Ozark wanted to send a message that last year’s blowout by Republic wouldn’t carry over to this year.
They did, but it didn’t matter.
Republic answered an early Ozark touchdown with a score of its own, then piled on the points in a 46-14 win at Ozark. The Tiger defense recovered four Ozark fumbles, and all of them resulted in touchdowns. The Republic offense rolled up 311 rushing yards on its way to a second consecutive blowout win over Ozark.
The biggest play of the game came in the second half, with Republic leading 21-7. Ozark had the ball on the Republic 10 yard line, first and goal, when the ball ended up on the ground. Adam Batz picked it up and ran 81 yards for a touchdown. Instead of a potential 21-14 game, Republic led 28-7 and the game was all but over.
“My responsibility on that is the quarterback. I see no one out there, so I scoop it up and I’m running downfield and I see this grass out there,” says Batz. “I feel someone grab the back of my jersey, and I hear a big thud, and I scored after that.”
The “thud” was a block delivered by Tyler Puckett on Ozark defender Kameron Cook, who also plays quarterback. Cook had been on the receiving end of another Puckett shot earlier, which had caused a fumble and briefly knocked Cook out of the game.
The game started promisingly for Ozark, when they recovered a pooch kick on the opening kickoff, then drove the ball 31 yards on five plays for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. After forcing Republic to punt, Ozark was threatening to score again when the Republic defense made a huge stop on 4th and 1 from the 16 yard line.
“We were hoping to get on them early and put that doubt back in their mind, and that didn’t transpire,” says coach Wes Beachler. “But I thought our kids responded, and that’s what you have to do. I’m so proud of our kids, and I’m proud of the way our defense settled down.”
“As a team, we got together and decided that we decide the game–not what they do,” says linebacker Jack Hayes. “We could come back and punch it down and bring it to them, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Republic took possession and went 84 yards on eight plays to the the game at 7-7. The big play was a 50-yard touchdown run by Riley Watkins.
The very next drive, Hayes recovered a fumble at the Ozark 35, and Republic scored 10 plays later on a 4th and goal from the one yard line, when Jerney Jones got to the edge and jogged into the end zone. That made it 14-7.
Another fumble on the next drive — and another recovery by Hayes — and the Tigers were in position for another quick score. They went 33 yards, capped by a four-yard touchdown by David Feil, to stretch the lead to 21-7.
“It’s ‘responsibility’ defense. Sometimes you’re just lucky to be there when the ball shows up and you’ve got to be ready to jump on it,” says Hayes.
With the game tied 7-7, The Republic offense took over on the Ozark 35 yard line. On their way to the end zone, the Tigers converted two fourth downs, and with 4:54 left in the half, Jerney Jones scored from one yard out to give Republic the lead 14-7. It was a lead they’d never relinquish, and it was the capper to the Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game.
In the second half, Batz’s fumble return for a touchdown made it 28-7 with 7:08 left in the third quarter. Less than two minutes later, the Republic defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield. On the very next play from scrimmage, Watkins tossed a 40-yard touchdown pass to Jerney Jones, making it 34-7.
The next time Republic touched the ball, they ground out a 17-play scoring drive, marching 83 years and eating up 9:30 off the clock. A two-yard touchdown run by Blake Messier ended the drive and made it 40-7.
The final Republic touchdown came on the next Ozark drive. Another Ozark fumble was picked up by Chris Hill, who covered 38 yards of open ground for a touchdown, making it 46-7. A late Ozark score accounted for the final margin.
“We’re starting to learn how to win, and when you learn how to win, you make your own breaks to some degree. We’re getting better at overcoming adversity.”
Riley Watkins led the Tigers with 142 rushing yards. He also had 40 yards passing, despite completing only one of six passes.
Jerney Jones ran the ball 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a touchdown pass.
David Feil carried it 12 times for 54 yards. Adam Batz had eight carries for 33 yards. Skyler Owen rushed for 21 yards on five carries. Blake Messier rushed for a touchdown as well.
Republic improves to 2-1. The Tigers travel to Webb City for a Central Ozark Conference game next Friday. We’ll have a live broadcast of the game on Republic Tiger Sports starting with the Hines Street Pharmacy Pre-game Show at 6:45 pm.