MULES PACK UP 'W'

To Cape Central, Stan Revelle was as annoying as a dripping faucet.

Poplar Bluff's standout quarterback completed 21 of 31 passes for 236 yards as the Mules' offense moved the chains and controlled the tempo in a 20-7 win over the Tigers at Houck Stadium.

Aside from a 55-yard bomb which led to Poplar Bluff's first score, Revelle's longest pass of the game was 20 yards. Revelle completed most of his passes on short routes to his running backs.

The Mules simply took what the Tigers gave them and assembled four drives of nine plays or more.

"Cape gave us a lot of double coverage," said Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse. "They took out our wideouts early and that opened up the running backs. And I thought our play-action worked well."

The Tigers simply had no answer for Revelle's, 5- and 10-yard completions.

"We felt like we still had a chance in the fourth quarter," said Cape Central coach Lawrence Brookins. "But that steady drip started to weather the rock, so to speak."

Often, Poplar Bluff would be set up third-and-short but Central only forced Poplar Bluff to go three-and-out twice. The Mules managed first downs on four fourth-down opportunities and never allowed the Tigers any momentum.

"Our coach is starting to trust us and he's going to let us try it," said Revelle. "There's really no way you can cover it if we don't make mistakes."

When asked if his performance was his best this season, Revelle said, "No, not really. I had two interceptions and that's not a good game. I can't make those mistakes. But execution-wise, this was probably my best game."

Though Revelle picked his way through Central's defense, the Tigers certainly had their chances.

In fact, if the Tigers make three or four plays they could've won.

Central twice was in position to make interceptions but didn't, including one that ended up being a 55-yard reception; the Tigers dropped four passes, including one that would've been a touchdown; and backup kicker Ricky Ogles barely missed two field goals -- two attempts that may have been good if playing on a high school field with wider posts.

In all, those plays cost the Tigers 20 points.

Central's only score came when Zac Fidler intercepted a pass and returned it 65 yards to the end zone. Revelle was hit on the play and Fidler broke on the wobbly pass and turned a 14-0 game into a 14-7 game with 5:55 to go in the third quarter.

But Central's offense couldn't muster much -- the Tigers had just 123 yards of total offense, including 74 yards rushing -- and the defense became tired and frustrated in the fourth quarter.

Poplar Bluff jumped out on top with 2:08 left in the first quarter when seven plays after Revelle's long pass -- the Mules quarterback scored on a 1-yard sneak. The Mules punched in a 2-point conversion to make it 8-0.

In the second quarter, Poplar Bluff manufactured a 10-play drive and scored with 42 seconds left to go up 14-0 just before halftime.

The Mules capped off their scoring and basically sealed the game when, on fourth-down-and-three, Revelle hit Johnny Johnson with :29.7 left.

Cape Central running back Jamelle Austin -- who led Central with 61 yards on 11 carries -- was injured on his first carry of the second half and did not re-enter. After the game, it was said that he hyper-extended it and should be ready for next week's game against Graves Co., Ky.

Central kicker Brian Emmendorfer did not dress out because of an injured shoulder. Brookins said he may be able to kick next week.