Central football team beats rival Jackson in pivotal conference matchup

~Editor's note: This story has been corrected to include the score.

The rankings, the records, the history, the hype -- none of it seemed to phase the Tigers.

As the team gathered in the locker room before facing rival Jackson, Central coach Nathan Norman held up a clipping from last year's Southeast Missourian that memorialized the Tigers' 56-27 loss.

"You've got to live with this for a year. I've lived with it for a year, and you've lived with it for a year," he told his team before crumbling the newspaper up and throwing it into a trash can. "That was it. They wanted it."

The Tigers entered the game ranked No. 10 in Class 4 and ran for 319 yards, upsetting the second-ranked Class 5 Jackson Indians 31-21 and erasing a two-game losing streak against their SEMO North Conference rivals on Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

Jackson's Ben Maudie carries against Central in the forth quarter Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at Cape Central. (GLENN LANDBERG)

More than 7,000 people were in attendance for the annual rivalry game, which saw Central (5-1, 3-0) take the lead in the third quarter and never look back.

"I couldn't tell you if we had anybody in the stands, and that's the truth. I didn't enjoy the game until the last 30 seconds, and that's also the truth," Norman said. "I'm worn out like the kids."

Trailing 14-10 in the third quarter, Braion Owens scored the Tigers' go-ahead touchdown on a 50-yard burst up the middle. Brennan Redinger kicked one of his four extra points to give Central a 17-14 lead with 7:21 remaining in the quarter.

Owens led the Tigers' ground attack with 147 yards on 21 carries.

"Al [Young] is the big-play man, no doubt. Braion is the all-purpose running back. He can make you pay," Norman said. "I'm super proud of Braion. What an effort. I'm super proud of all of them."

Central's Peyton Montgomery outruns Jackson's Ethan Isakson in the first quarter Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at Cape Central. (GLENN LANDBERG)

On the ensuing possession, Central's defense forced Jackson (5-1, 2-1) to turn the ball over on downs, and the Tigers made use of their opportunity. Quarterback Peyton Montgomery converted a fourth-down opportunity with a 16-yard pass to Jalen Reddin to keep the drive alive, and the Tigers capped off a five-minute, 10-play scoring drive to go up two scores heading into the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-9, Montgomery heaved a desperation pass to the end zone, where Young reached beyond the outstretched arms of the Jackson secondary and pulled in the 33-yard reception. The officials paused for a moment before signaling the touchdown, which sent the Tigers' crowd into a frenzy.

The Indians trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs twice before their fourth turnover put the game out of reach.

Late in the quarter, Jackson quarterback Dante Vandeven threw into a crowded secondary as Young came down with the ball and raced into the end zone from 40 yards out.

"People underestimate me a lot on defense. They think I'm just an offensive player. I think I showed that tonight, how much I can help on defense," Young said. "When he threw it, I saw how it was wobbling, and I was like, 'This is about to fall short.' His player was going deep like he didn't know it was going short, so I just ran right under it and took it to the house."

Central's Al Young pulls down a pass intended for Jackson's Xominique Davis in the second quarter Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at Cape Central. (GLENN LANDBERG)

The 6-foot Young finished the game with 70 yards from scrimmage, but it was his defense that helped the Tigers the most.

"I'm not a selfish player," Young said. "If I know I can't get the ball, I've got teammates that can get the ball. We have plenty of players that can play."

Young had two picks on the night and forced a key fumble at the end of the first quarter that prevented Jackson from scoring a touchdown at the Central 5.

"I don't think we played very well. I think Cape had a lot to do with that, and I think they took the game to us in some spots," Jackson coach Brent Eckley said. "We didn't take care of the ball well enough. The bottom line is if you don't take care of the football and the other team does a little bit better of a job at that, then the chances are you're going to lose. We talked to our guys about that before the game. We talked about how if we didn't turn the ball over, if we were plus-2 or plus-3, then we'd win."

The Tigers began the game with a drive that ended at the Jackson 2. They settled for a 22-yard field goal by Redinger, which gave Central a 3-0 lead with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

A quick three-and-out gave the ball back to the Tigers, who used a bit of trickery to score the game's first touchdown.

On fourth-and-11 at its own 22, Central lined up for what appeared to be its first punt of the game. Instead, Norman went against conventional wisdom with a fake punt that caught everyone at Tiger Stadium off guard, including the Indians.

Central's student section cheers during the third quarter of the game against Jackson Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at Cape Central. (GLENN LANDBERG)

"I told myself this week I was going to have to take some gambles, and I feel like the [fake] punt we put in and executed was one of the gambles. I've got three very wise, older gentlemen with tons of coaching experience on my staff who are very conservative. I wanted to be more aggressive, onside kick more, and they said, 'No, no, no. You've got to make them earn it, make them beat you.' So I'm glad I listened to my elders and backed off," Norman said jokingly. "But we did take some gambles though, and they paid off. ... It took all phases, and we knew that. We had to play like that, and I had to coach like that."

Montgomery ran to the right side of the field and broke several tackles before finding room down the sideline for a 78-yard touchdown run that even he couldn't believe.

"The whole week, we practiced it going left. Right before the play, [they] noticed there weren't many people on the right, so we tried it out," Montgomery said. "Before the play, Jalen Reddin said, 'Hey, follow me. I'm going to get your block, and you take off from there.' I did not expect it to be an 80-yard run. I expected to get the first down, but after I got through the hole, I was just like, 'Well dang.' I heard the fans start yelling and was like, 'Oh, I actually got this.'"

Montgomery finished with 127 rushing yards on nine carries. Through the air, he was 5 of 9 passing for 49 yards.

Jackson fan, Katie Brewer watches the game against Central in the third quarter Friday, Sept. 26, 2014 at Cape Central. (GLENN LANDBERG)

"He's a leader. He's only been here one year, but he's played his whole life. That's huge," Norman said. "You've got to have a guy that can manage the game, and he does that extremely well. He hurt them with his feet. Those are big first downs that he picked up scrambling."

Central wasn't done yet. The Tigers' defense forced two more fumbles in the first quarter before the Indians were able to get their first score of the game on a 27-yard run by Vandeven.

The touchdown run cut Jackson's deficit to 10-7 with 8:07 remaining in the second quarter. The Indians had one first down in the first half but only trailed by three points at halftime.

"We had to be able to establish some things offensively. Sixteen snaps in the first half hurts you. I didn't have any feel at all for anything that we could do," Eckley said. "A little bit was a credit to their defense. A little bit was a credit to our lack of preparation. A little bit of it was just not being focused and tuned in. We were dropping snaps and fumbling the ball. Some were contact deals, and some were not. But I think we put the ball on the ground seven or eight times."

On the opening possession of the second half, Jackson quickly moved down field and took a 14-10 lead on a 3-yard run by Vandeven with 8:57 remaining in the third quarter.

Vandeven finished the game 14 of 21 passing for 134 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown, a 22-yard pass to Xominique Davis with less than a minute left in the game. He also had 13 carries for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

"We talk about this all the time in wanting to play against our best and our perfect, and we were nowhere near that tonight," Eckley said. "It didn't matter who was on the field. I feel like there were just times there where we couldn't score, and that's on us. That's not anybody else."

Reddin led the Tigers' defense with nine tackles, while teammate Josh Morse added six.

"We just wanted the ball back," Reddin said. "The key for our defense was to get our offense on the field. We had to do anything in our power and our will to get the ball from them."

Ben Maudie and Ethan Isakson each had 65 yards rushing for the Indians, while Davis finished with a team-high 73 receiving yards on five receptions. Jackson will look to regroup next week when it travels to Sikeston.

"We'll go back to work and look at the film," Eckley said. "At some point, kids are going to have to continue to work to be more savvy. Our kids have got to be able to make adjustments in the game."

The victory moves Central into the driver's seat for the conference crown. A road victory next week against Farmington gives the Tigers sole possession of the title, something the school hasn't tasted in more than a decade.

"We were fearless. We played with phenomenal effort, and our kids wanted to win. That was the difference for us," Norman said. "Jackson played their tails off. What a great team. They had great attitudes on that field. I can't say enough about them. They're well-coached. They do what they're supposed to do.

"But for 365 days, no matter what anybody says, Cape Central football is better than Jackson."

Jackson 0 7 7 7 -- 21

Central 10 0 14 7 -- 31

First Quarter

C -- Brennan Redinger 22 field goal, 7:26

C -- Peyton Montgomery 78 run (Redinger kick), 3:03

Second Quarter

J -- Dante Vandeven 27 run (Ty Crowden kick), 8:07

Third Quarter

J -- Vandeven 3 run (Crowden kick), 8:57

C -- Braion Owens 50 run (Redinger kick), 7:21

C -- Al Young 33 pass from Montgomery (Redinger kick), 0:11

Fourth Quarter

C -- Young 40 interception return (Redinger kick), 3:26

J -- Xominique Davis 22 pass from Vandeven (Crowden kick), 0:53

J C

First downs 12 9

Rushes-yards 32-224 48-319

Passing yards 134 49

Passes 14-21-2 5-9-0

Punts-average 2-57.5 4-39.5

Fumbles-lost 6-2 2-1

Penalties-yards 4-35 5-34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Jackson, Vandeven 13-74, Ben Maudie 3-65, Ethan Isakson 6-65, Gabriel Dudley 7-13, Jacob Starzinger 2-7, Davis 1-2; Central, Owens 21-147, Montgomery 9-127, Young 14-39, Jalen Reddin 1-6, Jordan Franklin 1-1, Team 2-(-4).

PASSING -- Jackson, Vandeven 14-21-134-2; Central, Montgomery 5-9-49-0.

RECEIVING -- Jackson, Davis 5-73, Maudie 4-34, Jeremy Elliot 2-14, Lashone Dean 2-7, Lucas Helwege 1-6; Central, Young 2-31, Reddin 1-16, Owens 1-3, Khane Booker 1-(-1).