Republic bounced back from a season-opening loss with a convincing 35-9 win over Waynesville in its home opener Friday night. The Tigers improved to 1-1 on the season, while Waynesville dropped to 0-2.
Republic’s offense exploded in the first half, scoring all 35 of its points before halftime. The Tigers’ defense held Waynesville scoreless until late in the fourth quarter.
After punts by both teams on their opening drives, Republic struck quickly when Preston McCracken connected with Cannon Ellison on a 66-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers extended their lead to 14-0 on their next possession, capping a five-play, 62-yard drive with Izaiah Hull’s 6-yard touchdown run.
Republic’s offense continued to roll in the second quarter. Mason Fleetwood punched in a 5-yard touchdown run to finish a nine-play, 85-yard drive, pushing the lead to 21-0 with 4:26 left in the half.
The Tigers’ defense then got in on the action. Kaleb Norman grabbed a Waynesville fumble out of the air and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown, extending Republic’s lead to 28-0 with just 1:40 remaining in the half.
Republic wasn’t done yet. After recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, McCracken hit Keiran Govan for a 52-yard pass. Fleetwood then scored his second touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run, giving the Tigers a 35-0 lead with 1:08 left before halftime.
The second half was quieter, with Republic’s only setback coming on a safety when they snapped the ball out of their own end zone. Waynesville managed to score its lone touchdown with 3:43 left in the game.
McCracken completed 4 of 6 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. He also contributed 65 yards on the ground. Fleetwood finished with two rushing touchdowns and 33 yards on five carries.
The Tigers’ offense was balanced and efficient, totaling 368 yards with 169 through the air and 199 on the ground.
After the game, Coach Ryan Cornelsen praised his team’s effort but also noted areas for improvement.
“The kids played hard. Offensively we were opportunistic. We had some big plays. But honestly, moving the ball, establishing drives, we were probably better last week offensively. We hit the big plays, but I wanted to see us establish more drives and mix in all of our stuff, so we’ve got to get better at that.”
Cornelsen was especially pleased with the defense’s progress. “Our defense, from struggling a week ago, came in and did a really good job of being aggressive, coming downhill,” he said. “I thought our defensive coaches had a really good plan this week. Their reads were right. I know (Waynesville) had some yards, but I just felt like overall, defensively we played a lot better.”
Republic will look to build on the momentum when they travel to Ozark next week.
