For the first time in seven years, Republic challenged Webb City into the fourth quarter. But just like seven years ago, Republic made mistakes and Webb City made plays down the stretch, as the Cardinals pulled away for a 35-14 win.
The outcome of the game was in doubt until the final minutes, especially after Connor Sandridge scored on a 23-yard touchdown run with 11:48 remaining in the game. His TD capped a 10-play drive that got Republic within a score of the Cardinals at 21-14.
On the very next Webb City possession, Gavyn Beckner knocked the ball loose and recovered a fumble, giving the Tigers the ball in Webb City territory with a chance to tie. But the Cardinal defense held, and on fourth down, a Webb City defender knocked away a long pass to James Rexroat to end the Republic threat.
Webb City scored on two consecutive drives after that, each of them five plays, to pull away and escape the upset.
As much as the fourth quarter made the difference, Republic’s inability to finish its offensive drives in the first half contributed to the loss. Twice the Tigers drove into the red zone, but both times, the drive stalled out and Republic missed a field goal attempt.
Despite the mistakes, the defense kept Republic in the game. And after forcing Webb City to punt on its first possession, it was the defense that put the Tigers on the board. Kendall Curbow scooped up a loose ball after an errant pitch and ran it 60 yards for a touchdown to help Republic break on top with 2:54 left in the first.
The Cardinals scored on their third drive, taking advantage of a short field to score on a touchdown run by Breckin Galardo with 19 seconds left in the first quarter, tying the score 7-7.
Republic missed its second field goal on the next drive, and Webb City took the ball the other way for a second touchdown. Their 80-yard drive ended with a three-yard touchdown run by Colton Gordon, and Webb City led 14-7.
Republic was unable to move the ball on its last drive of the half.
“Defensively, that’s about as well as we’ve played since I’ve been here,” said coach Ryan Cornelsen. “The plays they scored, our offense three-and-outed, and they had to go right back in there, and that’s a big offensive line to not get rest against. So I was really proud of the defense and how hard they played.
“All of them played well, we just didn’t execute in the red zone, and that’s a pretty good team to not do it.”
Republic’s pass-heavy plan helped the team move the ball down the field, but made things tricky inside the 20-yard line with a short field. That contributed to the two drives stalling out in the first half and ending without points.
“When that’s what’s working, when you get in the red zone you’ve got to find a play or two that you like,” Cornelsen said. “I felt like we played well enough in the first half to have the lead, and we were going in down (14-7).”
Both defenses got stops to start the second half, but Webb City took a 21-7 lead on its second possession when Galardo ran it in from 49 yards out. Sandridge’s TD run made it a one-score game again, but that was as close as the Tigers would be the rest of the night.
The last time Republic played Webb City so close was in 2015, in a game that was strikingly similar to this year’s contest. In that one, Jerney Jones and company had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but went three-and-out, then saw Webb City pull away for a 36-18 win.
Over the previous eight games, Webb City’s margin of victory over Republic has averaged 31 points, and in most of those games, the contest was essentially over in the first half. Republic’s improved showing was encouraging, but not good enough for Cornelsen or his players.
“They were upset,” he said of his team. “They know we’re not in it to deal with moral victories.
“There’s some good there that we’ll take away from it and we’ll try to improve on that. I feel like we’re drastically better right now than we were at game one, but losing’s never acceptable. I’ve got to have a better plan from the gun if that’s what’s working, and we’ve got to find ways to score in the red zone.”
Webb City out-gained Republic 356 yards to 186. Connor Sandridge led the Tigers offensively with 117 yards on 17 carries He also had Republic’s only offensive touchdown. Wyatt Woods completed six of 16 passes for 33 yards. He rushed the ball five times for 30 yards.
Webb City improves to 2-1. Republic is 1-2. The Tigers are home against Neosho next week.
