Call it the Mother of All Momentum Swings.
Neosho nearly ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. The Wildcats easily moved the ball inside the Republic five yard line, and seemed poised to take a quick lead. But Neosho fumbled the ball away, Republic’s Grayson Hart recovered, and almost nothing went wrong for Republic the rest of the night. The Tigers cruised to a 40-0 victory on the road, out-gaining Neosho 344 yards to 151. Republic ran 63 offensive plays to just 24 for Neosho.
“I felt like we played well, both sides of the ball,” said coach Ryan Cornelsen. “Obviously, they had some really talented receivers, and I thought our defensive backs did a great job of keeping them contained all night. They made a few catches, but we made tackles when they did, and that’s a big key.”
Neosho committed three personal fouls and had more than 100 yards in penalties, while Republic played consistent, mostly error-free football all night.
“I think probably the main thing was just the disciplined assignment football. If you look, they had some crucial turnovers, they had some crucial penalties. And I told the kids all week that a game like this, discipline goes a long ways. If we’ll have discipline, you’ll have a chance to beat them. And I felt like we really did that,” Cornelsen said. “We eliminated a lot of our penalties. We still had some balls on the ground, but we got them back. But I just felt like we were the more disciplined team, and a lot of times that wins games.”
Republic gained 306 yards on the ground, led by fullback Izaiah Hull. The junior rushed for 118 yards on 13 carries, including a career-best 67-yard run in the first half.
“It’s fun at first, seeing that wide-open field, but 40 yards in, I was breathing heavy and I was slowing down. I knew someone was going to get me,” Hull said.
After Republic escaped disaster by forcing the early fumble, they put together the first of several methodical drives. They went 92 yards on 14 plays, scoring on a five-yard run by Owen Klier. Elijah Phiri’s extra point made it 7-0.
After Republic’s defense forced Neosho to punt, the Tigers put the ball in the end zone again. An 11-play, 57-yard drive was aided by two Neosho offside penalties that resulted in Republic first downs. When Trenten Coleman ran it in from eight yards out and Phiri kicked another extra point, the score was 14-0.
The Tigers made it 21-0 on their next drive in the second quarter. Hull’s long run set up a two-yard touchdown run by Coleman with 5:10 left in the first half.
Republic continued to pour it on after halftime. On their first possession, Coleman connected with CJ Uhl on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter. The PAT hit the upright, and the score was 27-0.
Gavin Lawhon picked off a pass on Neosho’s next drive, snuffing out a Neosho threat. Republic had to punt, but Hart recovered his second fumble of the night on the first play of Neosho’s subsequent drive. The Tigers turned it into a score with a seven-play, 35-yard drive that ended with a four-yard TD run by Hull. That made it 34-0.
Republic finished the scoring on its next drive when James Richmond took a pitch from Coleman and scored from one yard out on fourth and goal. The Tigers’ two-point conversion attempt was no good, and the score ended 40-0.
The Tigers had six players with 20+ yards rushing, led by Hull. Klier ran 11 times for 55 yards and a touchdown. Coleman rushed it 13 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Mason Fleetwood ran the ball nine times for 39 yards. Matthew Pelfrey had six carries for 20 yards, and Greg Hicks had five carries for 23 yards. Richmond gained five yards on four carries, but had a TD.
Neosho managed just 48 yards rushing. The Wildcats passed for 103 yards.
The loss drops Neosho to 5-3. Republic improves to 6-2 and will finish the regular season with a game at Willard next Friday.
Editor’s Note: More to come. Check back for more.