Republic football never quit, and its historic season will leave a lasting legacy
COLUMBIA — With five seconds remaining, Republic head coach Ryan Cornelsen called a timeout to give his Tigers one last play and one more opportunity in the school's first-ever state championship.
It wasn't a dream scenario where it could turn into a walk-off victory with players hoisting a player off the field. Republic was down 19, and the game had been well out of reach for several minutes of game time.
But Cornelsen looked behind him at seemingly the entire city of Republic that made the three-hour drive to Columbia. A spark created by the Tigers football team ignited a fire in a community that stuck with them until the end.
He then looked at his team. There was never a moment Cornelsen saw any quit in it — not during the regular season, the playoffs or the state championship game — he was going to give the Tigers one last play.
"They didn't want to quit," Cornelsen said. "If we were going out, we were going out senior. That's why I called the timeouts — 'Let's have one final play and take a shot.' We knew the game was over, but there's no quit in our kids. I think that's the perfect example of that they're going to play to the final whistle, no matter what the score is."
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Star quarterback Wyatt Woods dropped back to pass as Memphis-commit receiver James Rexroat ran for the endzone. Woods threw the ball deep, Rexroat jumped up and caught it as time expired and came down with the ball for a 31-yard touchdown.
The scoring play didn't matter as Cardinal Ritter stormed the field to celebrate its 38-25 win in the MSHSAA Class 5 Show-Me Bowl on Friday night at Faurot Field. But it was symbolic for a Republic program that has worked for moments like it over the last three years, leading to its first state championship appearance.
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The greatest season in Republic football history ended with a 12-3 record. The Tigers made all sorts of history throughout the year which included their first championship appearance, their fourth semifinal appearance and first district title since 2005.
"I just couldn't be more proud of my team, our coaches and our community," Woods said. "What we've done these three years since I've been here has just been amazing and unbelievable, I think. I can't be more proud of my teammates."
The Tigers had several chances against Cardinal Ritter, now a two-time defending state champion, but couldn't get the plays they got throughout the postseason. Attempted onside kicks weren't recovered, and they didn't get the breaks needed against a roster littered with Power 5 talent.
Republic had the game within three with 44 seconds left in the first half and the chance to take the lead when receiving the ball first out of the break. Instead, it gave up a couple of big plays allowing the Lions to score a touchdown and take a two-score lead into halftime.
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The Tigers had another chance late in the third quarter when they ate up a bunch of time and moved deep into Lions territory. They turned the ball over on downs, and the Lions scored three plays later on a 59-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
"They put us in a situation where we couldn't do what we normally do to try to win games when we get down two scores there late," Cornelsen said. "They did a good job at getting ahead of us."
The loss didn't take away from the pride that Cornelsen had in his team in the postgame huddle. Despite the crying eyes of his student-athletes, he told them to turn around, look at the crowd and see what they accomplished.
The Tigers stood and held up their helmets to appreciate the community that backed them.
"It was special," Cornelsen said. "They were awesome through the whole run. It was a great experience not only for me as a coach but also for these guys as players, our team and our community. I think that's what makes it the hardest. We wanted to do everything we could to pull this off. We knew we were kind of underdogs, but we thought we could come in here and do it. We just came up a bit short, but that doesn't take away from the season and this amazing group of kids."
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Republic's state championship appearance was the finale of a remarkable three-year turnaround for the Tigers football program that was absorbed by Cornelsen three years ago.
Cornelsen took over a program that hadn't had a winning season since 2015 before he started in 2021. Woods, the Tigers' quarterback, admitted that it was "dreadful" attending Republic football games when growing up dreaming of wearing the uniform.
Not anymore. Republic football games on Friday nights have become the place to be. Kids in the crowd witnessed what is now possible while wearing the orange and black.
Woods has seen that belief carry over into his own home. Nothing to the star quarterback has been better than seeing the look on his 7-year-old brother's face after big wins and seeing the excitement he has week after week.
It's a part of the legacy that the 2023 Republic Tigers will leave behind.
"It's the spark that we put in those little kids' eyes," Woods said. "Nothing's cooler than seeing him after a big win or something. It's just about that spark we put in those little kids."
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Republic football's historic season will leave lasting legacy
