Cape Central football team upends conference rival Jackson

There was only one thing that was going to suffice the needs of the Cape Central football team on Friday night.

A victory.

The Tigers entered the 109th annual SEMO North Conference rivalry against Jackson having lost three games this season by a combined nine points, and the ability to play consistently for four quarters remained a struggle.

Two crucial turnovers, a dazzling night from quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom and an efficient second half all played in favor of Central, which held on for a 48-35 win in front of a packed house at The Pit in Jackson.

"We needed a win," said Tigers coach Nathan Norman, a Jackson graduate who's now led his team to back-to-back wins over his alma mater. "We lost some tough, close games this year. Our record's not where we'd like it to be, but we needed a win. And the kids finished. We played consistent the whole game.

Cape Central's Kway Chon Chisom works past Jackson's Gabriel Dudley (10) and Zach Norrick (50) in the third quarter Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at Jackson High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"A four-quarter football game, that's what we ask out of them."

With the exception of an 11-play drive that concluded the game, Central (3-3, 2-1 SEMO North) scored on each of its possessions in the second half, the first of which started at the Indians' 49-yard line after Tyler Banks recovered Quentin Kent's fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter. The Tigers took advantage in seven plays, scoring on a 9-yard run by Al Young to extend their lead to 33-21 with 8:28 left in the quarter.

"You can say it all game. ... You can use the same notebook card to read every week," Norman said. "Turnovers, blocking and tackling win football games."

Jackson (2-4, 2-1) answered on its ensuing possession with a 14-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard pass from Landry Moore to Jeremy Elliott, cutting the Tigers' lead to 33-28 with 3:22 to go in the third quarter, but Central responded with a quick four-play drive that covered 51 yards. Chisom used a 33-yard run on third-and-7 to push the Tigers' lead back to 12 at 40-28 with 1:28 left in the quarter.

"I'm proud of our kids and the way we played," Indians coach Brent Eckley said. "We're certainly impressed with Cape's kids and how they played and how physical they were. They did a great job taking care of the ball. I'm disappointed in our team that we didn't do a little better job tackling and taking care of the ball, but I'm proud of our kids' effort. I'm proud that they battled.

Jackson's Landry Moore completes a pass to Jeremy Elliott for a touchdown in the third quarter against Cape Central Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at Jackson High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"We left it all on the field. We just came up short."

Jackson once again put together a long scoring drive on its next possession when Elliott hauled in a 10-yard pass from Triston Thele, cutting the Tigers' lead to 40-35 with 8:36 remaining in the game.

The Indians attempted one of several onside kicks on the ensuing kickoff, and Central started its final scoring drive with good field position at the Jackson 49.

"That short field for us helped," Norman said. "Now I know what he was doing. He was taking a risk, and sometimes you have to do that. But I was proud of our kids. We worked it all week, and they handled that well."

It took the Tigers only three plays to find the end zone. On first-and-10, Chisom took advantage of the Indians playing man-to-man coverage on Young, who broke free down the left sideline and hauled in a well-placed, 36-yard pass that extended Central's lead to 48-35 with 7:26 to go in the game.

"It was a beautiful pass, just beautiful," Norman said. "I don't know that I've seen much of a better-looking, in-stride pass in high school. It was a great job."

Chisom finished 3-of-5 passing for 97 yards and two scores, including a 40-yard strike to Young that tied the game at 7-all with 2:43 left in the first quarter. He also racked up 149 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries, one of which was a 1-yard run that gave Central a 14-7 lead, its first of the game at the 6:54 mark of the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by his 91-yard run down the right sideline.

Cape Central students cheer after a touchdown in the first quarter against Jackson Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at Jackson High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"He's our No. 1 competitor, our go-to guy who's got grit, who's tough. He wants to win. ... I thought he managed the game better," Norman said about Chisom. "He missed one tight end pass tonight, but other than that, he was pretty much on. He did a great job. He had big plays for us and executed."

Chisom believes he's finding more comfort in his new position as a junior.

"I try to get better every week," he said. "Coach [Gary] Lynch, he helps me out a lot, and I just try to do what the coaches ask of me. The line's playing good right now, too, and the receivers are running good routes. So they all just make it easier for me."

Central forced a three-and-out with less than seven minutes remaining in the game and closed the game by picking up four first downs on its final drive.

After the game, Eckley gathered his team on the field and delivered an all-too-familiar message.

"We pointed at the scoreboard and said, 'Hey, how many did we lose by? 13 points. How many turnovers did we have? Two. How many did we take away? Zero.' That's two turnovers. That's 14 points. We win by one," he said. "We just have to stay focused on making sure we take care of the football."

The Indians' first turnover came after Aaron Harris scored on a 2-yard run to give the Tigers a 20-15 lead with 1:28 left before halftime. Looking to score before the break, Moore's pass was picked off by Young, who returned the ball to the Jackson 1, and Chisom did the rest on a keeper that made it 26-15 with 1:10 to go in the quarter.

Cape Central's Al Young carries the ball against Jackson in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 25, 2015 at Jackson High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"It's disappointing, but it is what it is," Eckley said. "We've just got to move on and keep coaching our kids, and they'll just keep working to improve."

Jackson countered on the final play of the half when Thele hit Kent for an 8-yard pass that was tossed back to Jacob Starzinger, who dashed 48 yards through the middle of Central's secondary all the way to the end zone. The hook-and-ladder play cut the Tigers' lead to 26-21 at halftime.

"During the season, we practice that every Thursday," Eckley said about the play. "Since I've been here, we've practiced that play. It wasn't one that was drawn up in the dirt, at least not tonight. It might've been drawn up in the dirt a few years ago, but we've practiced it.

"I had one of the kids ask me on the sideline, 'Hey, has it ever worked?' Thinking back, we've never been able to pull it off in a game, so there's only a certain spot it will fit. And the kids did a great job executing it."

Moore led Jackson through the air, completing 18 of his 24 attempts for 145 yards and three touchdowns, the first of which was a 23-yard pass to Starzinger that gave the Indians a 7-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first quarter. Thele added 53 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-9 passing.

Elliott finished with a game-high 12 grabs for 100 yards and three touchdowns, including a 16-yard pass from Moore at the 3:47 mark of the second quarter. Thele ran in the two-point conversion to give the Indians their final lead of the game at 15-14.

"What's awesome about Jeremy is that when the ball's in the air, he thinks it's his, and it's like he goes up and gets it," Eckley said. "It doesn't matter who else is there. ... We have to continue getting him touches because he's playing so well."

Young finished with 13 touches for 168 yards and three scores while Harris carried the ball 20 times, accounting for 101 of the Tigers' 356 yards rushing.

Norman said he hopes his players are able to comprehend how special it is to be a part of the longstanding rivalry.

"There are very few high school rivalries like this where you get two good fan bases like that to come out and support their teams," Norman said. "That aspect's very fun.

"Now as a coach, I don't enjoy one minute of it. I'll get to enjoy it now. I'm happy for the kids."

Central 7 19 14 8 -- 48

Jackson 7 14 7 7 -- 35

First quarter

J -- Jacob Starzinger 23 pass from Landry Moore (Jeremy Elliott kick), 4:26

C -- Al Young 40 pass from Kway'Chon Chisom (Bennett Osburn kick), 2:43

Second quarter

C -- Chisom 1 run (Osburn kick), 6:54

J -- Elliott 16 pass from Moore (Triston Thele run), 3:47

C -- Aaron Harris 2 run (kick failed), 1:28

C -- Chisom 1 run (run failed), 1:10

J -- Starzinger 48 run (pass failed), 0:00

Third quarter

C -- Young 9 run (Osburn kick), 9:28

J -- Elliott 8 pass from Moore (Elliott kick), 3:22

C -- Chisom 33 run (Osburn kick), 1:28

Fourth quarter

J -- Elliott 10 pass from Thele (Elliott kick), 8:36

C -- Young 36 pass from Chisom (Chisom run), 7:26

C J

First downs 17 18

Rushes-yards 48-356 34-185

Passing yards 97 198

Passes 3-5-0 24-33-1

Punts-average 1-20 2-48

Fumbles-lost 1-0 6-1

Penalties-yards 6-41 2-10

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Central, Chisom 11-149, Harris 20-101, Young 11-92, Christian Mitchell 3-9, Felawn Smith 3-5; Jackson, Bryndan Reid 13-67, Starzinger 1-48, Quentin Kent 6-37, Thele 7-25, Ethan Laster 4-7, Cole Welker 1-5, Moore 2-(-4).

PASSING -- Central, Chisom 3-5-97-0; Jackson, Moore 18-24-145-1, Thele 6-9-53-0.

RECEIVING -- Central, Young 2-76, Trevon McClard 1-21; Jackson, Elliott 12-100, Kent 5-35, Starzinger 1-23, Drew Moran 1-13, Brenden Gross 1-10, Laster 2-9, Reid 2-8.