Poindexter retakes Central's rushing lead in victory over North County

BONNE TERRE, Mo. -- It took four weeks, but senior James Poindexter finally caught Keilon Moore.

Poindexter rushed for 103 yards, while Moore gained 80 yards on the ground in Friday's 51-14 victory over North County.

That means the smaller, shiftier Poindexter enjoys the team lead for rushing yards after trailing the more bruising, powerful Moore for the last three weeks.

"We got a little thing going, definitely," Poindexter said.

Poindexter leads 496 yards to 490. But neither back got many carries Friday because the Tigers put away the Raiders early. The Central starters didn't see the field in the second half, which means Poindexter only got five carries and Moore eight. Poindexter said he doesn't like the limited carries playing a role in his retaking the rushing lead.

"I like to see him do his thing, too, to make it a competition," Poindexter said of Moore.

Central relies on a balanced rushing attack. The Tigers have had at least seven players earn one carry in every game this season. That means Poindexter knows he must make the most of his touches each game.

"The kids are not selfish and we have not heard one word about that," Central coach Rich Payne said of spreading around the carries. "They know this offense and we've preached it to them for three years. The key to the offense is no one knows who is going to get the ball. If you run it and you run it well the way we have lately, you don't know who's going to end up with it. You can mix and match those guys back there and let them go. And they're talented."

Central wasted little time improving to 5-0 for the first time since 1977. The Tigers rushed for 263 yards in building a 37-0 halftime lead.

"We came out the first half and our kids executed and took care of business the way they should," Payne said. "This game made me nervous because I didn't know if we'd be ready to go. But the kids did. They responded."

Central forced a running clock for most of the second half, although North County did close within 30 points when it scored its second touchdown against Central's reserves. The Tigers have enjoyed a running clock in at least part of the second half in four of their five games this season. Festus was the lone team that stayed within 35 points for the entire contest. Payne said he isn't worried about his players struggling to play in the second half when his team faces tougher opponents this season.

"We run the daylight out of them," Payne said. "I'll condition them [Saturday] morning to get the soreness out of them. We have a pretty good routine going on right now as far as conditioning and what we do with them. I think we can get into the fourth quarter and play with anybody."

The Tigers strung together a five-play drive that covered 48 yards to grab a 7-0 lead, then Poindexter broke off a 78-yard run later in the first quarter to push the lead to 14-0.

After Michael Reeder scored on an 8-yard run, the Central defense got in on the scoring.

North County freshman quarterback Wyatt Compton, whose brother Will is a linebacker at the University of Nebraska and whose other brother Cody is a wrestler at Nebraska, dropped back to pass at his own 9-yard line. Central senior Devin Rowett chased him down and hauled him to the ground in the end zone for a safety.

"I split between the running back and the tackle and saw that he was coming back and hadn't released the ball yet," Rowett said. "So I went in, dove forward and found out it was in the end zone for a safety. I thought he would have got rid of it when he saw me, but he held onto it, tried to outrun me."

Central's first-string defense held North County's running game in check. The Raiders only managed 10 yards on 19 carries in the first half. But they did throw the ball with some success, gaining 87 yards on four completions before halftime.

"It was a little bit of miscommunication," Central senior defensive back Jaeson Reddin said. "I'm not going to lie, bad alignment on my part. It's not the best game I've ever had. I have to step it up if we're going to be playing harder teams."

The Raiders finished with 126 yards passing, which included a 39-yard strike from Compton to Cameron Vasquez at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

The Tigers called off the dogs before the first half even ended. They got the ball at North County's 42-yard line with 1 minute, 24 seconds remaining before halftime. But instead of running the two-minute offense, the Tigers settled for running the ball three times and not calling either of their two remaining timeouts.

"There's no reason to stick it to a team that doesn't need that," Payne said.

Central will try to remain undefeated when it hosts St. Charles West (3-2) on Friday at Houck Stadium. The Tigers last started a season 6-0 in 1972, when they went 10-0 before losing to Hazelwood 27-19 in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. Hazelwood went on to tie Southwest of Kansas City 6-6 in the state title game.

Central 14 23 7 7 -- 51

North County 0 0 7 7 -- 14

First Quarter

C -- Rodney Reynolds 4 run (Andrew Hileman kick), 9:22

C -- James Poindexter 78 run (Hileman kick), 2:26

Second Quarter

C -- Michael Reeder 8 run (Hileman kick), 9:45

C -- Devin Rowett tackled Wyatt Compton in end zone, 9:34

C -- Keilon Moore 24 run (Hileman kick), 8:12

C -- Reeder 2 run (Hileman kick), 3:19

Third Quarter

C -- Austin Martin 5 run (Hileman kick), 6:39

N -- Cameron Vasquez 39 pass from Compton (Justin Ruby kick), :42

Fourth Quarter

N -- Ryan Gibson 2 run (Ruby kick), 11:54

C -- Eric Evans 21 run (Hileman kick), 3:45

C NC

First downs 21 10

Rushes-yards 49-410 30-63

Passing yards 61 126

Passes 3-6-0 5-10-0

Punts 1-46 5-35

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-2

Penalties-yards 9-48 7-59

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Central, Deonte Jenkins 5-40, James Poindexter 5-103, Keilon Moore 8-80, Rodney Reynolds 1-4, Andrew Williams 1-2, Christian Cavaness 2-8, Michael Reeder 4-16, Austin Davis 1-10, Garan Evans 3-19, Jacob Cambell 3-21, Eric Evans 6-61, Alex Davis-Carter 5-24, Austin Martin 4-23, Kyle Thompson 1-(-1). North County, Matt Rion 23-77, Wyatt Compton 4-(-15), Ryan Gibson 3-1.

PASSING -- Central, Christian Cavaness 3-6-61-0. North County, Wyatt Compton 5-10-126-0.

RECEIVING -- Central, Rodney Reynolds 1-26, Keilon Moore 1-19, Andrew Williams 1-16. North County, Cameron Vasquez 3-64, Nick Basler 1-21, Levi Moss 1-41.