Eureka collars Central 38-0

The Wildcats' strong running game proved too much for the Tigers in Thursday's season opener.

By Jeremy Joffray ~ Southeast Missourian

With the Eureka offense lining up without a player out wide on more than three-fourths of its plays Thursday night, Central's defense couldn't say it didn't know what was coming.

But knowing what's coming and stopping it is two different things. That was proven at Houck Stadium, as the Wildcats ran over the Tigers 38-0 in the football opener for both teams.

"That's the strength of their team," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said of Eureka's run attack. "Their offensive line is blessed with size, and they are quick kids."

Running behind a veteran offensive line, 10 Wildcat runners combined for 335 yards on 56 carries. Sam Johnson led the attack with 171 yards on 20 carries, and Eddie Haar added 120 yards on 12 carries.

"Sam and Eddie, I thought all of them ran well," Eureka coach Farrell Shelton said. "I want to give it up for our offensive line."

Eureka's ground attack put the Tigers on their heels from the opening drive. Johnson picked up several first downs, and quarterback Scott Sorensen's 24-yard scamper helped Eureka push the ball all the way down to the Central 6 and eat up more than half of the first quarter.

The Wildcats chose to go for a short fourth down instead of kicking a field goal, though, and Central was able to get a turnover on downs. After the change of possession, Central used the passing of sophomore Blake Slattery and several Eureka penalties to drive down the field. Central's best shot at points ended when Andy Billenmeyer's field goal attempt from the 9 was blocked.

Shelton said Eureka's inability to score on that first drive could have come back to haunt them.

"We dodged a huge bullet there," Shelton said. "Having an opening drive like that and not scoring... they score there and it's a completely different game."

After the Wildcats took over early in the second quarter, Haar broke several tackles on a 65-yard touchdown run to give Eureka a 7-0 lead at the 9:25 mark. A few minutes later, the Tigers made a bad snap on a punt, giving Eureka excellent field position. On the very next play, Johnson scored on a 22-yard run for the first of his two touchdowns.

Brookins said the Wildcats simply wore down theTigers.

"Fatigue. That is the first time I've seen 11 black heads in a huddle with their heads down," he said.

Central entered the game with 44 players on its roster. Only a handful had any type of varsity experience, and a couple of injuries further depleted the depth.

While the numbers are down for Central, Brookins said part of the fatigue could be traced back to the summer. Central's summer workout program had a decline in participation for one of the first times in Brookins' tenure.

"I wasn't pleased with our summer conditioning. There's nothing we can put our fingers on as to why," Brookins said.

Despite a problem with fatigue, Central's performance Thursday was not all bad. Slattery, in his first start as a Tiger quarterback at any level, finished 6-of-13 for 113 yards. Slattery completed five of his first six passes before the Wildcats started to key on the pass.

Brookins said he was proud of the way Slattery performed.

"We did some good things offensively with our young quarterbacks," he said.

Marcus Rice led the Tigers rushing attack with 47 yards on 14 carries. Brandon Twiggs had 11 yards on only six carries. Freshman quarterback Garrett Stevens got in the game late and completed his only pass for nine yards.

The Tigers will now have eight days to recuperate before a home game next Friday against St. Charles West.

"Overall, we're young. We didn't play well, but we did play hard, and that's a positive," Brookins said.

Eureka's next game will be Friday against Parkway West.

Shelton said he was just happy to get out of Cape Girardeau with a win against a strong Central program.

"You just want that first win whenever you can get it," he said. "I wouldn't want to play Cape in a couple of weeks. Their young quarterback will be something else."