Mules outlast Tigers in overtime to pick up first win

It was a rollercoaster of emotions for all involved on Friday night as the Cape Central Tigers and Poplar Bluff Mules battled in their SEMO Conference opener.

In the end, it was the Mules walking away victorious with a 42-35 overtime finish over the Tigers.

“Cape is a damn good team,” Mules coach Dave Sievers said. “The way our season started, we needed this one.”

Beforehand, if you told anyone in attendance that the game would've gone into overtime, they may not have believed you.

With 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Jay Edmundson made the Tigers pay for a muffed punt with a 21-yard touchdown run, increasing the Mules’ lead to 35-21.

KeyShawn Boyd answered for the Tigers with just under 5 minutes to play, bringing the Mules lead to just 35-28.

After a Poplar Bluff punt with 2 minutes to play, the Tigers, behind quarterback Jathan Spain, led a 73-yard drive capped off by Boyd finding the end zone from a yard out to tie the game.

The back-and-forth affair continued into overtime as Poplar Bluff took the first possession of overtime and scored courtesy of a Logan Hite run.

However, it was the Mules’ defense that was the story in overtime as they allowed the Tiger offense to go nowhere, giving Poplar Bluff a 42-35 win.

“It’s funny to say the defense stepped up when we gave up 35 points,” Sievers said. “But Cape is a damn good football team, and coach (Kent) Gibbs is doing a good job with them. The kids just kept fighting.”

The action wasn’t just intense in the final quarter. It left both sides on the edge of their seats from the beginning.

The scoring started early as the Tigers dug deep into their playbook to set up a long touchdown pass from Zai’Aire Thomas to Paul Tran.

“I knew their running backs were going to give us fits,” Sievers said. “They’re just too good.”

The Mules went into their second drive searching for an answer to the Tigers score.

A methodical drive gave them the answer they were looking for as Logan Hite finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown run.

“I’ve got some big strong kids upfront, and we have that power package,” Sievers said. “It’s been successful for us. I’m old-fashioned enough that if we could do that 90% of the time, I’d be a happy guy. But the rest of my coaches like to throw the ball around.”

After trading turnover-on-downs, it was the Tigers who would strike next courtesy of perhaps the most dominant running back in the area this season.

KeyShawn Boyd continued his hot start by picking up an 8-yard touchdown run just 4 minutes into the second quarter to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.

Just 2 minutes later, Jay Edmundson aired out a 53-yard strike to Darius Graham to tie the game at 14.

“They have a good connection,” Sievers said. “Darius is an all-state high jumper, and Jay is a playmaker, and we’re able to do some stuff with Jay.”

The momentum stayed with the Mules as they stopped the Tigers offense and then scored again as Jais Soto ran for a 2-yard score.

With just over a minute left in the half, the Tigers tried to drive down the field, but Jathan Spain had his pass intercepted at the Mules 28.

Edmundson capitalized on the Tigers’ mistake and sent the Mules into the locker room at halftime with a 28-14 lead.

With the Tigers driving to begin the second half, the Mules took advantage of a bad snap on their own one-yard line and recovered the fumble to end the Tigers march.

“That was huge,” Sievers said. “If we could have put a 99-yard drive together and gone up three scores, you know, I think the game would have been over.”

After a defensive stop, the Tigers offense went to work as Thomas broke free for a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to make it 28-21 Mules.

Cape Central (1-2) will hit the road for the first time this season at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, when they take on Park Hills Central.

Poplar Bluff (1-2) welcomes the Jackson Indians to town at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15 at Poplar Bluff High School.

“Next week is going to be tough,” Sievers said. “Being up two scores, if we had let this one get away from us, it would have been really hard to get up for next week. It’s been a while since we’ve been 1-0 in conference play.”