By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Republic coach Ryan Cornelsen had two words for his team following the game Friday night: “Welcome back.”
The Tigers dominated time of possession and racked up 384 yards rushing en route to a dominating 38-15 Central Ozark Conference victory over Joplin at home, seemingly signaling a return to form for Republic.
“Tonight we took care of the ball, we won time of possession, and we moved the chains. That’s our style,” Cornelsen said.
“A year ago, I felt like we were pretty good at doing that and we could control things, but we haven’t been able to do that all year.
“Tonight was a lot more like what we want and expect. That’s why I told them after the game ‘welcome back.’ That’s more like the level we need to be playing at.”
Republic led Joplin, 16-7, at the half and began to impose their will at the start of the third quarter with three straight scores to put the game out of reach.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff of the third quarter and marched 64 yards in nine plays, all on the ground.
Republic senior Kanon Krol capped the drive when he scored on a 3-yard run off left guard to give the Tigers a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter.
“We were playing our brand of football in the second half, running it down their throats and taking time off the clock,” Krol said.
“That’s us.”
On Republic’s next possession, senior Wyatt Woods got loose, broke a tackle in the secondary, and scored on a 43-yard run to give Republic a 31-7 lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
“We haven’t played our kind of ball all year, and we finally clicked tonight,” Woods said. “We were able to have steady drives and our defense played phenomenal.
“After every game, I haven’t felt like we have played as well as we could have, but tonight we did and we need to build off of this. It’s not our best, but it’s a solid step in the right direction from where we were playing.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Joplin narrowed the lead shortly after, when senior quarterback Hobbs Gooch connected with junior receiver Davin Thomas for a 31-yard touchdown pass. A 2-point conversion, Gooch to Thomas again, cut the lead to 31-15 with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers’ answer was a 14-play drive, all rushes, that chewed up 6:02 of the clock. Krol capped the drive with a 2-yard rush for a commanding 38-15 lead with 8:28 left in the game.
“Up front we did a really good job,” Cornelsen said. “We went to work this week and worked hard in practice and got better. Tonight I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage and when you do that, then you’re going to be able to run the ball.”
Woods finished with a game-high 200 yards rushing on 28 carries and had two touchdowns. Krol added 132 yards with three touchdowns on the ground.
“It’s those five to six linemen up front that are the reason we moved the ball,” Woods said. “Carter Nation in his third year doing his thing at guard, he’s an animal.
“Auston Key, our center, has been playing great this year. It felt like tonight that he and Blaze Mooneyham finally clicked. They were getting great push off the ball and double-teaming guys.
“Corey Craigmyle was taking a lot of blocks one-on-one and Mason Mitchell and Myles Lozano both did great jobs up front too. That’s why we were able to move the ball tonight.”
Republic improved to 5-1 overall while Joplin fell to 3-3.
