BRANSON, Mo. — Branson did not take its first lead until it mattered most.
With less than two minutes left in regulation against Neosho, Luke McCormick tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Gage Depee and ran in the 2-point conversion to send the game into overtime.
No, that was not the lead, of course.
It was during the overtime period when the Pirates grabbed that lead during the COC battle—when McCormick scored on a quarterback sneak on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line. It was McCormick’s third rushing touchdown on the night, securing a homecoming victory that was nearly tarnished by a strong performance by the upset-minded Wildcats.
Neosho fumbled away a chance at tying or winning the game on the second play of its lone overtime possession, sending the homecoming crowd home happy and the Wildcats to an 0-6 mark.
Indeed, the Pirates, who improved to 3-3, were forced to play from behind against a scrappy Wildcats side looking for their first win.
Neosho led 7-3 after the first quarter and held a 21-9 advantage at the three-minute mark of the second quarter, courtesy of two Denver Welch short touchdown runs and a Virgil Rosier 62-yard pitch and catch from quarterback Quenton Hughes.
After Branson’s Depee and McCormick added short rushing scores of their own, Neosho owned a 21-16 lead at halftime.
Following another kicking display from Branson kicker Dane Efird, who knocked through a 25-yard field goal for a 21-19 Neosho lead early in the third quarter—he had a 42-yarder to make it 7-3 in the first—Hudson Williams extended Neosho’s lead to 28-19 midway through the third with an 18-yard touchdown catch from Hughes, a senior who eclipsed 5,000 career passing yards last week.
That’s when the defenses had enough and Branson mounted its comeback.
The Pirates coughed up a fumble, courtesy of the Wildcats’ Kaiden Anaya forcing it and Drake Swift recovering, and Neosho turned it over on downs for the first time all night. Then, McCormick scampered from two yards out to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 28-26 with 11:12 remaining.
After a pair of defensive stands from each side, Hughes fired a 56-yard pass and catch to Cade Camerer down the sideline to hand Neosho a 34-26 lead with 5:42 left.
But Branson had its big answer—the McCormick-Depee connection and the QB’s two-point scamper to knot the score with less than two minutes remaining. The touchdown was preceded by a Depee 53-yard run.
Neosho hosts Ozark (1-5) next Friday while Branson will welcome in Republic (5-1).
