Republic football comeback falls apart at Neosho

The Republic Tigers did what they needed to do to win their final regular-season football game against Neosho Friday. Unfortunately, Neosho did the same thing – and the Wildcats did it last, winning a 17–13 decision over Republic in Neosho.
After Republic mounted a second-half comeback and took the lead with 3:32 remaining, Neosho responded with a touchdown drive of its own, scoring the winning TD with just 48 seconds remaining.
“That’s unfortunately kind of been the story of the season–the last minute, something happens and we can’t get it done,” coach Dustin Baldwin said of the final Neosho score. “[We had] tons of fight. I’m really proud of them, the way they played second half.”
At halftime, the prospects of a wild finish seemed remote. Republic struggled to move the ball at all against the Neosho defense, picking up only one first down and running only 12 plays. Neosho led 10–0 at halftime, as the Wildcats’ slow, grind-it-out offense kept the ball away from Republic.
In the second half, Republic turned the tables, starting with a big kickoff return by Jaden Duvall to begin the third quarter. Duvall took the ball into Neosho territory to give Republic a field position advantage it would enjoy most of the remainder of the game.
The Tigers drove into the red zone, but their first drive of the half ended with an interception in the end zone. After a defensive stopy, the Tigers drove 52 yards in 11 plays, scoring on a five-yard touchdown run by Duvall. Republic missed the extra point, and it was 10–6 Neosho.
Both teams failed to score on their next possession, but Republic took the lead for the first time on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Lucas Hayes to Trent Rackley. It capped a nine-play, 78-yard drive. The extra point made it 13–10 Republic with just three and a half minutes remaining.
Having taken the lead, and with the defense shutting out Neosho in the second half, the Tigers only had to get one more stop to close out the win. But Neosho, which had thrown fewer than 20 passes all season coming into the game, went to the air to pull out a late win. The Wildcats completed a 26-yard pass to drive into Republic territory, then scored the winning touchdown on a 20-yard pass from Kelley to Cade Lyerla.
“[We] moved the ball most of the second half and made a big enough play to take the lead and just couldn’t hold it. It came down to one play there and we didn’t make it,” Baldwin said. “They got in a formation that they don’t run a lot of. We didn’t really identify their vertical threats there. And we had two guys go with a wheel route and nobody go with the inside route. And that was it.”
The Tigers got the ball back with one last crack at a comeback, but the third Neosho interception of the night sealed the win.
Duvall had a big second half to lead the comeback effort for Republic. He rushed for 62 yards in the second half after being pressed into action when Louis Wallace went out with an injury.
“The kid’s got a ton of guts and was asked to come in and play a role that he hadn’t practiced a lot lately. And he did what I’ve kind of come to expect out of him. He’s a really good running back,” Baldwin said of Duvall. “We’ve always felt like he can play running back and be awesome…but he’s really good in the slot, and he also plays defense, so we’ve kind of kept him in the slot. But he’s a warrior and he fights hard and played awesome.”
Neosho is 6–3. Republic falls to 2–7, but despite that, they will host the first-round playoff game Friday against Branson. Branson beat Republic in the season opener–one of three season-opening losses that could have gone either way for Republic. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.