Weather delay, Knights fail to halt Central football team

The Central football team had to overcome Farmington and the weather Thursday night.

No problem on either front.

Central endured a 70-minute weather delay that came after the host Tigers built a 13-0 lead barely five minutes into the game.

The second-seeded Tigers, after play resumed, finished off a 63-28 victory over seventh-seeded Farmington in a Class 4 District playoff opener.

"I think we played well," said senior tailback Mikey Jones, who had another huge performance.

Fans take shelter as severe weather forced a delay in the Tigers district game against Farmington. The game was delayed for 70 minutes as severe weather moved through the area.

Central, posting its fifth straight win, improved to 6-4. The Knights fell to 1-9 as they ended the season on an eight-game losing streak.

"It was a good game," senior fullback/defensive end Chase Eubank said. "You lose, you go home. There's nothing else much to say."

The Tigers began their current winning streak at Farmington's expense, romping 59-21 on Oct. 4 in Cape Girardeau.

Little changed in the rematch, although Farmington did put up a solid fight, especially in the first half that ended with Central ahead 42-28.

"They fought hard to the end," Eubank said.

Central scored the first nine times it had the ball, failing to reach the end zone only on the game's final possession when the Tigers ran out the clock with backups on the field.

"Our offense was rolling," Jones said.

The Tigers' first two touchdowns came on one-play drives featuring long runs by Jones.

Jones went untouched up the middle for a 56-yard touchdown on Central's opening offensive play 2 minutes, 31 seconds into the contest.

Jones scored on an identical play -- somebody might have gotten a hand on him, but just barely -- from 73 yards out on Central's second offensive play.

"The line's been great all year," Jones said.

Almost immediately after Jones reached the end zone on his second TD, play was stopped when lightning was spotted.

Seconds later, winds estimated at close to 70 miles per hour and torrential rain swept over Tiger Stadium. The lights went out as players, coaches and spectators evacuated the facility.

The delay didn't slow down Central's offense, although Farmington's offense gave the Tigers plenty of problems in the first half.

"It didn't bother us at all," Jones said of the delay. "We was in the locker room yelling, ready to get back out there."

Jones, after scoring five touchdowns and rushing for more than 200 yards during last week's 62-56 win over Festus, matched that five-TD performance.

Jones rushed for 292 yards on just 18 carries. He had 238 yards on 10 first-half attempts. His other three TDs covered 10, 26 and 5 yards.

"He's a workhorse, a strong leader," Central coach Nathan Norman said.

Sophomore Al Young also continued to be a touchdown machine, scoring two more times to increase his season total to 18.

Young, playing more tailback than normal due to the absence of junior Braion Owens, rushed for 137 yards on 12 carries. He also caught two passes for 138 yards.

Young scored on a 37-yard run and a 90-yard pass from senior quarterback Dennis Vinson on the first play of the second half to push Central's lead to 49-28. He took a short pass in the flat and outran the defense to the end zone.

Eubank scored his first varsity touchdown, on a 7-yard run.

"It was different. I usually block," said a smiling Eubank.

Vinson had Central's final TD, a 2-yard run with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter that finally started the running clock with a 35-point lead of 63-28.

Vinson, continuing his efficient play, completed 3 of 4 passes for 147 yards.

Senior Matt Chism was 9 of 9 on extra points for the Tigers.

Farmington's star was senior quarterback Justin Boehm, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 165 yards on 26 carries while scoring a TD.

"We had some kids out on defense, but he's a good quarterback," Norman said of Boehm.

The Knights scored on four of their final five first-half possessions but were shut out in the second half, when they gained only 106 yards.

Central finished with 646 yards -- 499 on the ground -- while Farmington had 428 yards.

Thursday's results sets up Wednesday's Class 4 District 1 tournament semifinal as Festus comes to Tiger Stadium for a 7 p.m. rematch.

Farmington 7 21 0 0 -- 28

Central 21 21 7 14 -- 63

First Quarter

C -- Mikey Jones 56 run (Matt Chism kick), 9:29

C -- Jones 73 run (Chism kick), 6:55

F -- Justin Boehm 19 run (Brayden Krause kick), 5:20

C -- Chase Eubank 7 run (Chism kick), 2:46

Second Quarter

C -- Jones 10 run (Chism kick), 10:21

F -- Trevor Keith 5 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 5:22

C -- Al Young 37 run (Chism kick), 4:23

F -- Keith 6 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 1:51

C -- Jones 26 run (Chism kick), 0:47.2

F -- Tyler Finch 4 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 0:5.6

Third Quarter

C -- Young 40 pass from Dennis Vinson (Chism kick), 11:36

Fourth Quarter

C -- Jones 5 run (Chism kick), 11:54

C -- Vinson 2 run (Chism kick), 6:57

F C

First downs 23 22

Rushes-yards 45-202 42-499

Passing yards 226 147

Passes 21-35-0 3-4-0

Punts 2-28 0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-46 7-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Boehm 26-165, Brayden Bohn 11-33, Garret Duncan 8-4. Central, Jones 18-292, Young 12-137, Eubank 4-24, Vinson 3-22, Khane Booker 3-12, Kway-chon Chisom 2-12.

PASSING -- Farmington, Boehm 21-35-0-226. Central, Vinson 3-4-0-147.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Finch 5-68, Keith 5-52, Ken Pham 4-62, Quin McIntosh 5-41, Devin Nagel 2-3. Central, Young 2-138, Jones 1-9.at close to 70 miles per hour and torrential rain swept over Tiger Stadium. The lights went out as players, coaches and spectators evacuated the facility.

The delay didn't slow down Central's offense, although Farmington's offense gave the Tigers plenty of problems in the first half.

"It didn't bother us at all," Jones said of the delay. "We was in the locker room yelling, ready to get back out there."

Jones, after scoring five touchdowns and rushing for more than 200 yards during last week's 62-56 win over Festus, matched that five-TD performance.

Jones rushed for 292 yards on just 18 carries. He had 238 yards on 10 first-half attempts. His other three TDs covered 10, 26 and 5 yards.

"He's a workhorse, a strong leader," Central coach Nathan Norman said.

Sophomore Al Young also continued to be a touchdown machine, scoring two more times to increase his season total to 18.

Young, playing more tailback than normal due to the absence of junior Braion Owens, rushed for 137 yards on 12 carries. He also caught two passes for 138 yards.

Young scored on a 37-yard run and a 90-yard pass from senior quarterback Dennis Vinson on the first play of the second half to push Central's lead to 49-28. He took a short pass in the flat and outran the defense to the end zone.

Eubank scored his first varsity touchdown, on a 7-yard run.

"It was different. I usually block," said a smiling Eubank.

Vinson had Central's final TD, a 2-yard run with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter that finally started the running clock with a 35-point lead of 63-28.

Vinson, continuing his efficient play, completed 3 of 4 passes for 147 yards.

Senior Matt Chism was 9 of 9 on extra points for the Tigers.

Farmington's star was senior quarterback Justin Boehm, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 165 yards on 26 carries while scoring a TD.

"We had some kids out on defense, but he's a good quarterback," Norman said of Boehm.

The Knights scored on four of their final five first-half possessions but were shut out in the second half, when they gained only 106 yards.

Central finished with 646 yards -- 499 on the ground -- while Farmington had 428 yards.

Thursday's results sets up Wednesday's Class 4 District 1 tournament semifinal as Festus comes to Tiger Stadium for a 7 p.m. rematch.

Farmington 7 21 0 0 -- 28

Central 21 21 7 14 -- 63

First Quarter

C -- Mikey Jones 56 run (Matt Chism kick), 9:29

C -- Jones 73 run (Chism kick), 6:55

F -- Justin Boehm 19 run (Brayden Krause kick), 5:20

C -- Chase Eubank 7 run (Chism kick), 2:46

Second Quarter

C -- Jones 10 run (Chism kick), 10:21

F -- Trevor Keith 5 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 5:22

C -- Al Young 37 run (Chism kick), 4:23

F -- Keith 6 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 1:51

C -- Jones 26 run (Chism kick), 0:47.2

F -- Tyler Finch 4 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 0:5.6

Third Quarter

C -- Young 40 pass from Dennis Vinson (Chism kick), 11:36

Fourth Quarter

C -- Jones 5 run (Chism kick), 11:54

C -- Vinson 2 run (Chism kick), 6:57

F C

First downs 23 22

Rushes-yards 45-202 42-499

Passing yards 226 147

Passes 21-35-0 3-4-0

Punts 2-28 0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-46 7-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Boehm 26-165, Brayden Bohn 11-33, Garret Duncan 8-4. Central, Jones 18-292, Young 12-137, Eubank 4-24, Vinson 3-22, Khane Booker 3-12, Kway-chon Chisom 2-12.

PASSING -- Farmington, Boehm 21-35-0-226. Central, Vinson 3-4-0-147.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Finch 5-68, Keith 5-52, Ken Pham 4-62, Quin McIntosh 5-41, Devin Nagel 2-3. Central, Young 2-138, Jones 1-9.at close to 70 miles per hour and torrential rain swept over Tiger Stadium. The lights went out as players, coaches and spectators evacuated the facility.

The delay didn't slow down Central's offense, although Farmington's offense gave the Tigers plenty of problems in the first half.

"It didn't bother us at all," Jones said of the delay. "We was in the locker room yelling, ready to get back out there."

Jones, after scoring five touchdowns and rushing for more than 200 yards during last week's 62-56 win over Festus, matched that five-TD performance.

Jones rushed for 292 yards on just 18 carries. He had 238 yards on 10 first-half attempts. His other three TDs covered 10, 26 and 5 yards.

"He's a workhorse, a strong leader," Central coach Nathan Norman said.

Sophomore Al Young also continued to be a touchdown machine, scoring two more times to increase his season total to 18.

Young, playing more tailback than normal due to the absence of junior Braion Owens, rushed for 137 yards on 12 carries. He also caught two passes for 138 yards.

Young scored on a 37-yard run and a 90-yard pass from senior quarterback Dennis Vinson on the first play of the second half to push Central's lead to 49-28. He took a short pass in the flat and outran the defense to the end zone.

Eubank scored his first varsity touchdown, on a 7-yard run.

"It was different. I usually block," said a smiling Eubank.

Vinson had Central's final TD, a 2-yard run with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter that finally started the running clock with a 35-point lead of 63-28.

Vinson, continuing his efficient play, completed 3 of 4 passes for 147 yards.

Senior Matt Chism was 9 of 9 on extra points for the Tigers.

Farmington's star was senior quarterback Justin Boehm, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 165 yards on 26 carries while scoring a TD.

"We had some kids out on defense, but he's a good quarterback," Norman said of Boehm.

The Knights scored on four of their final five first-half possessions but were shut out in the second half, when they gained only 106 yards.

Central finished with 646 yards -- 499 on the ground -- while Farmington had 428 yards.

Thursday's results sets up Wednesday's Class 4 District 1 tournament semifinal as Festus comes to Tiger Stadium for a 7 p.m. rematch.

Farmington 7 21 0 0 -- 28

Central 21 21 7 14 -- 63

First Quarter

C -- Mikey Jones 56 run (Matt Chism kick), 9:29

C -- Jones 73 run (Chism kick), 6:55

F -- Justin Boehm 19 run (Brayden Krause kick), 5:20

C -- Chase Eubank 7 run (Chism kick), 2:46

Second Quarter

C -- Jones 10 run (Chism kick), 10:21

F -- Trevor Keith 5 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 5:22

C -- Al Young 37 run (Chism kick), 4:23

F -- Keith 6 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 1:51

C -- Jones 26 run (Chism kick), 0:47.2

F -- Tyler Finch 4 pass from Boehm (Krause kick), 0:5.6

Third Quarter

C -- Young 40 pass from Dennis Vinson (Chism kick), 11:36

Fourth Quarter

C -- Jones 5 run (Chism kick), 11:54

C -- Vinson 2 run (Chism kick), 6:57

F C

First downs 23 22

Rushes-yards 45-202 42-499

Passing yards 226 147

Passes 21-35-0 3-4-0

Punts 2-28 0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 5-46 7-65

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Farmington, Boehm 26-165, Brayden Bohn 11-33, Garret Duncan 8-4. Central, Jones 18-292, Young 12-137, Eubank 4-24, Vinson 3-22, Khane Booker 3-12, Kway-chon Chisom 2-12.

PASSING -- Farmington, Boehm 21-35-0-226. Central, Vinson 3-4-0-147.

RECEIVING -- Farmington, Finch 5-68, Keith 5-52, Ken Pham 4-62, Quin McIntosh 5-41, Devin Nagel 2-3. Central, Young 2-138, Jones 1-9.