Cape Central football team looks to avenge loss to Sikeston

The Cape Central football team breezed though the first round of Class 4 District 1 tournament play with a 41-point victory, but overconfidence should not be a problem with the Tigers tonight when they visit Sikeston in the semifinal round.

The second-seeded Bulldogs, who will host the contest, administered a 23-18 loss to the Tigers in Week 3 of the season.

"I told our kids, in life your fortunate to get a second chance, if you get one at all, and they've been given an opportunity to redeem themselves against Sikeston, and more importantly we're trying to treat it like another playoff game, and we just want to execute and play well and play for a district championship in the future," Central coach Nathan Norman said.

Central (6-4) will be looking to reach its third consecutive Class 4 District 1 title game under Norman, who is in his fifth season as head coach. The Tigers advanced all the way to the Class 4 state semifinals in 2013 and the state championship game in 2014.

This is the second consecutive year the SEMO Conference North opponents have met twice in a season. Central swept the Bulldogs decisively in 2014, winning the regular-season meeting 47-7 and the first-round district contest 56-7.

Sikeston (7-3) made amends for last season's two losses, stunning the Tigers in their conference opener this year. It was part of a 1-2 start for the Tigers that dropped them from the state rankings.

"We didn't feel like we played our best, but you've got to respond and get better, and I'm proud of our kids, they've done that," Norman said. "We had some tough losses early in the year, some close games, and our kids handled it well and responded. They've worked hard all year, and they've put themselves in position to make a playoff run."

Central went 3-0 over the rest of its conference games to win the title. The Bulldogs later lost back-to-back conference games to Poplar Bluff and Jackson in Weeks 6 and 7. It was part of a 1-3 finish to the regular season for Sikeston, which stood 5-0 at one time.

The Tigers finished with 41.44 points in the district, which was the second-highest total, but the Bulldogs' head-to-head win against Central allowed Sikeston, which was third in points with 36.75, to leapfrog into the second spot and grab home advantage in the semifinal round.

Sikeston eked out a 35-34 win over seventh-seeded De Soto in the first round, while Central steamrolled North County 48-7 for its fourth win in its last five games.

The Tigers average 392 yards of total offense on the season, with 300 of that coming on the ground. Central mounted over 500 yards offense last week, including 437 rushing.

The Tigers fell short of their season averages in the Week 3 loss to Sikeston, which Norman said "seems like it was two years ago."

Central junior quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom gave the Tigers a 19-16 lead with 3:32 left in the game, but Sikeston retaliated with a 78-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard TD run by Earnest Fobbs with 27 seconds left. Central held a slight edge in total yardage -- 231 to 212 -- but was held well below its season average.

While sophomore Aaron Harris -- the team's leading rusher on the year with 1,106 yards (6.7 ypc) -- had 114 yards rushing, the Tigers had just 170 yards on the ground overall, averaging 5.3 ypc. On the season, Central rushers average 7.2 ypc.

However, the game's most glaring statistical aberration was the 24 yards from the line-of-scrimmage from Tigers standout senior Al Young on just six touches -- four rushes for 4 yards and two receptions for 20 yards. Young averages 144.6 yards per game and 12.8 yards per touch on the season.

"Our initial goal, and our ultimate goal is to be good in Week 10," Norman said. "As a coach, you hate it, but you have to be smart. You can't kill your horses early in the year or they're not going to be there right now. We probably didn't get him the ball enough in that game, but I know one thing -- we've got him now, and he's healthy and ready to go."

Young was ready for Week 10, rushing 10 times for 168 yards against North County to increase his season total to 777 yards. He also is Chisom's overwhelming choice as a receiver with 11 of his team-high 26 catches going for TDs. He has 669 yards receiving, averaging 25.7 yards per catch.

Chisom has completed 56 percent of his 75 pass attempts for 14 TDs and six interceptions.

Central's defense yields 4.4 yards per rush attempt on the season, but the Tigers held run-oriented Sikeston to a 2.9-yards average on 46 attempts in their earlier meeting. Quarterback Nathan Hampton had just 13 yards on nine carries, while running backs Victwon Riley and Earnest Fobbs were limited to 94 yards combined on 26 attempts.

"Over time, they've gotten better and we've gotten better," Norman said. "The previous game obviously has no weight on the outcome of this one, so both teams have to show up with great intensity, execute and take care of the football, and whoever does that is going to win the game."

(4) St. Vincent (5-5) at (1) Valle Catholic (10-0)

Last week: St. Vincent 18, Crystal City 7; Valle Catholic 70, Louisiana 0

Last meeting: Valle Catholic 62, St. Vincent 0 (Week 1)

Outlook: The Indians are in the path of a Class 1 state champion that leaves a trail of destruction like a Class 5 hurricane.

Valle Catholic's 70-point trouncing of Louisiana last week -- 70-0 at halftime -- was the Warriors 40th consecutive win.

The Warriors have their eyes set on a third consecutive state title, fourth in five seasons, and 14th overall.

The Indians have the tough task of handing Valle its first loss since the 2012 state championship game, when Penney High School of Hamilton, Missouri, beat the then-two-time defending state champions.

"It's a typical Valle team," St. Vincent coach Nathan Rowland said. "They run the ball when they want to, and they throw the ball when they want to. They have tremendous talent at every single position, and their offensive line is enormous, physical and fast."

The Warriors average 64.9 points a game with a balanced attack that has rushed for 2,232 yards and passed for 2,467.

Senior quarterback Connor Basler has thrown 46 touchdowns, with 10 players making TD receptions. Senior Nick Oberle has team-high totals of 640 yards receiving and 12 TD catches. Junior Cole Wood and senior Garrett Jaeger both have more than 400 yards receiving. Junior Tristan Huck is the team's top rusher with 625 yards.

"They just come at you at all different angles," Rowland said.

On defense, the Warriors yield just 7.3 points a game. Senior linebacker Kurtis Meyer leads the way with 101 tackles -- 18 for loss.

Like most of Valle's opponents, the Indians have been treated rudely with the Warriors winning the last eight encounters by a combined score of 419-43.

St. Vincent senior Riley Riehn gained 150 yards rushing in last week's win over Crystal City and leads the Indians with 700 yards on the season. Senior quarterback Joe Whistler is second with 550 yards and has passed for about 2,000 yards. Trevor Leible leads the receivers with more than 700 yards.

Senior linebacker Tyler Unterreiner is the team's top tackler with 140 tackles, 6.5 sacks and seven forced fumbles,

The teams are meeting twice for the second straight year. Valle ended the Indians' season in the district semifinals last year, winning 69-7 on its way to the state crown. The Warriors had opened their 2014 title season with a 56-0 win over the Indians.