Tigers take a Ribbing

~ The Senior rushed for 214 yards and scored four touchdowns in the first half.

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Too much Travis Ribbing led to a recipe of disaster for Central's football team Wednesday night, as Farmington rode its senior running back to four first-half touchdowns and a 50-7 sectional win.

Ribbing rushed for 214 yards in the opening half, and carried just once after the break to finish with 222 yards on 18 carries. Three of those first-half rushes went for scores, and Ribbing also caught a 33-yard touchdown pass.

The senior came into the game with 1,357 yards rushing and 27 touchdowns.

"Ribbing's a good back, but again early on we did a better job wrapping up," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said. "As the game wound down, people weren't wrapping up.

"He's too good to do that. He's stronger than you think. He's a well-built back."

Ribbing scored on a 67-yard run late in the first quarter, and had a 50-yard scoring scamper in the second. The 50-yard run came as Ribbing broke one tackle after another before finding the sideline and paydirt.

"He's been doing that all year long," Farmington coach Todd Vaughn said. "Even that play down there, I don't know what to tell you there. He's got good balance and vision, but that kid has heart."

Central, which received the ball first, showed some offensive flare on the first play of scrimmage with an 11-yard run by Tyler Terry. A few plays later, though, Terry fumbled after a short reception, and the floodgates soon opened.

Brookins said he thought the first offensive play could have opened some Farmington eyes, but the fumble quickly sent things downhill.

Central's Tyler Terry, right, found running room as Farmington's Max Robinson attempted to make the tackle during Wednesday's game.

"We came back and a play or two later, we put the ball on the ground and now we're on our heels immediately," he said. "It's heartbreaking to see some kids try so hard and not get anything from it."

The Tigers did make a game of it briefly in the first half. Senior quarterback Blake Slattey strung together several good passes, culminating in a 24-yard strike to Terry to cut the Farmington's lead to 14-7.

Momentum seemed to be on Central's side when Shawn Hammock sacked Farmington quarterback Aaron Baker to set up a third-and-10 on Central's 25. Another eight-yard loss set up a long fourth down play. But Baker hooked up with Ribbing for a 33-yard score. Ribbing's two-point conversion followed.

The Black Knights then recovered a fumble on the kickoff when Ribbing's squib hit off a Central player's leg. Ribbing took the very next play 50 yards for a 29-7 lead.

"I felt bad because I thought there were some kids that played and were blessed with the chance to play tonight that fought hard the whole way," Brookins said. "Many of those kids did things correctly as far as alignments go. It breaks my heart because of a couple of individuals in certain areas, all the effort on occasion was wasted."

Parks Peterson ended the first-half scoring with a 14-yard touchdown grab with a little more than 2 minutes left in the half. Peterson's score made it 36-7 at the break.

Baker's 30-yard run 2 minutes into the third started the running clock with a 43-7 lead. Farmington added a score in the final minute.

Slattery provided the lone brightspot in the second half, intercepting a pass by Baker and returning it to the Farmington 2. Four plays later the Tigers were stuck at seven points after failing to get into the end zone. It was the second time in the game Central failed to score after having a first-and-goal situation.

Slattery finished 12-of-25 passing for 98 yards. Terry led the ground game, which was missing Hykeem Hammonds again, with 11 yards on two carries, and added five catches for 46 yards.

The Tigers will return several key players after bringing home their first district title in three years.

"My advice for those younger guys is not to downplay the importance of the preseason and offseason work so they can get themselves prepared for the real season," Brookins said.

"That starts with the weight room. You have to earn the right to win, and that's one of the ways to put a down payment in."