After allowing a pair of first-half touchdowns to a Republic team that looked to be flirting with a big offensive night, the Branson Pirates buckled down over the final two quarters to shut out the Tigers on Friday and claim a 21-14 win on the road.
The gutsy win marks the second straight victory for Branson after dropping its first five contests amid a daunting schedule.
“We've been so close and finally we got over the hump last week,” Branson head coach Dan Henderson said. “This is a huge win for us. I'm excited for my kids, my coaches and our fans. It's just a great win for us.”
Things didn't appear optimistic for the Pirates (2-5) early as Republic (2-5) junior QB Riley Watkins, who put up commendable rushing numbers on the night, led his team down the field and marched into the endzone from 19 yards out on the first drive of the game. The score was soon followed by an interception thrown by Branson's Ryan Still on the ensuing possession.
Armed with a never-give-in mentality, the Pirates didn't let the mistake cost them. Branson bounced back early in the second period as Still led a drive in which he completed four key passes and let senior wideout Luke Masters finish the job with a 1-yard TD leap to tie the score.
“Making big throws and big catches like that, that's all them,” a humble Still said. “That's the linemen up front making blocks for me, our running bucks picking up linebacker blitzes and, most off, that's our receivers catching the ball and making plays.”
Both teams traded touchdowns down the stretch before halftime – leading to a 14-14 tie at the break and setting the stage for a big second half for the Pirates' defense.
With 7:14 to play in the third, Branson's Chad Utzman scampered in for a 9-yard TD off a Wildcat formation for his second TD of the night to give his club a 21-14 advantage that would prove to be all the Pirates needed, thanks to a defensive front that forced two punts and a pair of turnovers-on-downs in the second half.
“They won the game for us, for sure,” Still said of his team's defense. “It's nice that we can lean on them a little bit if we need to.”
For the Tigers, a couple of calls that didn't end up in their favor potentially spelled the difference between a loss and a win.
On the opening kickoff, a 91-yard return by Cameron Flood was negated by a holding penalty. Then, with two minutes to play in the game and Republic driving, running back David Feil hurdled a Branson defender at the 10-yard line following a big run – inducing a flag for a personal foul instead of setting the Tigers up with a first down near the endzone.
“We had a lot of tough breaks,” said Republic head coach Wes Beachler. “A lot of things just didn't go our way and that's football sometimes.”
Beachler refused to solely point to Republic's tough breaks for the defeat and looked in addition to his team's lack of execution in the clutch.
“I think we failed to execute at a high level when we needed to,” Beachler said. “We'll just come back to work and better our standing in the district next week. We've got to keep working and hope things get better.”
In the win, Still threw for 226 yards with a touchdown and two INTs, while Watkins accounted for the vast majority of his team's ground success in the loss with 183 yards on 23 carries and two TDs.
Branson comes home to face Willard next week as Republic hosts Carthage.
Branson 21, Republic 14
Scoring Summary
Branson 0-14-7-0 – 21
Republic 7-7-0-0 – 14
First quarter
Republic – Watkins 19 run (kick good)
Second quarter
Branson – Masters 1 run (kick good)
Branson – Utzman 23 catch from Still (kick good)
Republic – Watkins 1 run (kick good)
Third quarter
Branson – Utzman 9 run (kick good)
