Three Republic offensive drives ended inside the Union 10-yard line, and that was enough to doom the Tigers’ chance for an upset in a 28-6 first-round playoff loss at Union.

After falling behind 28-6 in the first half, Republic seemed ready to score again as the clock ran down. But Union picked off a Republic pass in the end zone to end the drive.

A scoreless third quarter ended in similar fashion. The Tigers fumbled the ball inside the Union 10, just when it seemed they were about to score. The Tigers were stopped on downs inside the 10-yard-line on another drive early in the 4th quarter.

Union’s offense moved the ball at will early in the game. They racked up 449 yards of total offense — 237 in the air, and 212 on the ground. The Wildcats jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Republic scored its only touchdown on a 27-yard run by Jake Laswell midway through the 2nd quarter. But Union seized back the momentum with another quick touchdown, extending its lead to 28-6, and that’s where the score remained.

Jake Laswell had 174 rushing yards on 31 carries to lead the Tigers. James Desjardins had 15 carries for 60 yards.

Republic ends its season at 4-7, while Union improves to 11-0. The Wildcats will play Hillcrest in the next round of the playoffs.

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This is the place to get live updates from the football playoff game between Republic and Union! I’ll update you throughout the game.

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The Republic Tigers contained Hillcrest’s offense and star receiver Dorial Green-Beckham for most of the first half, but big plays eventually allowed the Hornets to pull away for a 35-7 win. The victory clinched a district title for Hillcrest.

Green-Beckham ended the game with 11 catches for 304 yards and four touchdowns. His performance allowed him to break the national high school record for career receiving yards.

The Hornets scored first on a 6-yard touchdown pass to Jonah Hill. The score remained 7-0 until Green-Beckham broke a tackle and went 81 yards for another touchdown with 1:06 left in the half. That catch gave him the national receiving record.

Republic got on the board right before halftime. Nick Williams threw a 41-yard Hail Mary pass into the end zone, and Beau Allen came down with the ball just inside the end zone to make the halftime score 14-7. Through the first half, Republic had gained more total yards than Hillcrest.

The Hornets scored again early in the 3rd quarter, then late in the quarter, on two more touchdown passes to Green-Beckham, and they led 28-7 after three. A 4th quarter touchdown to Green-Beckham accounted for the final score.

The loss sends Republic on the road for the first round of the playoffs next Wednesday. The Tigers will travel to Union, who won a thriller over St. Clair 21-20. St. Clair scored a late touchown and went for a 2-point conversion with nine seconds left in the game, but Union intercepted a pass to seal the victory. St. Clair will visit Hillcrest.

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Check in here for live updates from tonight’s battle for a district championship between Republic and Hillcrest.

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The district championship will be on the line Thursday night when Republic meets Hillcrest on Springfield’s north side. The Hornets enter the game with an 8-1 record. Their only loss was to Rogers-Heritage in Week 2, 37-20.

The Tigers and Hornets took turns beating Marshfield and West Plains to set up the district championship showdown. Here’s the Hornets’ schedule and results through Week 9:

Seneca W 48-27
Rogers-Heritage L 37-20
Joplin W 21-9
Camdenton W 31-21
Glendale W 35-8
Waynesville W 42-14
Rolla W 40-19
West Plains W 49-0
Marshfield W 56-6

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Republic spotted underdog West Plains two touchdowns, but came back to win in the final two minutes, 30-27. The win clinches a playoff spot for the Tigers, who will face Hillcrest next week for the district championship.

Jake Laswell carried the ball 32 times for 171 yards and four touchdowns. His biggest score came after the Tigers had surrendered the lead late in the 4th quarter. With Republic trailing 27-23, Laswell punched ball into the end zone from three yards out for the winning score.

The victory was in doubt several times, including the early part of the first quarter. The Tigers fumbled the ball on their first two plays from scrimmage, setting up two easy West Plains touchdowns, and the Zizzers jumped to a 14-0 lead.

Republic finally got the ball moving in the 2nd quarter, and responded with their first touchdown. Laswell scored on a 1-yard run, and the 2-point conversion made it 14-8 West Plains. That was the score at halftime.

Republic scored two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to take the lead, and looked like they would pull away. The first one came after a 31-yard run by Laswell set up his 1-yard TD plunge a play later. That gave the Tigers a 16-8 lead, with a 2-point conversion.

Laswell scored again with about four minutes left in the quarter, and the lead was 23-14. But West Plains wasn’t finished.

The Zizzers scored with 10:11 left in the game to cut the lead to 23-21. The West Plains defense got a stop, then blocked Republic’s punt, picked it up, and ran it back 35 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. They led 27-23 with 7:24 left in the game.

Republic took the ball on the next possession, and looked like they would re-take the lead. But they fumbled inside the 10-yard line, and West Plains recovered.

The Zizzers needed only to pick up a couple of first downs to run out the clock, but they fumbled the ball right back three plays later. The Tigers took advantage of the opportunity, giving the ball to Laswell until he scored the game-winner.

Republic improves to 4-5. The Tigers play at Hillcrest next Thursday with the district title on the line. The winner will host a first-round playoff game, and the loser will be on the road for the first round.

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This is the place to get live updates when Republic travels to West Plains for Week 9. The Tigers are trying to wrap up a playoff spot with a victory, coupled with a Hillcrest win over Marshfield tonight. I’ll have stats, scoring updates, video highlights and more, starting with the kickoff at 7pm.

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