CAPE CENTRAL WRAPS UP HOME FOOTBALL SCHEDULE WITH BIG WIN

It was the game Cape Girardeau Central had been looking for all week.

Trouble is, the TIgers didn't find it until Week 8 of the season.

Central closed its home schedule Friday night with its biggest offensive show of the season, beating Oakville 35-16 at Houck Stadium.

Central's Tigers improved to 4-5 and 1-1 in Class 5A District 1. The team plays at Poplar Bluff this week, but only with pride at stake: Sikeston wrapped up the district race Friday by beating Poplar Bluff in two overtimes.

A quick start Friday got Central rolling early, peaking with a 22-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

"I have to admit, I'm pleasantly surprised with the way it turned out," Central coach Jerry Dement said. "I thought it would be more of a dogfight, but our kids stepped up a notch and did a great job.

"We had such a strong start, that gave us a lot of momentum and we fed off that most of the way."

Central scored on its first two drives, starting with a 7-yard run by Chip Sepulvado. Later, Jeff Michel added a 31-yard field goal.

Two Oakville fumbles early in the second quarter led to quick touchdowns, first on a 24-yard pass from Bobby Brune to Diondrai Webb. Oakville fumbled on the first drive of its next series, and three plays later Sepulvado ran in a 19-yard score.

Sepulvado, lining up in place of injured back Justin Blackmon, had 72 yards on 10 carries. The senior sat out most of the second half with a slight hip injury.

"He was a running quarterback last year, so we knew he could run the ball well," Dement said. "The offensive line did a good job opening up some holes for him."

Oakville broke in on Central's shutout with a 9-play drive that ended with a 3-yard pass from Matt Jost to Eric Rechtin. But Central pushed its lead to 35-8 by the end of the third quarter.

"The first half was probably the the best half of ball we've played all year," Dement said. "Then we had a good third and in the fourth we made a lot of substitutes and made some mistakes. But we'll take it.

"Three out of the four quarters looked really good."

Brune finished with 123 yards on 8-of-9 passing. For Oakville, Jost was 10-of-20 with 127 yards, but was picked off three times, twice by Webb and once by Shondale Tipler.