CHS, HICKMAN USE HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE IN OPENER

For sheer offense, the Cape Girardeau Central vs. Columbia-Hickman game Friday night was a rarity.

The Tigers and Kewpies combined for 946 yards and 47 first downs in Hickman's 47-39 win.

"Personally, I'm an old defensive coordinator, and I'd just as soon keep the yards and score down," Tigers coach Jerry Dement said. "We're not big on stats other than the "W".

Some stats demand attention, however. Several Tigers set personal marks in the game:

Quarterback Frank McGinty completed 25 of 41 passes for 301 yards, nearly 100 yards over his previous best. He also threw for two touchdowns.

"The offensive line was unbelievable," said McGinty, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior. "The protection was great. People were catching the ball. Everything was going right."

McGinty's favorite target, senior wingback Chris Allen, also went ballistic. The 5-foot-7, 155-pound speedster caught 13 passes for 148 yards.

Senior running back Emmanuel Harris rushed 12 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and junior return specialist Donnie McClinton broke a pair of long kickoff returns including a 73-yarder. He also had a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown called back on a clipping penalty.

The Tigers trailed 41-19 in the third quarter, but rallied late, and had a chance to tie with under one minute left.

"You always want to keep your head up, but for awhile there we had trouble," McGinty said. "It shows a great deal of character to come back like we did.

Hickman countered Central's passing efficiency with 433 yards rushing. Jake Whitesides was the primary weapon, with 211 yards on 25 carries.

The Kewpies did not run its offense out of the I-formation as it had when Tigers coaches scouted them at their Jamboree.

"They may have caught us a little unawares," Dement said. "We didn't take the fullback away as much as we wanted."

"Defensively," Hickman coach Gregg Nesbit said, "we have a lot of work to do, as I'm sure Cape would say."

Charleston 28, Kennett 27

After recovering Kennett's onsides kick with under two minutes left in their game Friday night, the Charleston Blue Jays needed only to run a few more ticks off the clock.

It worked for five plays. But on the sixth, the Blue Jays coughed up the ball.

"One more first down and we were out of it," Charleston coach Dan Kesselring said. "I was thinking, please Lord, let that clock run."

Kesselring's prayer was answered. Kennett's last gasp effort eventually came to a halt on fourth-and-10 near midfield.

"Nobody probably would have picked us to win that game because Kennett has improved so much," Kesselring said. "Really, what opened the ballgame was our option game."

Using the fullback effectively, the Pirates erased a 13-0 first quarter deficit and led 14-13 at halftime. Jeff Ewing put Charleston on the board with a 60-yard run late in the first quarter. He finished with 124 yards rushing.

Quarterback Jason Ward, who scampered 65-yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, ran for 136 yards, and Kevin Brown, who had a 35-yard touchdown run, gained 70 yards on the ground.