Ladue football team rallies past Cape Central

The Cape Central football team has shown the ability to score and shut down its opponents through its first five games of the season.

The ability to do it for four quarters is what the Tigers have struggled to do.

Central watched a 12-point lead dwindle away in the fourth quarter when sophomore quarterback Jordan Jackson scored two touchdowns inside the final six minutes to lead Ladue Horton Watkins to a 38-35 win Friday at Central High School.

Tigers coach Nathan Norman said he knew his team was going to be challenged by the Rams, who did almost the same thing a year ago when they rallied from a 16-point deficit at halftime and shut out Central in the second half en route to a 32-22 victory.

Cape Central's Aaron Harris carries for a 69-yard run against Ladue during the first quarter Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

"I anticipated the best football team we've seen this year, and I thought we played well enough to win at times but not for four quarters. That sums it up," said Norman, whose team's last opportunity came on fourth-and-3 at the Ladue 12-yard line. "For whatever reason, we couldn't put the nail in the coffin when we had to up by 12 in the fourth quarter, and then we decided not to tackle. You can't do that. You just cannot do that.

"You've got to be able to finish the game. You've got to be able to tackle. When the game's on the line, you've got to stop them. ... It's disappointing."

The Tigers (2-3) found new life on their final drive when quarterback Kway'Chon Chisom ran for 22 yards on fourth-and-5. A pass interference call on Ladue and a pair of runs by Aaron Harris moved Central to the Rams' 12, but an incompletion on a pass to Al Young in the end zone brought up fourth-and-3.

Rather than attempt a field goal with kicker Bennett Osburn, who had a 32-yarder blocked in the second quarter, Norman decided to go for it. The call was a pass play, and Chisom threw incomplete as he was swallowed in the back field.

"Our kicker's been phenomenal," Norman said about Osburn, who was a perfect 5-of-5 on extra points. "Hats off, he's helped us tremendously, but he's young, doesn't get a lot of practice. And I just didn't want to put that pressure on him in that position at that time of the game, so I felt comfortable with the play call and moved on."

Cape Central quarterback Kway chon Chism carries on a keeper with Ladue's Alex Hahn in pursuit during the third quarter Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Sophomore Aaron Harris emerged as the Tigers' bright spot, finishing with 24 carries for 210 yards. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Harris didn't score but had runs of 68 and 75 yards, the former leading to a 12-yard touchdown run by Young at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter.

"He's just a warrior, a tough kid," Norman said about Harris, who also started at linebacker and played the entire game. "... He doesn't care, and I don't either about yardage. He only wants a 'W,' and that's what I love about him. That's the best thing I can say about him, and that's the truth."

But it was Ladue's sophomore sensation who stole the show.

Jackson scored on a 5-yard run with 5:12 left in the game, and after the Rams (3-2) forced a three-and-out on the ensuing possession, he provided the game-winning touchdown on a 30-yard run with 3:24 remaining. He finished with 126 yards on 14 carries.

"We've been kind of struggling to find our identity a little bit coming off a pretty good year last year," said Ladue coach Mike Tarpey, whose team's season ended a year ago with a 34-6 loss to eventual Class 5 state champion Battle. "We've got a lot of kids back, and we were coming into this game 2-2 just trying to figure out who we were.

"Tonight, I thought the thing we did really well was we had guys pulling for each other. We played as a team, and we never really got too high or too low. To our kids credit, I thought they played really hard tonight."

Jackson also gouged the Tigers through the air, finishing with 212 yards on 15-of-23 passing. He connected with seven receivers, including his lone touchdown pass, a 69-yard score to James Bell with 3:32 left in the first half. The touchdown capped the first-half scoring as Central led 14-10 at the break.

Cape Central's Al Young carries toward the end zone for a touchdown against Ladue during the first quarter Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

The Rams normally rotate between Jackson and junior Evan Mack at quarterback, but with the absence of two starting offensive linemen, Tarpey said Jackson provided more improvisation in the team's need to establish an identity.

"I think we got him on the edge a little bit more," Tarpey said about Jackson. "... He was making some reads a little better in the second half than he did in the first half, so we're definitely happy with how he played."

Chisom carried the ball nine times, accounting for 74 of Central's 336 rushing yards. He scored twice, a 12-yard run at the 3:51 mark of the second quarter and an 8-yard burst that matched the Tigers' largest lead -- 12 points -- with 7:09 left in the game. He was also 3-of-8 passing for 71 yards.

Young accounted for all of Chisom's passing yards, including a 59-yard touchdown reception at the 6:07 mark of the third quarter. He followed it up by zig-zagging his way to the end zone on a 75-yard punt return that gave the Tigers a 28-16 lead with 4:12 left in the third quarter. He wrapped up his performance with 17 touches for 126 yards from scrimmage.

"They've got some playmakers," Tarpey said about Central. "[Harris] is a downhill runner, a physical runner. ... Probably the biggest disappointment on defense was giving up some of those big plays, but [Young] is a heck of a player. They've definitely got some kids that can make a difference."

Cape Central coach Nathan Norman watches the game with Ladue during the second quarter Friday, Sept. 18, 2015 at Central High School. (Fred Lynch)

Ladue was penalized 15 times for 125 yards but was able to establish a running game in the second half. Daylen Edwards and Chino Davis scored from 17 and 22 yards out, respectively, in the third quarter, and the Rams trailed 28-23 heading into the fourth quarter. Ladue was held to 33 yards on 14 carries in the first half but responded in the second half by racking up 155 yards on 15 rushes.

"They've got some playmakers, but it wasn't anything tricky that they were doing," Norman said about Ladue. "It's nothing we didn't stop or couldn't handle in the first half. They're a solid football team, and we knew that."

The Tigers will face another big test in Week 6 against SEMO Conference rival Jackson, which edged out a 50-48 win over Poplar Bluff on Friday for its second consecutive win on the road.

"You've got to get better," Norman told his team after the game. "You've got to get better from film. You have to learn from your mistakes. You've got to stay together as a team. You can't point fingers.

"You have to move forward and beat Jackson next week. That's it. There's nothing else to talk about."

Ladue 3 7 13 15 -- 38

Central 7 7 14 7 -- 35

L C

First downs 11 13

Rushes-yards 29-188 50-336

Passing yards 212 71

Passes 15-23-0 3-8-0

Punts-average 3-26.3 3-24.3

Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-1

Penalties-yards 15-125 11-100

First quarter

L -- PJ Hensley 34 field goal, 4:43

C -- Al Young 12 run (Bennett Osburn kick), 3:40

Second quarter

C -- Kway'Chon Chisom 12 run (Osburn kick), 3:51

L -- James Bell 69 pass from Jordan Jackson (Hensley kick), 3:32

Third quarter

L -- Daylen Edwards 17 run (kick failed), 7:42

C -- Young 59 pass from Chisom (Osburn kick), 6:07

C -- Young 75 punt return (Osburn kick), 4:12

L -- Chino Davis 22 run (Hensley kick), 2:29

Fourth quarter

C -- Chisom 8 run (Osburn kick), 7:09

L -- Jackson 5 run (Hensley kick), 5:12

L -- Jackson 30 run (Hensley kick), 3:24

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Ladue, Jackson 14-126, Edwards 11-34, Davis 1-22, James Bell 1-6, Jarrod Smith 2-0; Central, Aaron Harris 24-210, Chisom 9-74, Young 14-55, Trevon McClard 2-(-1).

PASSING -- Ladue, Jackson 15-23-212-0; Central, Chisom 3-8-71-0.

RECEIVING -- Ladue, Bell 2-67, Smith 4-65, Chuck Burton 3-42, Edwards 2-18, James Curran 2-13, Chris Crump 1-5, David Owolabi 1-2; Central, Young 3-71.