Wyatt Woods ran for four touchdowns and threw for a fifth, and Republic’s defense continued to shine in a 35-25 win at Branson Friday. Woods racked up more than 200 all-purpose yards as the Tigers overcame an early deficit and gradually pulled away from the Pirates for their sixth win of the season.
Coach Ryan Cornelsen said he wasn’t surprised that Branson was able to hang with the Tigers for much of the night.
“I could tell on film how hard they were playing, so I knew it was a tough matchup,” he said. “The kids, I thought, found ways to win, and you’re always excited about a win — especially (because) that’s an under-estimated team. I feel like they’re physical enough that they’re pretty good.”
Republic managed to put 35 points on the board despite its inability to consistently gain 5-7 yards on inside runs. That’s the kind of play that has fueled the Tigers’ success over the past year. But Branson managed to take that inside game away, just a week after Republic had dominated Joplin inside.
“We’ve just got to be better at the rest of our offense. That’s the key. When they take something away, whatever’s there we take advantage of, and I don’t think we did that very well,” Cornelsen said. “We broke Wyatt loose a couple times, but we’ve got to be more balanced than that.”
After an early 97-yard drive by Branson gave the Pirates a 7-0 lead, Republic’s defense adjusted and shut down the Pirates’ triple option. Outside of that drive, Branson ran 18 plays in the first half and only gained positive yards on eight of them.
Republic’s first score came in response to the Branson touchdown. Garrett Lester set up the score with a 57-yard kickoff return, and two plays later, Woods scampered 25 yards to the end zone. Mason Cole’s extra point attempt was no good, and Republic trailed 7-6.
The Republic defense got another stop, but Republic’s ensuing drive ended with an interception — Woods’ second of the night — leaving Branson in front. On the next Branson drive, Kendell Curbow’s authoritative sack on Luke McCormick forced a punt, but Republic again was unable to move the ball into the end zone.
Curbow came up big again on the next Branson drive, recovering a fumble on an errant pitch and returning it 26 yards to the 18-yard line. Three plays later, Woods ran the ball in from five yards out to give Republic a 12-6 lead. A two-point conversion pass from Woods to Daniel Phillips put Republic ahead 14-7.
Branson managed to drive into position in the final minute and kick a 51-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 at halftime.
The second half opened with a clock-crunching drive by the Tigers. They ran 16 plays and went 80 yards, burning more than eight-and-a-half minutes. On fourth down, Woods was in the grasp of a defender and falling backwards when he launched the ball into the back of the end zone. James Rexroat snagged it out of the air and stayed in bounds for the touchdown, and an extra point made it 21-10.
The Tigers scored on their next drive, too, moving 72 yards on 11 plays and holding the ball for more than six minutes. Another five-yard touchdown run by Woods made it 28-10 with 7:34 left in the game.
Branson managed to get back on the board with a seven-play, 70-yard drive to make the score 28-17, but Woods answered with a 76-yard run for a TD, giving the Tigers a 35-17 lead with 1:28 remaining.
Branson managed one last score with 42 seconds left to cut the lead to 35-25, but Republic ran out the clock after that.
Republic out-gained Branson 364 yards to 296. The Tigers had 53 yards passing and 311 rushing. Woods rushed for 190 and four touchdowns. He was 3-for-7 passing the ball with a touchdown to Rexroat and two interceptions.
Caide White had 44 yards on 11 carries. Kanon Krol had 40 yards on 13 carries. Daniel Phillips carried it eight times for 37 yards. Rexroat had the one touchdown catch for three yards. Cory Craigmyle had a 42-yard reception, and Phillips caught the ball once for eight yards.
Republic improves to 6-1, while Branson falls to 3-4. The Tigers will host 7-0 Nixa next week with a chance to move into a first-place tie atop the Central Ozark Conference.