Republic recovered two first-half fumbles — one by linebacker Gavyn Beckner and one by kick coverage team member Josh Silver — to spur a 33-21 win over Branson at home Friday. Both recoveries happened in the red zone and set up easy touchdown drives for the Tigers, but Republic made enough mistakes to allow Branson to stick around. The Tigers finally put away the Pirates with a time-consuming final touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.
“I felt like the final drive is the first drive our offense decided to play mad and get after it, and we were able to march it down the field,” said coach Ryan Cornelsen. “We just can’t wait until Coach Cornelsen gets fired up to get going. But a win’s a win, so we’ll try to learn from it and get better.
Homecoming night for the Tigers started about as well as it could have, with Gavyn Beckner recovering a fumble and returning it to the two-yard line of Branson during the Pirates’ first possession. Two plays later, Kanon Krol scored on a one-yard run, and Mason Cole’s extra point made it 7-0.
Republic’s defense forced a punt on the next drive and Republic scored again. The Tigers drove 77 yards on eight plays, culminating in a 29-yard touchdown pass from Wyatt Woods to James Rexroat. The drive was kept alive by an offsides penalty on Branson on fourth down as Republic was lined up to punt.
On the next kickoff, Cameron Allen forced a fumble and Josh Silver recovered on the 11-yard line. The Tigers scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Woods to Gunner Ellison. The point-after was blocked and Republic led 20-0.
Branson finally got on the board with 3:30 left in the second quarter on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Cole Matthews to Will Thornton, making the score 20-7. That was the score at halftime.
The Tigers got the ball first in the second half and scored again. An 80-yard drive ended with Krol’s second one-yard touchdown drive of the night, putting Republic ahead 26-7 after another missed extra point.
But Branson hung around with its ball-control offense and scored twice in a row to get back in the game. The first touchdown was an 18-yard run by fullback Cade Grimm with 3:31 left in the third quarter. After a Republic turnover on downs, Branson scored again on a one-yard TD run by Thornton on fourth and goal. With 9:08 left in the fourth quarter, the score was 26-21.
“Our kids just learned what we do to people. When you run that offense… you drain the clock and you keep the chains moving. And that’s what they were doing,” said coach Ryan Cornelsen. “It’s exactly how we try to stay in games that maybe we’re not the better team. They did a good job of executing that plan. We scored quick but it didn’t matter. They kept the ball out of our hands.”
From that point, Republic played its own ball-control game as well as it had all night. The Tigers ate up seven minutes and eight seconds, driving 80 yards on 12 plays. They scored on a three-yard touchdown run by Woods. That made the score 33-21 and effectively put the game away with 2:00 remaining.
Republic out-gained Branson 291 yards to 227. The Tigers rushed for 237 yards and passed for 54. Wyatt Woods was 3-for-6 passing for 54 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 75 yards and one touchdown on nine carries.
Sandridge carried the ball 11 times for 124 yards. Krol rushed for only 17 yards, but scored two touchdowns. Rexroat and Ellison each had a TD reception.
Republic improves to 4-3. Branson drops to 1-6. The Tigers will travel to Nixa next week.
