Preston McCracken rushed for 274 yards and four touchdowns Friday night, leading the Tigers to a 35-10 victory over previously undefeated Branson in the Class 5 District 6 championship game. The performance pushed McCracken over 1,000 yards rushing for the season.
McCracken, who had been limited by injury since mid-season, repeatedly found holes in Branson’s defense. His four touchdown runs included three from close range and a 26-yard burst that helped put the game out of reach in the second half.
“They weren’t pursuing really good, so we could get on the outside,” McCracken said. “Whenever we started running those plays outside, they started over-pursuing, so there was a cutback lane and I just found the hole, and we just blocked it really well.”
One of McCracken’s most crucial runs came with Republic backed up to its own 4-yard line. He broke free for a 49-yard gain, setting up his own 26-yard touchdown run that extended Republic’s lead to 28-10.
“They all thought I was in the pile. They didn’t realize I cut back and they were just wide open,” McCracken said. “We had some good big-on-big blocks and we did good.”
McCracken’s performance helped Republic (10-2) advance to the state quarterfinals, where they’ll host Jefferson City Helias on Saturday, and it was our Performance of the Week.
