To beat a team as good as Carthage (undefeated and ranked #2 in Class 5), you have to be almost perfect (and maybe catch a break). Republic wasn’t (and didn’t), but was good enough to hang with Carthage for three quarters in a 35-14 loss on the road Friday. A handful of plays broke Carthage’s way to account for the 21-point margin in a game that was much closer most of the night.
“I’ve felt like all year, we have a good football team. We’re not a football team that can make mistakes and overcome. We’re not a big-play team. (We) pound it, but there were times that I felt like this was an equal game,” said coach Ryan Cornelsen. “I didn’t feel like we were out-matched. We’ve got to figure out ways to finish drives. We’ve got to figure out ways to get stops and get our defense off the field. Part of that’s just we’re not very big defensively, and that makes it tough on us. But our effort is good.”
When the game started, it looked like it might turn into the kind of lopsided outcome Republic teams have suffered so often over the past decade. Republic got the ball first, had to punt, then saw Carthage score in just two plays. A 48-yard touchdown run by running back Luke Gall and an extra point by Chris Mejia gave Carthage a 7-0 lead.
But Republic answered with a 9-play, 77-yard drive, scoring on a four-yard touchdown run by Avery Moody. Marco Donjuan’s kick tied the game 7-7 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.
Carthage scored again on its next drive, but had to work a lot harder against the Republic defense. It took 12 plays for Carthage to drive 83 yards, and a two-yard touchdown run by Gall gave Carthage a 14-7 lead.
On Republic’s next drive, one of the key plays of the game helped Carthage assert control. Republic moved the ball down to the Carthage 20-yard line with about three minutes remaining, but an eight-yard sack by the Carthage defense put Republic in a difficult spot. On fourth down, Moody lofted a pass toward the end zone, and when the defender made contact with receiver Gunner Ellison, Republic thought it would keep its drive alive. Instead, the call was offensive pass interference against Ellison. Carthage got the ball and quickly drove for another score, taking a 21-7 lead into halftime.
“We’ve got to overcome those situations,” said Cornelsen. “You don’t expect to get a call on the road, and it doesn’t usually happen, and that’s fine. It was a big blow, but we sell to our kids, ‘Next play, next drive, next series,’ and I feel like our kids do that.”
Carthage went up 28-7 with a touchdown to start the third quarter, threatening to turn the game into a blowout. But again, Republic responded. The Tigers went 58 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a one-yard touchdown run by Avery Moody with 4:47 left in the third. Republic’s defense force a punt on Carthage’s next drive, setting up the offense with an opportunity to get within a possession.
Republic strung together 16 plays to get the ball into the red zone before the drive fell apart with a sack on the 17th play. On the resulting fourth down, Moody’s pass up the sideline to Hayden Jones was incomplete.
Carthage scored on its next drive to put the game away.
“I never see any quit in them,” Cornelsen said of his players. “They play hard and they continue to play hard no matter what the score is. So I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Carthage out-gained Republic 391 yards to 241. Two players did most of the damage for Carthage. Running back Luke Gall racked up 223 yards on 12 carries, scoring two touchdowns. He also threw a touchdown pass to quarterback Caden Kabance just before halftime. Kabance rushed for 110 yards and threw for 47.
Avery Moody rushed for 132 yards on 32 carries for Republic. He scored two touchdowns. He also completed two of six passes for 60 yards.
Connor Sandridge had 62 yards on 14 carries, plus a 35-yard reception. Kanon Krol gained 15 yards, all in the first half. Gunner Ellison had four rushing yards and a 25-yard reception.
Carthage improves to 8-0 and will play Nixa next week with a chance to clinch an outright COC championship. Republic falls to 4-4 and will host Branson next week.
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