Cape Central lean on two-back power attack to return to Class 5 semifinals

For the second straight season, the Cape Central Tigers are in the Class 5 semifinals.

The Tigers traveled to Eureka and defeated the Wildcats 32-29 on Saturday, No. 18, by relying on their bread and butter, running backs Zai’Aire Thomas and KeyShawn Boyd.

The Tigers gained 364 yards on the ground as a team.

"To win, we got to stop the run and we got to run the football," Cape Central head coach Kent Gibbs said. "We just had to figure out ways that we can run the football."

Boyd rushed for 208 yards on 32 carries and scored three touchdowns while Thomas gained 153 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Boyd now has 2,091 yards and 31 touchdowns, and Thomas has 1,338 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season. What's impressive about Thomas this season is even with a teammate breaking out and taking the lion's share of the offensive production, the junior has more yards than last year when he was the focal point of the offensive attack.

"The thing about running the football is you got to have those guards up front blocking. At times our o-line did a tremendous job."

The Wildcats scored the first touchdown of the game. The Tigers responded and took the lead on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Jathan Spain to Paul Tran on a play-action play. It was Spain's only completed pass of the game.

The Tigers held onto their lead throughout the game by pounding the ball with Boyd and Thomas. When they didn't get to the end zone, freshman kicker Joey Charlton was there to kick the ball between the uprights.

"If we don't have field goals today, we don't win," Gibbs said. "Joey is going to become a really good kicker before his time is done and he's solid in what he does now. We're really glad we have him."

The game was sealed late in the fourth quarter when senior linebacker Davarious Nunley snagged an interception to snuff out an Eureka comeback attempt and maintain the Tigers' three-point lead.

"It was nice because the whole game, the quarterback kept throwing the ball over there," Nunley said, "and I tried to read it out but when I saw the ball come my way, I got excited. It was a big impact because I knew if we got the ball in the offense's hands we were gonna win the game."

This entire season has played out like last year for the Tigers. Cape Central started last season 2-3 coming off a brutal loss to Jackson, then proceeded to beat Farmington, Sikeston, DeSoto, and Potosi to build momentum towards their run to the state semifinals. Just flip the Poplar Bluff and Park Hills Central outcomes this year, and it's deja vu all over again.

The only difference is instead of the offense being led by a senior quarterback with three years of starting experience, the Tigers made it this far with a sophomore backup, who has completed 41 percent of his passes for 926 yards and seven touchdowns against seven interceptions.

"This team has been fun to coach," Gibbs said. "We didn't get off to a very good start, just like last year, but they really come on and play hard."

The Tigers travel to Cardinal Ritter on Saturday, Nov. 25, with a trip to the Class 5 state championship game on the line. Regardless of the matchup, the Tigers will go with what has led them to this point.

"We're gonna keep trying to run the football and see how far that will take us," Gibbs said.