Cape Central football grabs early lead but can't beat Farmington

CFarmington scored 37 consecutive points as it avoided an upset in its SEMO North Conference opener with a 44-28 victory Friday night against Central at Houck Stadium.

Central scored just 16 seconds into the game when senior tailback Brandon Pickens broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown run on the Tigers' first play from scrimmage.

The Tigers scored on three of their first four possessions for a 20-7 lead. Central quarterback Andrew Williams threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Tae Jenkins, and Williams later scored on a 2-yard run.

Farmington Kight, Charlie Uptegrove, tries to take down Cape Central's Terrance Howard, during Friday night's match up at Houck Stadium. (Laura Simon)

Farmington began its scoring spree in the second quarter on a Zach Hibbits 10-yard scoring pass to Andrew Johnson, and Logan Bradley added a 22-yard field goal with 3 seconds left in the half to cut the Tigers' lead to 20-17.

Farmington took its first lead on a 5-yard touchdown run by Charlie Uptegrove, going ahead 24-20 at the 6:02 mark of the third quarter. The Knights then capitalized on back-to-back turnovers by Central. A fumble led to a 4-yard scoring run by Cole Thurmure for a 30-20 lead with 3:17 left in the third quarter. The Knights struck again just 14 seconds later when Connor DaVault returned an interception 30 yards for a 36-20 lead.

The Knights ended their run on a Hibbits scoring pass to Johnson on the first play of the fourth quarter. A two-point conversion gave Farmington a 44-20 lead.