Republic’s first offensive play of the season-opener at Lebanon was a fumble. One snap later, linebacker Baelor Cutbirth hammered a Lebanon ball carrier, knocked the ball loose, and got it right back for the Tigers. Republic marched down and scored, and it never looked back in a 35-0 shutout of the Yellowjackets Friday night.
Nolan Lashley did most of the scoring. He ran 19 times for 131 yards and four touchdowns, part of a Republic ground game that piled up 349 yards.
After Cutbirth’s forced fumble (recovered by Keith Ellis), Republic needed just five plays to cover the 52 yards to the end zone. Lincoln Caldwell ripped off a 24-yard run and Keiran Govan added 22 more before Lashley punched it in from the two with 8:04 left in the first quarter.
Lebanon punted, and Republic went 57 yards in nine plays the next time it had the ball. Lashley finished that drive too, scoring from four yards out, and Tristan Burks ran in the two-point conversion to make it 14-0.
The Tigers kept converting when it mattered to keep the ball moving. On their next scoring drive, Govan picked up 11 yards on 3rd-and-17 and then 12 more on 4th-and-6 to keep things moving, and Lashley scored from five yards out early in the second quarter. Govan got a touchdown of his own on a nine-yard run with 8:59 left in the half, and Jacob Duran added the two-point run for a 28-0 lead.
Lebanon’s best chance came late in the half, when a 24-yard completion from Beckett York to Elisha Simmonds set up first-and-goal at the Republic 10. The Tiger defense pushed the Yellowjackets backward from there, and Lebanon turned it over on downs at the 22. Uriah Drew had a couple of sacks to help lead the defense.
Game page →That was as close as Lebanon got. The Yellowjackets finished with 95 yards of offense and seven first downs, and their 35 rushing attempts averaged just two yards apiece. Republic’s defense added another takeaway in the third quarter when York fumbled and the Tigers recovered at the Lebanon 33.
Injuries took some of the steam out of the offense after the fast start, with three starters leaving the game with various injuries.
“I think early, you kind of saw what we were capable of, and then we got some injuries fast,” coach Ryan Cornelsen said. “And all of a sudden, we were down three offensive guys.”
The injuries put pressure on Republic’s depth right away.
“All of a sudden, now you have all those packages and a lot of guys,” Cornelsen said. “And we’ve got to make sure everybody’s ready, whenever your number’s called.”
Republic ate up most of the third quarter with two long drives that stalled inside the 10, and Cornelsen said the second half didn’t match the start.
“I felt like there was a couple drives, both offensively and defensively, that we just didn’t play with the same intensity,” he said. “We started going a little bit rogue, and can’t do that. You’ve got to stay with it the whole time.”
Lashley put the finishing touch on the night in the fourth. On 2nd-and-3 from the Lebanon 34, he broke free and went the distance for his fourth touchdown of the game, making it 35-0 with 5:54 to play.
It was Lashley’s first varsity game at running back after playing defense last season.
“He’s a dynamic back. He runs the ball hard,” Cornelsen said. “He’s just got to continue to get better, continue to see the gaps. But yeah, he’s a really dynamic back. And he’s a big, big key to what we’re doing offensively.”
Cornelsen even had a coaching point ready from Lashley’s one stop of the night — the fourth-and-1 at the Lebanon 10 in the third quarter.
“On that fourth-and-short when he jumped, probably needs to stick it in there, lower his shoulder and get the first,” he said. “So those things he’ll learn from.”
Caldwell finished with 66 yards on six carries, and Govan had 76 yards on seven. In all, thirteen Tigers carried the ball, and Republic finished with 17 first downs to Lebanon’s seven.
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