Neosho brought an offense averaging 45 points and 460 yards a game to Republic Friday night. It ended Friday night with 13 points and 148 yards, and Republic ended the night as the district champion.
Neosho scored on its first possession, and Republic’s defense didn’t give up another point until the fourth quarter. By then Republic led 49-7 on its way to a 56-13 win in the Class 5 District 6 title game.
It’s Republic’s third district championship in four years. Republic was playing in the district title game for the fifth year in a row, and it beat Neosho for the second time this season.
Neosho had been running for 265 yards a game. It finished with 36 yards on 23 carries Friday, and quarterback Blayne Patterson completed nine of 16 passes for 112 yards.
Coach Ryan Cornelsen said the key was not letting Neosho play off of momentum after it scored first. The Wildcats appeared to recover an onside kick but were called for a penalty when they hit a Republic receiver early. That allowed the Tigers to answer with their own score.
“If you watch the film, they play a lot of momentum,” Cornelsen said. “They scored first and then they went for the onside, had the penalty, and then we were able to get our offense going, put the ball in the end zone, and then get some stops, and then it became a football game. It wasn’t just all momentum and all those things. I really felt like that was going to be the key, is not let them play the momentum swings and just keep playing consistently, and I feel like both sides of the ball did that tonight.”
Game page →Neosho took the opening kickoff and went 55 yards in 10 plays, converting a fourth-and-two along the way and scoring on fourth-and-goal when Patterson threw two yards to Kaide Sikes. Neosho led 7-0 with 8:27 left in the first quarter.
On Republic’s first drive, Baelor Cutbirth ran 48 yards on Republic’s second play from scrimmage, and Nolan Lashley scored from a yard out four plays later to tie it at 7-7. Neosho went three-and-out and punted, and Republic drove 79 yards in seven plays. Cutbirth finished it with a 47-yard touchdown run, and Republic led 14-7 with 1:07 left in the quarter.
Republic recovered an onside kick at the Neosho 48, and three plays later Cutbirth scored again, this time from 40 yards out on third-and-two. That made it 21-7 seven seconds into the second quarter.
Cutbirth finished with 202 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. When the teams played in September, Lashley ran for 368 yards and six touchdowns, and Cornelsen said Neosho came out trying to take Lashley away.
“Offensive line did a great job,” Cornelsen said. “It’s a good group and they’re getting better, and they played physical and got off the ball low.”
Cornelsen said Neosho was piling up bodies to stop the dive, and that left more room for Cutbirth.
“Baelor’s stuff was probably more open than what it normally is,” Cornelsen said. “That’s how the offense works.”
Neosho drove to the Republic 26 on its next possession, but Republic dropped Patterson for an 11-yard loss on fourth-and-12. Republic went 61 yards in six plays, and Lashley scored on an eight-yard run to make it 28-7 with 8:06 left in the half.
Neosho punted again, and Republic took 5:06 off the clock with a 13-play, 80-yard drive. Cooper Cornelsen ended it with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Brennan Overstreet with 18 seconds left in the half. It was Republic’s only completion of the night, and it made the score 35-7 at halftime.
Lashley scored on a 25-yard run on third-and-one to open the third quarter. Neosho turned the ball over on downs at its own 39, and Lincoln Caldwell scored on a 13-yard run five plays later for a 49-7 lead.
Patterson threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Mason Spiva early in the fourth quarter, and the two-point try failed. Hayes Porter answered with a 15-yard touchdown run with 5:17 left.
Republic scored a touchdown on all eight of its possessions before running out the clock at the end, and it didn’t punt.
Cornelsen said Republic was banged up coming into the game and had as many as seven sophomores on the field at one time.
“They did a great job,” Cornelsen said. “You’ve just got to be ready to step up.”
Cornelsen said sophomore Kentaro Villasica did a great job of stepping up and making plays, and he also pointed to another sophomore, Cooper Ladd.
“Ladd had a big night. He’s been playing, but he played well,” Cornelsen said. “Our defense, there were times we had an extra guy in coverage and they were still able to stop the run, and that’s not easy to do,” Cornelsen said. “So [I’m] just really proud of that group. That’s a good offense and they were able to shut it down most of the time.”
Lashley ran 22 times for 142 yards and three touchdowns, and Porter had 51 yards on five carries. Republic ran 53 times for 441 yards and finished with 473 total yards and 22 first downs to Neosho’s 11.
Republic (10-1) plays Helias Catholic in the state quarterfinals Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m. Cornelsen said even though his teams have been to three quarterfinals in four seasons, he’s not getting tired of it.
“It’s exciting,” Cornelsen said. “It’s a blessing, honestly. The kids put in a lot of time, a lot of work, and the good Lord blessed us to be able to keep playing, and so we’re really excited to do that.”
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