Tigers take state ranked Hillsboro down to the wire

Cape Central gave the third-ranked team in Class 4 all they could handle on Friday night at Cape Central High School.

An 8-yard touchdown run from Hillsboro’s Payton Brown was the deciding factor in the Hawks’ 35-28 win over the Tigers.

With the way the game started, it appeared the Hawks were going to run away with it.

They jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter of play.

“Being down 14-0 in the first quarter, it could have gotten ugly fast,” Tigers coach Kent Gibbs said. “We just battled back and we were able to come within a couple downs of being able to upset a state-ranked team.”

The first Cape Central touchdown came courtesy of KeyShawn Boyd as he rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.

After another Hillsboro touchdown, Tigers quarterback Jathan Spain would connect with running back Zai’Aire Thomas for a 43-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-14.

As the two teams entered the locker room at halftime, Gibbs said there weren’t many tweaks.

“We made a couple minor changes,” Gibbs said. “But that’s giving me too much credit. It’s all about the kids. They just played and kept on plugging. We talked all week about just competing every play, and if you do that, things will start to go our way.”

Hillsboro’s lead would grow to 28-14 before Boyd’s torrid start to 2023 would continue when he reeled off a 50-yard touchdown to cut it to a one possession game.

Halfway through the fourth quarter, Tigers defensive back Matayo Rivers intercepted his second pass of the game and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game at 28.

“Matayo is a first-year football player,” Gibbs said. “He gave up one play, and I said, ‘Look, you’re right there, man. Just keep making plays.’ And he came up with a big interception late.”

The Tigers had a couple shots at the end zone after the Brown touchdown, which all came up empty.

Perhaps the brightest spot for Cape Central was the play of quarterback Jathan Spain.

Spain was tossed into action in week one for injured quarterback Deklin Pittman.

“This week was a little more fair to him, to be quite honest,” Gibbs said. “Jathan threw the ball well. We dropped some passes that we could have had big plays on. I’m really proud of his effort and how he owned up when he made mistakes. He was coachable, and I’m looking for good things from him.”

Overall, Gibbs feels that despite the loss, the Tigers played better this week after the season opener against St. Charles.

“We got a little shell shocked early,” Gibbs said. “Some of that is going to happen in these big games, and after that, we just kept coming and coming. I’m proud of our effort, and I’m really pleased with how we played.”

Cape Central (1-1) will wrap up its three-game homestand at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, when they host the Poplar Bluff Mules at Cape Central High School.