REPUBLIC, Mo. — Turnovers plagued Joplin for the second straight week in the Eagles’ 38-15 road loss to Republic on Friday.
After losing the turnover battle 3-1 in a loss to Nixa a week ago, the turnover bug bit Joplin (3-3) hard again after the Eagles’ offense turned the ball over four times and took a safety against the Tigers in the team’s third straight loss. With the extra possessions on offense, Republic (5-1), which didn’t punt until late in the fourth quarter but did have a pair of turnover-on-downs, gained 432 yards of offense on 74 plays on the way to the Central Ozark Conference win.
Republic QB Wyatt Woods carried the ball 25 times for 206 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while RB Kanon Krol finished with 151 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries.
Joplin’s offense gained 334 yards on plays.
After a three-and-out by Joplin to open the game, Republic marched down the field on its first possession and capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run from Woods, who kept the ball left and bounced off a tackle near the 7-yard line before finding the end zone for a 7-0 lead with 6:16 left in the opening quarter.
Joplin answered back on its second time on offense after getting the ball inside the red zone before QB Hobbs Gooch—who threw for 202 yards, two touchdowns and three picks—found WR Cordell Washington (two catches, 32 yards) up the seam for a 23-yard touchdown on fourth down to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
Republic again marched down into the red zone before Joplin’s defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 5-yard.
On the first play of the ensuing Joplin possession, the shotgun snap went through Gooch’s hands and into the end zone where Joplin recovered and was downed for a safety to give Republic a 9-7 advantage early in the second quarter.
The Eagles’ defense picked up the offense, once again forcing the Tigers into a turnover-on-downs after stuffing a fourth-down-and-4 run at the JHS 23.
Joplin went three-and-out and Republic responded by returning to the red zone for a third time in the first half with less than three minutes to play. Krol eventually crossed the goal line from a yard out to put Republic on top 16-7 with 1:43 left in the first half.
Joplin moved down the field quickly to get into position for points before the expiration of the first half before Gooch was picked off in the end zone with 14 seconds left on the clock to send the game into the intermission with the Tigers leading by nine.
Republic struck first in the second half, taking the opening possession down the field with Krol scoring from 3 yards out to make the score, converting the 2-point try on a pass from Woods to James Rexroat, to push the lead to 24-7 with 7:20 left in the third quarter.
Joplin turned it over on the next drive when RB Quin Renfro (12 carries, 69 yards; three catches, 43 yards) had the ball punched out from behind by Cam Allen for a fumble, giving Republic the ball near midfield with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
The Tigers turned the extra possession into a 43-yard touchdown run from Woods on a keeper with 3:46 on the clock to make the score 31-7.
Joplin got into the end zone for the first time in the second half when Gooch found WR Davin Thomas (three catches, 54 yards and a touchdown) in the flat on a screen, with Thomas evading tackles on the way to a 31-yard touchdown to make the score 31-15 after the Gooch-to-Thomas 2-point try with 2:30 left in the third quarter.
Republic answered back with Krol finding the end zone for the third time on a 2-yard carry with less than nine minutes left in regulation to make the score 38-15.
Joplin marched down the field in less than 90 seconds of game clock to get back into the red zone before Gooch was intercepted in the end zone by CB Garrett Lester for the Eagles’ third giveaway of the game.
Joplin is back on the road with a matchup at Carl Junction (1-5).
