Republic found itself in an unenviable position in the early going on Friday night – looking up at a first-half deficit following a sluggish start to the festivities on the gridiron.
But that didn't seem to phase the Tigers in their 2016 opener as they outscored Bolivar 20-0 over the final 25 minutes of play to turn back the Liberators by a 27-18 final.
Led by a 153-yard rushing performance by senior running back David Feil, who has been tabbed to try and fill the shoes of former standout rusher Jerney Jones, Republic overcame an 18-7 hole on the scoreboard to ultimately grab a third-quarter lead and never look back.
“I told my teammates at the beginning of this game that I was going to give every drop of blood that I had to just go as hard as I can,” Feil said after the win. “I really think [the team] kind of followed suit when they saw my leadership and here we are with a 'W' right now.”
The Liberators, under first-year head coach Glen Johnson, managed to find the endzone in three of their first four possessions of the contest due in large part to an impressive passing showcase from senior QB Connor Sechler. Combining that with a defensive unit that perplexed the Tiger offense early, Bolivar took the energy out of a fired-up Republic crowd.
“I think that's a typical week one game,” Republic head coach Wes Beachler said. “We had some good calls and we ran some good plays, but we really didn't execute them like we normally do.”
A 16-yard touchdown strike from Republic's Riley Watkins to running back Bobby Finley trimmed the Tigers' deficit to 18-14 near the end of the first half to grab some momentum back and set the stage for what was to come on the second play from scrimmage in the second half – a monster 69-yard run by Feil down the left sideline to give Republic its first lead of the game.
“Coach said to get out and have a good start [in the second half],” Feil said. “I said 'I can do that.'”
The Tigers' defense took center-stage the rest of the way – forcing Bolivar into a lost fumble and four consecutive turnovers on downs on its final five possessions.
“Our defense played great tonight,” They came out in the second half and executed well. In the first half, our whole team came out to a slow start, but in the second half, our defense came out and played football. We've just got a defense full of football players and they played their hearts out.”
With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Watkins showed his knack for coming through in the clutch by finding an open Skyler Owen for a 27-yard completion on fourth down to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by senior Jack Hayes to turn a tight three-point lead into nine.
“We needed to finish it off and needed something big to close the game out,” Watkins said on his fourth-down completion late in the game. “That's what we did.”
In the loss for Bolivar, Sechler threw for 244 yards, but was unable to find the endzone.
Next week, Republic travels to take on Carl Junction, which knocked off powerhouse Webb City in opening-week action. Bolivar entertains Willard in the Liberators' home opener.
Republic 27, Bolivar 18
Bolivar 12-6-0-0 – 18
Republic 7-7-7-6 – 27
First quarter
Bolivar – Joy 1 run (kick no good)
Republic – Owen 3 run (Holmes kick)
Bolivar – Garrison 29 run (2 pt conv no good)
Second quarter
Bolivar – Loomer 2 run (2 pt conv no good)
Republic – Finley 16 catch from Watkins (Holmes kick)
Third quarter
Republic – Feil 69 run (Holmes kick)
Fourth quarter
