By Don Abernathy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Once Republic’s three-headed backfield monster of Caide White, Wyatt Woods, and Kanon Krol got rolling downhill Friday night, they proved impossible to stop.
The senior trio combined for 248 yards rushing and five touchdowns as Republic imposed its will on Willard in the ground game, running away with a 35-14 Class 5 District 6 semifinal win at Republic High School.
“It basically comes down to the game plan: wear defenses down with our running game,” White said.
“Our offensive line, they fire off low and they pound, and we just run behind them.”
It didn’t take long to see the game plan take effect. Republic scored on its first possession when Woods pulled the fake handoff from Krol and followed him into the endzone for an early 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
“Our plan is to keep our defense off the field, grind the clock away, and limit their opportunities with the ball,” Woods said.
Midway through the second quarter, White scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 14-yard end around to give Republic a 14-0 lead.
“First couple of drives we were testing to find out what was working and once we found out, we smelled blood in the water, and we continued to attack,” White said.
Willard answered with a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Russell Roweton to senior receiver Timothy Ruble for a 40-yard score that cut the lead in half (14-7) with 3:35 left in the first half.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Republic took the ensuing kickoff and slowly, methodically, marched 65 yards in 11 plays for Woods’ second rushing score for a 21-7 lead with just 12 seconds left before halftime.
After the break, Republic took the kickoff and went 75 yards in 8 plays for a 4-yard touchdown from White and a commanding 28-7 lead at the 8:15 mark of the third quarter.
Roweton connected with senior receiver Chaz Amodeo for a 25-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to cut the lead to 28-14, but Wilard couldn’t get any closer.
White added his third rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 35-14 and seal the win.
Willard finished the season with a 5-6 record overall, while Republic improved to 9-2 and will travel to Lebanon for the district final next Friday.
Republic lost to Carthage (28-14) in the district finals last season.
“We are really excited to be back where we were last year.” Republic head coach Ryan Cornelsen said.
“Our kids have worked hard and I feel like we have gotten better throughout the year. We’ve got a lot of kids who are very deserving of playing in a district championship game this year.”
Lebanon is the top seed in the district and is undefeated (10-0) on the year.
“They’ve been in that championship game and won it several times, so it’s going to be a tall task to go into their house and win, but we are excited for the opportunity,” Cornelsen said.
“We know they run the flex like we do, and they’ve been good at doing it for a long time.”
White echoed his coaches’ thoughts about returning to the title game.
“We are stoked to get back to where we were last year and we want to take care of business this time,” White said.
Woods led Republic with a game-high 94 yards on 14 carries along with two rushing touchdowns, while Krol added 85 yards on 19 rushes.
White finished with a game-high three touchdowns and had 10 carries for 69 yards as Republic racked up 288 yards on the ground in the victory.
Roweton finished 14-for-24 passing with 150 yards and two touchdown tosses for Willard. Amodeo led all receivers with four catches for 77 yards.
