Cape Central football team runs past Farmington, claims second straight SEMO North Conference crown

Cape Central's most experienced unit might've been the most frustrated after six weeks of high school football.

Seniors Casey Vaughn, Vince Long and Jacob Holter were the three returning starters on an offensive line that paved the Tigers' way to the Class 4 state championship game last season, and heading into Friday night's homecoming game against Farmington with a .500 record wasn't ideal by any means.

So they went to work.

"We just came out here and knew that we were good," said Vaughn, a 5-foot-8, 260-pound left guard. "Each individual player did their job, and that's why we came out on top."

Central dominated in the trenches as three players eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a 41-21 victory over the Knights. The Tigers' win coupled with Jackson's 41-0 rout of Sikeston gave Central its second consecutive SEMO North Conference title by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Cape Central's Kway chon Chism hands off the ball to Aaron Harris in the second quarter against Farmington Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

"It's kind of bittersweet. I don't really know the best word for it, but I feel bad because we're in a situation where I feel like we should be 7-0," Tigers coach Nathan Norman said. "Not to dwell on the past, but that's frustrating. I don't like to rely on Jackson to have to win the conference. ... The conference this year is very competitive, and we're very thankful that we won it. Obviously we feel good about it."

Central (4-3, 3-1 SEMO North) faced an early 14-0 deficit at the 8:01 mark of the first quarter after Brandt Busenbark threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Moon on third-and-goal. It was a chaotic four minutes to start the game, beginning with Brayden Krause's 85-yard return on the opening kickoff that gave Farmington (3-4, 0-4) a 7-0 lead 13 seconds into the game. The Tigers mishandled the ensuing kickoff before the Knights cashed in with a nine-play drive.

Central countered with a methodical, 14-play drive that spanned 56 yards, ending with a 1-yard run by Aaron Harris to cut Farmington's lead to 14-7 with 2:35 left in the opening quarter.

The Tigers tied the game at 14-14 with 5:50 remaining in the first half when Kway'Chon Chisom dashed to the end zone on a 55-yard run. After a three-and-out, Central took a 21-14 lead when Chisom ran in from 2 yards out, capping an impressive, 80-yard drive with 15 seconds remaining in the second quarter. However, William Seibert returned the ensuing kickoff 73 yards to the end zone to tie the game at 21-all heading into halftime.

"Other than the two kickoff returns, I felt like this was a good game. Take those away, it's 41-7. ... We dominated, and yet it was 21-21 at half," said Norman, whose team outgained Farmington 211-35 on the ground in the first half. "They could've hung their heads and felt sorry for themselves, but they didn't. They came back and put together a solid second half and won the game."

Cape Central's Kway chon Chism talks with his teammates on the sideline during the game against Farmington Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

After Chisom threw a deep pass that resulted in an interception on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, the Knights stalled at the Central 42-yard line, and Al Young answered two plays later with a 59-yard touchdown run that gave the Tigers a 28-21 lead, one they didn't relinquish for the rest of the game. Young finished with 17 carries and accounted for a game-high 141 of the Tigers' 390 yards rushing.

The senior standout praised his offensive line for demonstrating what a good week of practice can do for Central's power-running game.

"We had a great practice, and they brought it over to the game," Young said. "... They're starting to key in, and they're starting to do better. They're starting to lock in on their blocks and drive their man down the field, and Norman loves that.

"The running backs couldn't get the yards they get without those linemen."

The Tigers got another defensive stop and added to their lead later in the quarter, this time on an 11-play, 69-yard drive that ended on the final play of the quarter when Chisom threw a 32-yard strike to Young, pushing Central's lead to 35-21 heading into the final quarter.

"He kept his head up," Tigers offensive coordinator Tim McGuire said about Chisom's ability to atone for his interception. "When he came back out, we decided we were going to run sprint, and then they checked up to man pressure. So we just let Al run by them."

Cape Central's Al Young carries the ball past Farmington's Micheal Wright (7) and Camron Haines (19) in the second quarter Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 in Cape Girardeau. (Glenn Landberg)

Chisom added his third touchdown run of the night in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard keeper with 8:33 remaining in the game. He racked up 112 yards on 13 carries and was 2-of-5 passing for 48 yards.

McGuire was quick to say what he likes most about his junior quarterback.

"He's a competitor," he said about Chisom. "No matter what's going on, he's going to compete. ... He's got that head where if something bad happens, he's going to bounce back and make it right the next time, and that's what he did."

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Harris led the Tigers with 28 carries. The sophomore finished with 118 yards while Central had no offensive plays that resulted in negative yardage.

"I just followed behind my offensive line and just rode behind them to get going. They make it easy. They're big and fast," Harris said. "... Even though they had the defense set up to stop the run, I think we always found a glitch in the defense to figure out a way to move the ball."

Meanwhile, the Tigers' defense shut out Farmington in the second half. Busenbark was sacked four times and had a fumble that resulted in Central's fourth-quarter touchdown. The Tigers held the Knights to 159 total yards, including 101 on the ground.

"They used Krause at tailback some, and that was a little different," Norman said about Farmington, which was led by Krause's 48 yards rushing on 10 carries -- all in the second half. "They ran a few different plays with their quarterback that gave us some trouble. Our kids did a nice job of changing, and our coaches did a good job of changing the gameplan a little bit during the game and making adjustments. I was proud of them."

Central will look to extend its winning streak to three games next week at home against Chaminade, which is ranked sixth in the Class 5 media football rankings.

The Tigers were manhandled in a 40-0 decision last season on the road against the Red Devils, a week removed from winning their first conference crown since 2002.

"Last year we won it, and we were hoping to do it this year, too," Vaughn said. "We've been working hard all summer, and it paid off in the end. We had adversity in the beginning of the year, but we came together as a team. Our defense stepped up, and we played great football."

Farmington 14 7 0 0 -- 21

Central 7 14 14 6 -- 41

First quarter

F -- Brayden Krause 85 kickoff return (Krause kick), 11:47

F -- Brayden Moon 13 pass from Brandt Busenbark (Krause kick), 8:01

C -- Aaron Harris 1 run (Bennett Osburn kick), 2:35

Second quarter

C -- Kway'Chon Chisom 55 run (Osburn kick), 5:50

C -- Chisom 2 run (Osburn kick), 0:15

F -- William Seibert 73 kickoff return (Krause kick), 0:00

Third quarter

C -- Al Young 59 run (Osburn kick), 7:42

C -- Young 32 pass from Chisom (Osburn kick), 0:00

Fourth quarter

C -- Chisom 20 run (kick failed), 8:33

F C

First downs 8 19

Rushes-yards 34-101 63-390

Passing yards 58 48

Passes 5-13-0 2-5-1

Punts-average 3-24.7 0-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-20 5-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Krause 10-48, Busenbark 15-40, Tappan Westbrook 2-6, Seibert 1-4, Collin Huitt 3-4, Gavin Duncan 2-1, Moon 1-(-2); Central, Young 17-141, Harris 28-118, Chisom 13-112, Trent Leimer 3-12, Christian Mitchell 2-7.

PASSING -- Farmington, Busenbark 5-12-58-0, Krause 0-1-0-0; Central, Chisom 2-5-48-1.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Moon 3-31, Krause 1-17, Seibert 1-10; Central, Young 1-32, Austin Parker 1-16.