Johnson's return lifts Tigers past Carthage

Alex Johnson returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown 16 seconds after Carthage took a fourth-quarter lead, and No. 3 Republic held off No. 2 Carthage 26-22 on Friday at Republic.
 
The win clinches at least a share of the Central Ozark Conference West championship, the Tigers' first conference title or share since 2004. Republic (7-1) had beaten Carthage once in 25 meetings before Friday, and Carthage ended the Tigers' season last year.
 
Nolan Lashley's 1-yard run late in the first quarter put Republic ahead, and Carthage tied it before halftime. Carthage then recovered an onside kick to open the second half, and Landon West ran 33 yards for a touchdown on the next play to make it 14-7 just 10 seconds after the break.
 
Lashley answered with a 5-yard touchdown run, but a blocked kick left Carthage ahead 14-13. Johnson then intercepted quarterback Slade Stiffler on fourth-and-eight, and two plays later Lashley broke a 47-yard run to put Republic back in the red zone. Lashley scored from 10 yards out with three seconds left in the third quarter to give Republic a 19-14 lead.
 
Tate Nichols' 15-yard run and a two-point pass put Carthage back in front 22-19 with 8:19 left. Johnson's return came on the next kickoff.
 
"I just needed to make a play, so I tried to bounce it outside, and then someone tried to wrap me around. I spun off of it, and then there was green grass," Johnson said.
 
Ethan Blades' extra point made it 26-22. Carthage drove to the Republic 10, but a false start set up fourth-and-12, and Stiffler's pass fell incomplete with 3:25 left. From there, Republic ran out the clock.
 
Lashley finished with 191 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. He has 27 touchdowns this season, breaking the school record of 26 set by Jerney Jones. Cutbirth ran 13 times for 104 yards, and Keiran Govan had 38 yards on five carries. Republic ran 58 times for 348 yards. West led Carthage with 108 yards on 19 carries.
 
"We made some great plays and some terrible plays, some things that were just up and down," Republic coach Ryan Cornelsen said.
 
The Tigers close the regular season at Willard on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. If they win, they'll have a bye to open the playoffs on the following Friday.