In a game of glitz versus guts, the flashy Cardinal Ritter Lions outraced the blue-collar Republic Tigers 38-25 to capture the Class 5 state championship in Columbia Friday. The Lions used a few big plays from their highly recruited playmakers to beat the Tigers, who stayed in the game with the methodical, ball-control offense they’ve perfected under third-year head coach Ryan Cornelsen.
Cornelsen’s game plan was to match Cardinal Ritter score for score, knowing the Lions can put points up in a hurry. The Tigers defense managed to slow down Cardinal Ritter’s potent attack, but Republic failed to score on some key possessions. Once the Tigers got behind, it forced them to go away from their plan.
“We moved the ball, but we had some penalties that set us back. A team that talented and that good, you can’t have penalties and expect to move the ball and put the ball in the end zone,” Cornelsen said.
The Lions took the opening kickoff and went backwards on their first two rushing plays. But a pass interference call against Republic kept the Lions’ drive alive, and a 49-yard pass two plays later put Cardinal Ritter on top. The two-point conversion made it 8-0.
Republic moved the ball on its first drive, but a pass from Woods to Daniel Phillips was picked off after a collision between Phillips and the defensive back. The ball popped into the air and another defender grabbed it. The turnover ended a Republic drive, but Cardinal Ritter failed to capitalize, fumbling the ball back to Republic.
The Tigers scored on their next possession. Their 15-play, 54-yard drive lasted more than nine minutes and ended on a two-yard touchdown run by Woods. Mason Cole’s extra point made it 8-7 Lions.
Cardinal Ritter quickly scored again on its next possession, a 56-yard drive in four plays. Another two-point conversion put the Lions up 16-7.
With just over five minutes remaining in the half, the Tigers drove down for another score, getting in the end zone on a 14-yard pass from Woods to Caide White. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and Republic trailed 16-13.
The Tigers were set to get the ball at the start of the third quarter, and it seemed they would have a chance to take the lead. But Cardinal Ritter got one of the biggest scores of the night just before halftime. With 35 seconds remaining, they got a good kickoff return, then drove 44 yards to score again, pushing their lead to 22-13. Their two-point attempt was no good.
Things got tougher for Republic when the Tigers failed to score on their first drive of the second half. They held the ball for 14 plays and overcame one false start penalty, but couldn’t overcome a second. On fourth and long, the Cardinal Ritter defense sacked Woods for the first time, giving the Lions the ball back. Cardinal Ritter scored five plays later to make the score 30-13.
Despite falling into a hole, the Tigers kept fighting, and Cornelsen said that attitude is what made them fun to coach this year.
“You won’t see one of them point a finger. There’s just none of that. They believe in each other. They believe in what we do. To me, that’s what makes it special, is how close-knit they are,” he said. “It’s not surprising that our community got so excited this year, because this group of kids, it’s easy to be excited for them.”
Republic got back into the game with an eight-play drive of 79 yards, finishing on a three-yard run by Woods. Their two-point conversion attempt failed again, leaving the score at 30-19.
Republic’s defense stopped the Lions twice in a row, but both times, Republic failed to take advantage. And when the Lions scored with 3:02 remaining, then went for two and got it, that made the score 39-18.
Republic drove down the field, scoring on the last play of the game on a 31-yard pass from Woods to Rexroat, accounting for the final score of 38-25.
“They didn’t want to quit,” Cornelsen said of the last score. “If we were going to go out, we were going to go out swinging. That’s why I called time out. There’s no quit in our kids. They’re going to play to the final whistle.”
The Republic faithful made things noisy all night, and Cornelsen and the players noticed the support, which has been a part of the Tigers’ success all season.
“It was really loud. When we were at Republic (the last two weeks), I thought it was really loud. But somethi,g about this stadium, we could hardly hear in our headsets. Our tight ends couldn’t hear,” he said. “What an amazing community to come out and be that loud.
“They told us when we came, it’s going to look like we don’t have nany people because that stadium is so big. But that looked like a lot of people whether that stadium is big or not. It’s just a great experience.”
Republic finished with 363 total yards to Cardinal Ritter’s 321. Woods rushed for 135 yards and threw for 135 yards in his final game as a Tiger. He completed six of 15 passes and threw for two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for two scores. Kanon Krol rushed the ball 19 times for 58 yards. Caide White rushed for 41 yards on six carries. Daniel Phillips carried the ball twice for eight yards. Rexroat caught two passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. Krol had his longest reception of the year, 35 yards. Phillips, Michael Worthy, and White also caught passes, with White scoring a touchdown on his reception.
Republic wraps up its season with a 12-3 record and the school’s first-ever Show-Me Bowl appearance. The Tigers’ second-place finish is the best ever for the program.
“We’ve been through a lot of battles. We’ve had big wins and we’ve had tough losses like today, but we stick together,” Cornelsen said. “That’s the most special thing.”