Ryan Cornelsen knows his team will be facing a high-powered offense when Neosho comes to town this week. The Wildcats are 4-0 and scoring 45.8 points a game heading into Friday’s homecoming game at Republic.
“They’ve blown everybody out, and rightfully so,” Republic’s head coach said on this week’s REPMO Football Show. “This year they’re just winning big. They’re making it look easy.”
Republic (3-1) hosts Neosho (4-0) Friday at 7 p.m. Both teams are in Class 5 District 6.
The two teams have two opponents in common so far. Republic shut out Lebanon 35-0 in the opener, and Neosho beat the Yellowjackets 50-8. Last Friday, Republic beat Ozark 49-0, and Neosho beat Ozark 49-23.
Cornelsen said the Wildcats have a lot of players back from last season, including quarterback Blayne Patterson and a receiver, Lincoln Howard, who has moved to running back.
“Those two are really good back there. And they spread you out,” he said. “They’ve got a system to what they do. It’s very similar each year. It’s just a matter of, can you make the plays when you have to?”
Game page →He compared Neosho’s offense to Nixa’s, the only team to beat Republic this season.
“They’re very balanced. They’re going to count numbers, and they’re going to run or they’re going to throw. They can do either one successfully,” Cornelsen said. “So we’ve got to try to take something away and make them more one-dimensional, and not give up the big play.”
On defense, the Wildcats tend to play aggressively, and many of their players play both ways.
“They bring guys and create big losses,” Cornelsen said. “They have a chance to be a big-play team on both sides of the ball. Their receivers then play the secondary, and they’re extremely good athletes and good players.”
Republic has won the last six meetings in the series, including a 42-14 win at Republic last year. Neosho’s last win over the Tigers came in 2019, 34-28, and the Wildcats beat Republic in the Class 5 playoffs in both 2016 and 2017.
The Tigers are coming off the 49-0 win over Ozark, in which they forced four first-half turnovers and ran for 426 yards. Keiran Govan intercepted a pass on Ozark’s second play and later recovered a fumble. Nolan Lashley ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns and has 12 touchdowns through four games.
Republic’s defense has not allowed an offensive touchdown in three of its four games.
Cornelsen said the Nixa loss showed what happens when Republic loses the battle up front.
“For us to be successful, we have to win the physical battle each week. And if we don’t, like the Nixa game, you see what happens,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough night and a tall task. But this is the next step. This is another step we need to take.”
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