By Scott Vanscoy (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
It was Homecoming on Friday night at Republic as the Tigers hosted Ozark Conference rival the Ozark Tigers in a battle of teams seeking their second wins. The battle between the two Tigers was lopsided, as Republic won 27-6. Republic was led by junior Riley Sigman and his three touchdowns. Junior Blake Hulland also provided two interceptions for Republic, as they forced Ozark into four turnovers.
Republic got on the board first when Jaden Duvall received a 5-yard pass from quarterback Lucas Hayes, putting them up 7-0. Ozark tried to answer back but a second quarter fumble stopped any momentum they had. Twice in the second quarter Republic had the ball within 10-yards of the goal on fourth down. They went for it twice, not making it once and the second time scoring with a 6-yard pass to Sigman. Republic went into halftime leading 14-0.
The third quarter started out slowly as both teams kept the ball on the ground. Ozark scored first in the second half on a 6-yard touchdown run by Max Schilling. The point after was no good but Ozark had cut into Republic’s lead, 14-6. Republic was called for a ‘roughing the passer’ penalty, giving Ozark the ball inside the 40-yard line. Ozark’s momentum was quickly snuffed by Hulland’s second pick of the game. Republic went into the fourth quarter with the momentum in their favor.
Early in the fourth quarter, Sigman slipped through several tackles on a screen play that was run to perfection. He went 52-yards for the touchdown. Republic’s defensive and offensive lines continued to control the tempo of the game as they opened up holes on offense and plugged them on defense.
“It was rough coming off of an 0-4 start to the season but beating Willard last week we really got some momentum,” said Sigman. “In practice we’ve been working on screen plays a bunch. We were coming out of the Willard game, we had a lot of run game but this week we practiced on getting some short passes.”
Republic’s defense in the second half picked up their intensity. When asked about his interceptions, Hulland said “I just read the quarterback’s eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever had two in a game.”
Republic’s practice and preparation for tonight’s game came to fruition as they forced four turnovers.
“We started a new practice plan, we started doing two platoons, so we have our defensive starters playing defense the whole practice and we have our offensive guys playing offense the whole practice, and backups going back and forth,” said Hulland. “It’s really helping out the defense because everybody is getting what they need to know, their calls and making sure everything is down and staying locked in. Everyone just knows their job a lot more now.”
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After holding Ozark on a fourth and long, Republic took the ball on a time consuming drive, capped off by a 6-yard touchdown run by Sigman. Republic now led 27-6 and Ozark’s time was running out. With 1:36 left to go, Jacob Coday intercepted an Ozark pass to seal the deal.
“Hats off to Republic, they did a really good job, they made some plays at some crucial times,” said Ozark coach Chad Depee. “I felt like we had our opportunities, maybe we just didn’t quite get them pulled off, didn’t get them executed. I thought our kids played hard tonight and they played hard the entire game. Republic did a great job of keeping us contained and they executed offensively, took care of the football. We’ve been getting better and I’m proud of our kids, they’ve continually improved. I know this is a speed bump, here, but like we talked about in our huddle; we can’t allow this speed bump to halt progress. We have to continue to go to work each day and continue our processes and stay within what we do.”
“It was a good win tonight, we needed it,” said Republic coach Dustin Baldwin. “Our quarterback is playing at a higher level the last couple weeks. He’s just getting comfortable, his first year at quarterback and he started off a little slow but he’s coming along. I’m really proud of him, he works hard at it. Our two backs, Riley Sigman and Louis Wallace, those guys are sharing the ball. Between the three of them they take a little pressure off and so we are scoring a little more.”
Coach Baldwin was proud of his defense’s effort tonight. “Defensively, when you force four turnovers you’ve got a chance to win every game. Blake (Hulland) has great ball skills on the defensive back field, he’s got four interceptions now on the year, had a bunch this summer. We felt like he could do some things like that. We struggled a little bit at times tonight, let them move the ball down the field, but we always stood our ground when we needed to.”
Republic’s offensive line opened the lanes for their running backs to slip through all night long.
“I thought our guys did a good job of picking up Ozark’s defensive shifts and making the blocks,” said Baldwin. “Our backs don’t need a lot of room, they’re pretty good. Riley, he’s a tough little kid, not very big and tough to bring down. It’s a thunder and lightning kind of thing – Louis is a little thicker and runs through a few more tackles and does a good job, also. They help one another.”
Things don’t get easier for Republic as they will travel to Webb City, then host Carthage, and then travel to Neosho. Having lost three of their first four games by four points or less, Baldwin is optimistic about his team’s future.
“We’ve had some chances but we didn’t get them done,” said Baldwin. “I’m just glad we’re starting to play better and kids are still working hard every week. We went into last week 0-4 and could have easily had bad attitudes or not worked hard, but I’m really proud of our kids for sticking together and working hard the last couple weeks.”
