Football Tigers get rolling with first win for Republic

Republic football coach Dustin Baldwin made a lot of changes to try to turn around the Tigers after an 0–4 start. Those changes paid off, helping Republic to a 27–20 win at Willard. Republic running backs Louis Wallace and Riley Sigman were both on the field for most of the game, after alternating playing time during the first four games of the year. Both rushed for more than 100 yards Friday. Wallace led the Tigers with 131 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Sigman ran for 108 yards on just 14 carries. The two-back set made a big difference for the Tigers’ offense, according to Baldwin. “I think it just kind of makes our offense a little more dynamic. We’re able to spread some people out and put some people in some tougher spots, and those guys did a good job with the ball in their hands,” Baldwin said. “Jaden [Duvall], Cam [Flood], everybody kind of contributed. Lucas [Hayes] made a lot of good runs. We had five or six different guys doing a lot of good things.” Quarterback Hayes finished with his best numbers of the season on 8-of–15 passing for 118 yards. He threw two touchdowns and was intercepted once. He also rushed for 25 yards. Duvall rushed for 24 yards on two carries, and caught four passes for 39 yards. One of the biggest plays of the night was a third-down run by Duvall late in the game. Duvall was bottled up near the sideline and looked like he would be tackled short of the first down, but he got free and reached the first down marker allowing Republic to extend its drive and take three more minutes off the clock, clinging to a seven-point lead. The Tigers didn’t score on that drive, but Duvall’s run gave Republic the field-position advantage and put them in position to run out the clock after one more defensive stop. The Tigers scored first to take a 7–0 lead on their first drive of the game. They went 80 yards in nine plays, capped by a 27-yard run by Riley Sigman. Willard scored on its next drive, but missed the extra point, leaving Republic with a 7–6 lead. After Hayes threw an interception on Republic’s next possession, Willard scored a second touchdown on a seven-yard run by Garrett Rice. They missed the two-point conversion and led 12–7. On Republic’s next drive, Hayes completed a 44-yard touchdown pass on a slant to Cam Flood. The two-play, 55-yard drive allowed Republic to retake the lead, 14–12. Republic fumbled the ball away on its next possession, but their next drive ended with another TD. Sigman ran the ball in from one yard out to make the score 21–12 Republic. In the third quarter, Republic stretched its lead to 27–12 with the longest drive of the night. The Tigers marched 90 yards on 11 plays, scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hayes to Wallace. But Willard immediately closed the gap on its next possession, scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 27–20 with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Republic fumbled the kick and Willard recovered on the 48-yard line with a chance to tie. But just three plays later, Brady Coggin knocked the ball loose from the arms of Willard receiver Maurice Grayer, Republic’s Justin Sturdevant jumped on it, and Willard’s most dangerous threat of the night was ended. The Tigers didn’t score again, but they burned four minutes off the clock before turning the ball over on downs on their ensuing possession. The Republic defense forced a punt on Willard’s next drive, aided by a series of penalties against Willard, and Republic ran out the clock from there. The 27-point performance was the best of the year for Republic’s offense. Republic’s record improves to 1–4. Willard falls to 2–3. Republic is home this week to play Ozark on homecoming night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.