Live score, updates: Cardinal Ritter beats Republic in Missouri Class 5 football championship
The Cardinal Ritter Lions and Republic Tigers will face off at 7 p.m. CT on Friday in the Missouri Class 5 football championship game at Memorial Stadium in Columbia.
After winning the first football championship in school history in Class 3 a year ago, Cardinal Ritter is back in Columbia again with a chance to win its second title. The Lions will be making their fourth appearance in the final game after also finishing second in Class 3 in 2008 and 2018.
Republic is making its first appearance in the state championship game. The Tigers had five straight losing seasons between 2016 and 2020 before going 6-5 in 2021, 8-4 in 2022 and now 12-2 this season.
You can watch Cardinal Ritter vs. Republic live on the MSHSAA TV Network and you can follow along below for live updates throughout the game:
What: Missouri Class 5 football championship game
When: 7:00 p.m. Central Time on Friday, December 1, 2023
Where: Memorial Stadium | Columbia, Missouri
How to watch the live stream online: You can watch this game live on the MSHSAA TV Network
Follow along below for live updates from the Missouri Class 5 football state championship game:
(Refresh for the latest updates)
FINAL: CARDINAL RITTER 38, REPUBLIC 25
SECOND HALF UPDATES
RITTER 38, REPUBLIC 19: Jamarion Parker scores on a touchdown run to put this game away with 1:30 left. Cardinal Ritter will win the Class 5 Missouri state championship. Stay tuned for full postgame coverage from SBLive, including video highlights, photos and a game story.
HALFTIME: CARDINAL RITTER 22, REPUBLIC 13
SECOND QUARTER UPDATES
RITTER 22, REPUBLIC 13: Carson Boyd throws a 6-yard touchdown pass to Dejarrion Miller with 5 seconds left in the half.
RITTER 16, REPUBLIC 13: Wyatt Woods throws a 14-yard touchdown pass to James Rexroat (a Memphis commit) with 44 seconds left in the half. The two-point conversion fails.
RITTER 16, REPUBLIC 7: Jamarion Parker scores on a 29-yard touchdown run to increase Ritter's lead with 5:34 left in the first half.
RITTER 8, REPUBLIC 7: Wyatt Woods scores on a 2-yard run to put Republic on the board with 6:56 left in the second quarter.
Republic has the ball inside the Cardinal Ritter 25-yard line to start the second quarter.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATES
RITTER 8, REPUBLIC 0: The first quarter ends with Republic driving.
FUMBLE! Cardinal Ritter fumbles at midfield and Republic takes over. Nearing the end of the first quarter. Still 8-0 Ritter.
CARDINAL RITTER 8, REPUBLIC 0: Ritter scores first on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Antown McKay to Dejarrion Miller. Two-point conversion is successful.
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Cardinal Ritter (13-0)
The Lions will take a 27-game win streak into the Class 5 final and attempt to win complete their second straight undefeated championship campaign.
Coach Brennan Spain's squad has averaged 53.6 points per game and allowing 15.3 through 11 games – taking out two 13-0 forfeit victories – but has averaged 65.5 points per contest through the four playoff games.
The Lions are averaging 548.7 total yards per game – 351 passing and 197.7 rushing per game – while rotating two Division I quarterbacks in senior Antwon McKay Jr. (Western Illinois commit) and junior Carson Boyd.
McKay has passed for 1,678 yards and 21 touchdowns (with two interceptions), while Boyd has thrown for 2,183 yards and 28 touchdowns (with one interception).
Junior running back Jamarion Parker, who has pledged to Arkansas, has rushed for 1,521 yards and scored 24 total touchdowns. Junior wide receiver Dejerrian Miller, another Division I prospect with Power-5 offers, has 62 receptions for 1,287 yards and 23 touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver De'Shaun Stevenson has 37 catches for 939 yards and has scored 10 total TDs.
The Lions' defense has been led by senior safety Dominique Dixon (Tennessee State pledge), who has a team-high 64 tackles, junior defensive tackle Bryce Gray (45 tackles, nine sacks) and senior defensive tackle Cameron Clayborn (37 tackles, eight sacks).
Republic (12-2)
The Tigers emerged with three close playoff victories to advance to the championship game: 35-32 over Lebanon in the District 6 title game, 28-21 over Helias in the quarterfinals and 21-20 over Webb City in the semifinals.
Coach Ryan Cornelsen's squad is averaging 31.9 points per game and allowing 19.6. The run-heavy Tigers are averaging 353 total yards per game, with 295.4 rushing yards per contest.
Senior quarterback Wyatt Woods has run for a team-high 1,423 yards, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, and 17 touchdowns. He's passed for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns (with four interceptions).
Senior running back Kanon Krol has rushed for 1,017 yards and 13 TDs, while senoir running back Caide White has run for 739 yards and scored 14 total TDs. Senior wide receiver/tight end James Rexroat, a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder who has committed to Memphis, has a team-high 19 receptions for 526 yards and seven TDs.
Senior linebacker Kendall Curbow (102 tackles, five sacks, one interception) and senior defensive end Cole Gimlin (81 tackles, five sacks, two forced fumbles) lead the Republic defense.
MISSOURI FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEWS
MISSOURI CHAMPIONSHIPS SCOREBOARD (12/1/2023)
MISSOURI CHAMPIONSHIPS SCOREBOARD (12/2/2023)
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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz
