Central blasts Farmington to end rough stretch

~ The Tigers exploded for 52 points in the first half to end a two-game losing streak

Central was looking to take out its frustrations on somebody -- anybody -- after two straight blowout losses.

Farmington provided the perfect foil Friday night.

The Tigers piled up 52 first-half points and celebrated homecoming with a 59-21 romp that featured a running clock the entire second half.

"We needed this win," junior Braion Owens said with emphasis.

Central improved to 2-4 overall and 2-1 in SEMO North Conference play. The Knights fell to 1-5 and 0-3.

"I'm very proud of our kids, our coaches," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "We've had opportunities to hang our heads, but they didn't point fingers. They hung tough and got a big win. We really needed this game."

The Tigers were reeling after last week's 56-29 loss to rival Jackson -- they allowed more than 700 yards of offense -- which came on the heels of a 47-21 home setback to Fort Zumwalt East.

Those are both high-quality opponents, so there was no shame in losing to them. But the lopsided nature of those setbacks stung the Tigers -- so they decided to do something about it.

"We came together as a team this week. We practiced hard all week long," senior Mikey Jones said. "We were confident in ourselves this week."

That confidence showed in all areas of the Tigers' game, especially their dominant rushing attack that overpowered Farmington.

Central had three 100-yard rushers -- all in the first half -- and piled up 392 first-half rushing yards. The Tigers scored on all eight of their possessions in the opening two quarters.

"We came out explosive," sophomore Al Young said.

Jones, a tailback who rushed for 235 yards against Jackson, piled up 157 yards on just 11 carries Friday as he moved over the 700-yard mark for the season.

Jones scored two touchdowns, on runs of 7 and 62 yards.

Owens, a fullback with tailback-like speed and quickness, rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries and also scored two touchdowns, on runs of 8 yards and 1 yard.

"Three backs over 100 yards. ... we came out really attacking," said Owens, who added with a smile: "You could drive a mack truck through the holes."

Young, one of the Tigers' receivers, took his turn at tailback late in the first half.

All Young did was rush for 100 yards on just three carries. He scored twice, on runs of 23 and 64 yards, after hauling in an 8-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Dennis Vinson early in the contest.

"The holes were too big today," Young said with a grin.

Jones, Owens and Young did all their damage in the first half as Norman cleared his bench over the final two quarters.

"The offensive line did a great job," Norman said.

While Central's offense was dominant, the defense was smothering in bouncing back from giving up 103 points the previous two games.

"We really needed it, especially on defense," senior linebacker Ansley Patrick said. "We had a great week of practice."

Patrick was among Central's numerous defensive stars. He had two of the Tigers' four first-half sacks and came up with a key tackle for loss on fourth down when the score was not yet out of hand.

"The defensive line opened up holes for the linebackers, and if the linebackers couldn't finish it off the defensive backs did," Patrick said.

The Tigers won the opening toss and elected to go on offense as Norman wanted them to make an early statement.

That's exactly what happened.

Central drove 80 yards in 11 plays and scored when Vinson and Young hooked up for their 8-yard touchdown.

"We couldn't have drawn it up any better," Norman said.

On Farmington's next possession, a snap sailed well over the punter's head as Central took over on the 12-yard line. Jones scored on a 7-yard run.

Then junior Josh Morse intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards to the 13. Owens scored from 8 yards out to make it 18-0.

Farmington, no doubt in deperation mode by then, went for it on fourth down and a couple of feet from its own 34-yard line.

Patrick knifed in to hit the ball carier for a 3-yard loss as Central took over at the 31.

Vinson's 1-yard burst just before the end of the period made it 28-0.

"We really looked good early and kept it rolling," Norman said.

Central did not have nearly as good a field position in the second quarter, but it didn't matter.

The Tigers scored on drives of 56, 90, 57 and 64 yards.

Owens' 1-yard touchdown came immediately after his 55-yard scamper that ended just short of the goal line.

Jones ripped off a 62-yard TD for a 38-0 lead, then Farmington stemmed the tied momentarily when quarterback Justin Boehm broke loose for a 69-yard score.

Young scored on runs of 23 and 64 yards over the final 3:30 of the half for a 52-7 bulge.

"The first half was good. We came out with good intensity," Jones said.

Norman went deep into his bench over the final two quarters as the running clock, used when a team is ahead by at least 35 points at any time in the second half, came into play.

Jalen Reddin rounded out Central's scoring with a 35-yard run midway through the third quarter to make it 59-7. Reddin gained 83 yards on five carries.

Central was even solid in the kicking game despite normal place-kicker Matt Chism not being on hand because he was with the Tigers' soccer team.

Brennan Redinger booted five straight PAT's after missing his first attempt, and Vinson kept Farmington pinned deep all night with his kickoffs.

"It was just a great team effort," Norman said.

The Tigers visit Sikeston on Friday night.

Farmington 0 7 7 7 -- 21

Central 24 28 7 0 -- 59

First Quarter

C -- Al Young 8 pass from Dennis Vinson (kick failed), 7:19

C -- Mikey Jones 7 run (run failed), 4:16

C -- Braion Owens 8 run (pass failed), 2:36

C -- Vinson 1 run (pass failed), 0.5

Second Quarter

C -- Owens 1 run (Brennan Redinger kick), 9:49

C -- Jones 62 run (Redinger kick), 7:22

F -- Justin Boehm 69 run (Brayden Krause kick), 7:01

C -- Young 23 run (Redinger kick), 3:26

C -- Young 64 run (Redinger kick), 1:43

Third Quarter

C -- Jalen Reddin 35 run (Redinger kick), 5:51

F -- Krause 23 run (Krause kick), 3:54

Fourth Quarter

F -- Krause 3 run (Krause kick), 1:57

F C

First downs 18 18

Rushes-yards 41-293 41-478

Passing yards 34 21

Passes 7-15-1 2-3-0

Punts 4-29 2-51.5

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 0 4-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Krause 11-131, Boehm 9-120, Brandt Busenbark 7-31, Ethan Barron 4-27, Collin Huitt 3-13, Brayden Bohn 6-4, team 1-minus 33. Central, Jones 11-151, Owens 11-127, Young 3-100, Reddin 5-83, Vinson 3-14, Daevon Hudson 3-9, Deandre Banks 3-minus 2, team 2-minus 4.

PASSING -- Farmington, Boehm 6-13-1-31, Busenbark 1-2-0-3. Central, Vinson 2-3-0-21.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Quin McIntosh 4-14, Trevor Keith 2-9, Tyler Finish 1-11. Central, Young 2-21.