October 5, 2007...9:35 am
Can Tigers bounce back at Central?
I think the short answer is “Yes.”
You don’t want to give anybody any bulletin board material, but tonight’s game at Central (7 p.m.) is a game the Republic Tigers should win - and handily at that.
Central, like Republic, is a work in progress, with a new coach installing new systems. The early returns for the Tigers, however, have been much better. While the Bulldogs are still looking to break through with their first win, Republic is trying to bounce back after its first loss. RHS will roll to 5-1 tonight.
These next two games are crucial. Republic’s district has turned out to be more difficult than we had imagined. Who would’ve thought Carthage - minus Caleb Sanders - wouldn’t have missed a beat. They’re state ranked and their only loss of the season is to, of course, Webb City. Who would’ve thought Willard would be unbeaten and state ranked five weeks into the season? Hillcrest, too, has shown signs of life, beating Kickapoo in a 49-37 shootout last night to improve to 2-4.
So if Republic wants to get back to the play-offs, they’ve got to start tuning up now. They need to get into a comfort zone with their offense, they need to work hard in the trenches to control the point of attack. Those things didn’t happen in last week’s loss at Ozark, something they need to bounce back with a vengeance from.
Next week’s visit from Nixa will be tell-tale. Yes, the Eagles are down from last season, but they could be very dangerous. They’ve faced a brutal schedule early, but will have wicked momentum of they upset Willard tonight.
Time to take a look at games of interest tonight:
No. 10 Willard visits Nixa. I stand by my statement that Willard’s schedule has not been worthy of a ranking. Now’s when they can start proving their team is. Nixa tonight, followed by Ozark and Carthage. Don’t forget that Carthage beat up on Nixa way back on opening night.
Hillcrest is in the books for the week, with a win over Kickapoo last night.
The other District foe for Republic, Carthage, hosts McDonald County. Tigers should roll tonight and improve to 5-1.
Ava is at Branson. Who could’ve guessed that the Pirates’ would be 1-4 at this point of the season, with only a close win at Rogersville in the win column?
Ozark visits Jeff City Helias Saturday. Was last week’s win the start of something good for OHS? Kyle Wilson, our brother from a sister publication, has his preview here. It also includes Willard-Nixa notes.
Programming Notes: We will be heading to the football game directly from Republic’s District softball game, which starts at 4 p.m. Check out MO Friday Night Football for quarterly updates as well as a post-game story. We’ll have another story up at www.republic-monitor.com, as well as a post-game blog - with video! - here at Tiger Blog.
–Jeff
Now listening to: Gillian Welch - “Wrecking Ball”
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