Parkway North dishes out 42-6 loss to Central

ST. CHARLES — On his knees in the end zone, Shawn Hammock pounded his fist into the artificial turf.

The Central football team was just stuffed on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line and the senior offensive lineman wasn't happy about it.

The game was a night of near misses for the Tigers, and the frustration got to the fiery Hammock.

This is a team that's attempting to put the past behind it. But this year is off to an eerily similar start as last season.

The Tigers (0-1) were on the short side of a 42-6 loss at the hands of Parkway North (1-0) on Friday night at Lindenwood University.

Last year the Tigers dropped a 56-7 decision to these same Vikings.

Both games were ugly on the scoreboard, and both involved the mercy-rule running clock.

That, however, is where the differences end between last year and this year's season openers.

The Tigers showed more fight Friday night. They played hard, tough and solid football at points during the game. The difference is when there were breakdowns, be it offensively or defensively, the Vikings were there to capitalize.

"Too many big plays tonight," first-year Central coach Rich Payne said.

The Vikings scored touchdowns on plays of 79, 74 and 53 yards.

The Tigers had few answers for Parkway North senior quarterback Tylor Brock. The newly minted signal caller completed four of the five passes he threw for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed three times for 41 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

All told, the Vikings rushed the ball 23 times for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

Yet all Parkway North coach Bob Bunton would talk about after the game was how impressed he was with the Tigers' front line.

"I thought they played well up front," Bunton said. "They frustrated us."

There are glimmers of good things to come for the Tigers. Senior tailback Cantrell Andrews lived up to his "Jitterbug" nickname. The slippery, quick senior runner toted the load out of the gate for Central. His number was called seven times on the Tigers' first 12 offensive plays.

He led the team with 76 yards rushing. He caught three passes for 27 yards and did his best to give the Tigers decent field position on kick returns.

"He's a load," Bunton said.

The electric Andrews nearly returned a kickoff just before halftime for a touchdown. He had one man to beat to have a clear path to the end zone. Instead that last man, the kicker, wrapped up Andrews at the 43-yard line.

Sophomore quarterback Andrew Williams managed the offense well for his first varsity start. He threw one interception to end the first half, and was dangerous rushing the ball on the quarterback draw, especially close to the end zone.

He completed four passes for 34 yards and threw one interception. He also rushed for 18 yards.

Central scored its only touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter when sophomore Keilon Moore waltzed in from 1 yard out to break up the shutout. The Tigers attempted to kill the mercy-rule running clock with a 2-point conversion, but it failed.

The Tigers host New Madrid County on Friday.