Neosho running back Devin Hames gashed Republic’s defense for 292 rushing yards and the Wildcats outscored Republic 22-0 in the second half en route to a 36-15 win at Republic Friday night.
Republic led 15-14 at halftime, but the Neosho defense shut down Jerney Jones and the rest of the Tiger offense after halftime to pull away for the victory. Coach Wes Beachler says it all started with the offensive line.
“I thought we played pretty well up front the first half, and were able to get some seams and move the ball. The second half, we didn’t play very well. We didn’t have the alleys that we usually have,” he says.
Defensively, Beachler says a glaring problem was the Tigers’ inability to bring down Hames because of poor tackling technique.
“We didn’t tackle very well throughout the game. I don’t know how many arm tackles we had, but when you have a back like (Hames) and you stick one arm out there, he’s going to keep going. We’re just not a very good tackling team right now. That’s obvious. Your grandma probably noticed that.”
Neosho scored on its first drive of the game, when Hames ran it in from one yard out to cap a 13-play, 63 yard drive.
Republic failed to score on its first two possessions, but finally punched it into the end zone in the second quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Jerney Jones. The extra-point attempt turned into a two-pointer when a bad snap forced holder Case Birlew to scramble and throw the ball into the end zone, where Blake Messier came down with it, making the score 8-7 Republic.
On the next Neosho drive, the Wildcats broke ahead again 14-8. But Republic followed with another touchdown on a 23-yard pass from Riley Watkins to Jerney Jones. That made it 15-14.
After halftime, though, it was all Neosho. The Wildcats scored on their first three possessions on drives of 14, 10, and nine plays, building their lead to 36-15, then holding on the rest of the way.
Beachler says he’s not sure what to think about Republic’s performance after their win at Willard last week.
“It’s a very perplexing team. The inconsistency is driving me crazy,” he says. “One week we just look like world-beaters–how do you hang 343 yards rushing on Webb and 500 yards of offense on Willard, then come out and can’t move the ball tonight?”
Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game
With Neosho leading 14-8, Republic took over on its own 31 yard line with just five minutes left in the first half. The Tigers took just 1:41 to advance the ball 69 yards to the end zone, retaking the lead. Along the way, they converted a 4th down play to keep the drive alive, then scored four plays later on a 23-yard pass from Watkins to Jones. Their eight-play scoring drive in the 2nd quarter was the Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game.
Be listening to our broadcast for the Yocum Automotive Drive of the Game! Every week, Rich Miles and David Brazeal will choose the key drive that makes the difference in the outcome.
Jerney Jones had a big first half, but couldn’t find much room to run after that. He did end the game with 108 yards rushing, 23 yards receiving, and two touchdowns. He surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season.
Riley Watkins had 10 carries for 32 yards. David Feil had six carries for 31 yards before leaving with an injury. Skyler Owen carried the ball eight times for 20 yards, and the Tigers racked up 191 rushing yards (243 total yards) for the game.
Republic falls to 4-4 heading into their regular-season finale against Nixa next week on the road.