REPUBLIC, Mo. — Class 6 third-ranked Joplin trailed 14-7 early in the first quarter before scoring 38 unanswered points on the way to a 45-14 rout of Republic on Friday.
The Tigers and Eagles traded scores on their first two possessions before Joplin forced the first turnover of the game in the second quarter. Joplin punched it in to take a 21-14 lead at the intermission before scoring 24 unanswered in the second half en route to the win.
“Republic is a good team and they run what they run really well,” Joplin coach Curtis Jasper said. “It took some adjustments from us early. … I was really happy with the way our defense played from there on out.”
The Eagles’ defense forced three turnovers and pitched a shutout in the second half in the win and limited Republic to 218 yards of offense, with the Tigers picking up just 67 yards in the second half. Joplin’s offense picked up 293 yards of offense and scored points on seven straight possessions at one point.
“Republic does some things both offensively and defensively that you don’t see a lot,” Jasper said. “I was happy with the way we were able to prepare for them and then go out and execute.”
GAME ACTION
Republic got on the board first and needed just four plays to do so. Ezekiel Meads broke loose for a 54-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 10:12 left in the first quarter.
Joplin responded right away as QB Always Wright took the opening snap 43 yards on a scramble with a 15-yard penalty tacked on at the end. Wright completed a 19-yard pass to Jack Stanley down to the Republic 1, with Quinton Renfro finding the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line to tie the game at 7-7 with less than eight minutes to play.
The Tigers made it 2-for-2 on scoring drives after Republic marched 83 yards on 18 plays in a little less than eight minutes, with Connor Sandridge scoring on a pitch from 9 yards out to make the score 14-7 with 11:07 left in the first half.
Like they did after the Tigers’ first score, the Eagles’ offense answered again when Wright took a third-down-and-4 keeper to the far side for a 53-yard touchdown to tie the game up at 14-14 with 8:42 on the clock.
“I liked the way our guys really didn’t blink,” Jasper said. “Yes, we were frustrated when we gave up those scores, but no one panicked or anything like that. They picked each other up and did what they needed to get the job done.”
Joplin’s defense came up with the game’s first turnover on the ensuing Republic drive when DE Joe Jasper recovered a fumble on a pitch intended for Meads that was slapped away by Jonathan Williams near the Tigers’ 40-yard line.
“I thought that the whole series was different defensively,” Coach Jasper said. “We were able to get in the way of their pitch and get on the ball. Early, I thought their wings did a good job of using their speed to get outside of us. From that series on, we had them where we wanted them as far as not letting their wings get outside of us and still be strong up the middle.”
The Eagles made the most of the turnover as Wright found Bruce Wilbert over the middle for a 7-yard touchdown on second down to make the score 21-14 with less than 90 seconds to play in the first half. Wright set up the score after scrambling right to buy time on fourth-down-and-12 before throwing back to the far side to Terrance Gibson for a 19-yard completion.
Joplin got the ball out of the locker room and pushed its lead to two possessions after Wilbert got behind the defense for a 28-yard touchdown pass from Wright on fourth down to make the score 28-14.
Republic fumbled the ball over to Joplin’s Brayden Thomas on its following drive and on the first play of the Eagles’ ensuing possession, Wright went deep to Gibson for a 28-yard score to push the lead to 35-14 midway through the third quarter.
“I think we had three possessions in a row where we started on the plus side of the field,” Jasper said about his team capitalizing on all three forced turnovers. “Anytime you start on the plus side of the field, you have to get points out of it off a turnover and we were able to do that.”
Joplin’s defense forced its first punt of the game to make it four straight possessions with a stop and the offense complemented it with a 35-yard touchdown run from Renfro to push the lead to 42-7 still in the midway portion of the third quarter.
Joplin DB All Wright got in on the turnover fun on the next defensive possession, picking off a pass from Gavyn Beckner and returning it deep into Tigers’ territory. The Eagles capped the ensuing drive with a 37-yard field goal from Joseph Ipsen to push the lead to 45-15 near the 11-minute mark of the fourth quarter, making it 38 unanswered points.
STATS
Wright rushed three times for 97 yards and a touchdown while completing 11-of-17 passes for 151 yards and three more scores. Renfro carried the ball 18 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Gibson caught three passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, while Wilbert caught two passes for 35 yards and two touchdowns.
Moody carried the ball 11 times for 51 yards, while Beckner completed 1-of-4 passes for 11 yards and an interception. Meads picked up 68 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while Sandridge had 11 touches for 56 yards and a score.
UP NEXT
Joplin returns home for a potential Central Ozark Conference championship deciding matchup against Class 5 second-ranked Carthage (6-0) on Friday.
“Everyone remembers the 2019 game (at Junge), but I would prefer not to give up that many points,” Jasper said with a laugh. “But, whatever it takes to get the victory. We have a big week of preparation ahead of us and I think our kids are excited about it.”
