Cape Central football team cruises past North County in district opener

This is the stage the Cape Central football team knows best.

The third-seeded Tigers racked up 427 yards on the ground and forced a running clock in the third quarter, cruising past sixth-seeded North County 48-7 on Friday in the first round of the Class 4 District 1 playoffs at Tiger Stadium.

"I'm proud of the kids. It's a tough week to prepare for, it really is, and they did a good job," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "I wanted to get out on them fast, and we did. Once we settled in, we got out on them. I thought the kids played hard and played smart for the most part."

Cape Central's Aaron Harris carries against North County during the second quarter of a Class 4 District 1 first-round game Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 at Cape Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Central (6-4) will get its chance to seek redemption against second-seeded Sikeston next week in a district semifinal. The Bulldogs squeezed out a 35-34 win at home over seventh-seeded De Soto in another district quarterfinal.

"I told the kids, 'Very few times in life you get a second chance,'" Norman said about the rematch with Sikeston, which stunned the Tigers in Week 4 with a 23-19 victory at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium. "Obviously they're excited to play whoever. Their goal is to get to the district championship game, whoever we face, and we're excited to be here."

The Tigers created their own chaos in the first quarter when North County (5-5) took over at its own 11 after recovering Aaron Harris' first fumble of the season on the game's opening drive. Three plays later, Kway'Chon Chisom intercepted quarterback Jason Mahurin's pass and returned it 25 yards to the end zone to give Central a 7-0 advantage with 9 minutes, 28 seconds left in the quarter.

The Tigers turned the ball over again later in the quarter on a botched snap two plays into their next possession but got the ball back after forcing a turnover on downs. Al Young broke free down the right sideline and found paydirt on a 74-yard run, extending Central's lead to 14-0 with 4:19 left in the first quarter.

"That's kind of uncharacteristic of us," Norman said about the turnovers. "We've done a great job of holding onto the ball. It was an extra effort run down there by Aaron. ... You're fighting for those extra yards, and that's what happens. They strip it out."

Cape Central's Christian Mitchell carries past the 5-yard line on his way to scoring a touchdown against North County during the third quarter of a Class 4 District 1 first-round game Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 at Cape Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Young finished with 10 carries for 166 yards and even got involved as the signal caller. Chisom scored on a 3-yard run with 10:27 remaining in the second quarter, and after the Tigers' defense forced the Raiders to punt, Young orchestrated a four-play drive out of the wildcat, connecting with Chisom on a 40-yard pass that gave Central a 28-0 lead with 6:49 left in the first half.

"We've had that all year, believe it or not," Norman said about using Young as a quarterback. "We used it earlier in the year in about the middle of the year, but we've worked it all year and felt like we needed to practice it, if anything.

"We think it can help us down the road."

The Tigers tacked on another score before halftime when Chisom capped a 97-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Harrison Ayers. Central led 35-0 at the break.

"The tight end in our offense is a very intrical part of our offense. He's done a great job blocking for us," Norman said about Ayers. "We threw the dog a bone a little bit. He did a great job. It was open. The quarterback hit him. It was a nice job."

Cape Central fans celebrate a touchdown against North County during the second quarter of a Class 4 District 1 first-round game Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 at Cape Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Central's Christian Mitchell rumbled in from 14 yards out at the 3:04 mark of the third quarter, which forced a running clock for the remainder of the game. Tyler Banks added a 4-yard touchdown run for the Tigers in the fourth quarter before North County ended Central's shutout bid on a 1-yard touchdown run by Mahurin with 4:30 remaining.

Despite the rare fumble, the sophomore Harris finished with nine rushes for a game-high 169 yards, averaging 18.8 yards per carry. Banks contributed 64 yards on three carries while Chisom and Young combined to finish 3-of-3 passing for 74 yards and a pair of scores.

The Raiders were led by Austin Ryals' 124 yards on 20 attempts while the rest of North County's runners were limited to 22 yards on 20 rushes. Mahurin finished 7-of-15 through the air with 76 yards and one interception.

"We focused on reading our keys and playing assignment football, and that's what we ask," Norman said. "We just try to get better every week."

North County 0 0 0 7 -- 7

Cape Central 14 21 6 7 -- 48

First quarter

CC -- Kway'Chon Chisom 25 interception return (Bennett Osburn kick), 9:28

CC -- Al Young 74 run (Osburn kick), 4:19

Second quarter

CC -- Chisom 3 run (Osburn kick), 10:27

CC -- Chisom 40 pass from Young (Osburn kick), 6:49

CC -- Harrison Ayers 10 pass from Chisom (Osburn kick), 0:26

Third quarter

CC -- Christian Mitchell 14 run (kick failed), 3:04

Fourth quarter

CC -- Tyler Banks 4 run (Osburn kick), 9:11

NC -- Jason Mahurin 1 run (Kyle Krus kick), 4:30

NC CC

First downs 13 11

Rushes-yards 40-146 32-427

Passing yards 83 74

Passes 8-17-1 3-3-0

Punts-average 3-25.7 1-20

Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2

Penalties-yards 3-35 9-62

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- North County, Austin Ryals 20-124, Dakota Burns 8-20, Matt Black 1-4, Eli Turnbrough 1-(-1), Mahurin 10-(-1); Cape Central, Aaron Harris 9-169, Young 10-166, Banks 3-64, Mitchell 2-18, Chisom 4-13, Trent Leimer 2-(-3), Stephen White 2-0.

PASSING -- North County, Mahurin 7-15-76-1, Kolten Poorman 1-2-7-0; Cape Central, Chisom 2-2-34-0, Young 1-1-40-0.

RECEIVING -- North County, Black 2-36, Adam McGraw 2-28, Ryals 1-12, Brett Spradling 1-7, Logan Whitwell 2-0; Cape Central, Chisom 1-40, Young 1-24, Ayers 1-10.