozark.
“We played really well early The defense made some big plays. We got some turnovers,” said Cornelsen. “(In the) second half, we stalled a little bit, but we came back and found ways to score after we stalled, and last week, we weren’t able to do that. So I was proud of those guys.”
Republic took advantage of Ozark’s turnover troubles in the first half. Ozark fumbled on its first three possessions and four times in the first half. Republic turned two of those turnovers into touchdowns. The first score came at the end of a 31-yard drive on an 11-yard TD run by Avery Moody. Republic converted two fourth downs on that drive.
Republic scored again on a 30-yard drive after Jarrett Whitworth recovered his second fumble of the game. That drive ended on a one-yard run by Moody with 1:06 left in the first quarter.
After a defensive stop, Republic got a 51-yard punt return from Wyatt Woods for a touchdown to go up 21-0.
The Tigers’ fourth score came after Moody converted his fourth 4th-down conversion of the half. It was part of a 58-yard drive than ended with another one-yard TD by Moody. That made it 28-0.
Ozark got on the board just before halftime on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Brady Dodd to Jace Whatley, and it was 28-7 at halftime.
Republic got the ball first in the second half and immediately extended its lead, marching 69 yards and scoring on a three-yard TD run by Moody. That stretched the lead back to 28 points, at 35-7.
After an Ozark score, Kanon Krol scored his first TD of the night, making it 42-14. Ozark scored again on a 65-yard touchdown pass, but Republic answered again with a touchdown by Caide White on a one-yard run. Republic declined to score on a conversion attempt, leaving the score at 48-21. Ozark scored one more meaningless touchdown to make the final 48-28.
Republic had 435 total yards to 323 for Ozark. Connor Sandridge was leading rusher with 12 carries for 119 yards. Kanon Krol had 19 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown. Avery Moody had 19 carries for 97 yards and four TDs.
In addition to Whitworth’s two fumble recoveries, Daniel Kotov and Cooper Douglas also recovered fumbles. Republic lost two fumbles.
“That was closer to what we’re looking for, but there’s still things we can get better at,” Cornelsen said. “I’ve been telling the kids, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so we’ve got to get better each and every week.”
Cornelsen said he sees the change in attitude as his Tigers have gained confidence.
“(They) believe in what we’re doing. I think they know we’re going to have a good plan and the plan is going to work if we execute. So I think our confidence is there. The kids want to perform at an extremely high level. They’re just learning each week … how the margin of error is so small against good teams and you can’t have mistakes.
Republic improves to 3-2. That equals their win total from last season. The Tigers haven’t won four games in a season since they went 6-5 in 2015. They’ll host Joplin next week.