Rushing attack propels Cape Central over Potosi to close regular season

The Cape Central Tigers scored quickly and never looked back on the road to a 57-6 win over the Potosi Trojans on Friday at Cape Central High School.

On just the second play from scrimmage, Tigers running back Zai’Aire Thomas broke free for a 60-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.

“It’s always about trying to set the tone,” Tigers coach Kent Gibbs said. “We felt like we could move the ball along on offense and Zai’Aire got the big touchdown and everything just kind of rolled from there.”

After both defenses stood tall for the majority of the first quarter, the Tigers offense found the end zone again with Jathan Spain picking up a 5-yard rushing touchdown with less than a minute left in the first quarter.

“Anytime you can score to end a quarter I think that’s a good thing,” Gibbs said.

Potosi however wasn’t just going to roll over as the Trojans cut into the deficit with a 9-yard touchdown run from JT Cross.

It took Cape Central less than three minutes to answer the Trojan score as Jathan Spain connected with Thomas for a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-6 Tigers.

“We missed some passes tonight and Jathan would tell you the same thing,” Gibbs said. “Later on we threw a couple and we were able to make some plays.”

Like it has the last three weeks, the Tigers defense stopped the Trojans quickly and got the Cape Central offense back on the field.

Keyshawn Boyd capped off yet another impressive drive with a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 27-6 Cape Central.

Cape Central freshman Joey Charlton tacked on three more points as time expired in the first half to send the Tigers into the locker room at halftime with a 30-6 lead.

“He was a little upset with himself because he missed his first extra point before that,” Gibbs said. “At the end of the day he did what he needed to do and we wanted to give him that chance. That’s his first one so hopefully he can build on that and continue to improve like he has all year.”

The second half started with a bang for the Tigers as they forced a fumble on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage and then followed it up with a touchdown three plays later by KeyShawn Boyd to make it 36-6.

“We wanted to make sure we stopped them (out of the half),” Gibbs said. “We didn’t want them to get back in the game. We wanted to get a stop and a score and play as many kids as we could.”

With two touchdowns in his back pocket already, Thomas reeled off his third touchdown, this time a 79-yard run to the end zone to make it 43-6.

Perhaps the touchdown that got the loudest roar from the crowd and the sideline was scored late in the third quarter by senior running back Tae’Shawn Arnold to make it 50-6 Tigers on senior night.

“We pull for each other all the way through,” Gibbs said. “It was good to see Tae’Shawn get a score that’s for sure.”

One touchdown wasn’t enough for Arnold however as early in the fourth quarter he found paydirt again with a 58-yard touchdown down run making it 57-6 Tigers.

A season ago the Tigers season turned around following a loss to Jackson and once again this season the Tigers finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak.

“We have to practice and we have to be consistent in our practice,” Gibbs said. “We still had too many penalties tonight so we have to work on that.”

With the win over Potosi the Tigers finish the regular season 6-3.