This Republic football program is starting to make a habit of doing things it’s never done before. The Tiger defense made a goal-line stand as time expired to secure a 20-14 win over Carthage to open the 2023 season.
The win is the first ever for Republic against Carthage. Just last November, the Tigers ended an even longer futility streak against Webb City in the district semifinal.
Friday, fullback Kanon Krol took the spotlight, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Defensively, Keegan Hunt and Cole Gimlin each recovered a fumble for Republic, and Garrett Lester had a big interception that set up Krol’s second touchdown.
The final play of the game was a pass in the end zone intended for Carthage’s Karson Murray. A catch would have tied the score, but Brady Lewis, playing his first ever varsity football game, provided the blanket coverage to deny the game-tying completion.
Coach Ryan Cornelsen said with the game on the line and several defensive starters on the sidelines, he kept things simple for the defense.
“You try to stay basic and let them just play and not overthink. We had a lot of new guys, so trying to make adjustments was tough, but I thought they did a good job… They made the last play, and that was good,” he said.
The first half was scoreless until Carthage scored with less than a minute left in the second quarter. Republic had missed an opportunity earlier in the half to take the lead. A mis-handled snap led to a fumble after Republic had driven into the red zone in the second quarter. But a 70-yard pass from Brady Carlton to Langston Morgan set up a one-yard run by Landyn Collins, and an extra point made it 7-0 Carthage.
Republic answered immediately in the second half, scoring on its first drive. Krol had 61 of the 63 yards on the five-play drive, and an extra point by Mason Cole made it 7-7. Republic scored again on its next drive, goint 73 yards in five plays. Phillips broke free around the left side and scampered 35 yards for a touchdown to give Republic its first lead, 14-7.
Republic made it 20-7 after Lester’s interception set up the offense in great field position. It took just four plays to go 23 yards, ending with a one-yard run by Krol. The extra point was blocked.
Carthage cut the lead to 20-14 with 6:55 remaining on a TD run by Carlton. And after getting a defensive stop, Carthage had a chance to win the game with time winding down. Carthage drove the ball inside the Republic 10 yard line, but two incomplete passes on the final two plays of the game ran out the clock, setting off a celebration on Republic’s sideline.
“I’m proud of them because they found a way to win,” Cornelsen said of his players. “I didn’t think we played very well. I feel like we could play a lot better than that. And maybe give credit to Carthage. Maybe they did that to us. But I thought we’d play better than that tonight. And we didn’t, but we’re going to enjoy a win, and those are tough to come by in this league.”
Wyatt Woods carried the ball 11 times for 79 yards, and Daniel Phillips rushed the ball four times for 49 yards. Caide White rushed the ball four times for 11 yards. David Hayes carried the ball three times for 12 yards. Woods completed just one of seven passes for ten yards. That completion was to James Rexroat. The two just missed connecting on several long passes in the first half.
Carlton threw for 200 yards and rushed for 76 on 13 carries. Overall, Carthage out-gained Republic 344 yards to 282. Republic rushed for 272 yards and passed for only 10.
Republic improves to 1-0, and travels to Ozark next week.
