Cape Central scores early, often to beat Mules

The 101st game in the series between the Poplar Bluff football Mules and the Cape Central Tigers was all Tigers.

Cape Central scored early and often as it won a lopsided 49-6 victory over the Mules on Friday night in a SEMO North Conference contest at Mules Stadium.

Cape Central (4-0, 2-0 SEMO North) scored in less than two minutes of the opening kickoff, returning the kick to the Mules’ 36-yard line and scoring on a six-yard touchdown run from KeyShawn Boyd, who had three TDs in the first half.

After the Mules (1-3, 0-2) fumbled on their first possession at their own 30-yard line, Cape Central quarterback Deklin Pittman hit Zai’aire Thomas on the next play with a touchdown pass. The Tigers led 14-0 with 9:16 left in the first quarter.

Boyd’s next touchdown run extended the Tigers lead to 21-0 with 4:12 still left in the opening period.

“I think the kids just kind of got shell-shocked,” said Mules head coach Jeff Mannon. “I think everything that could have gone wrong went wrong in the beginning of the game. They just beat us in all aspects of the game tonight. Hats off to (Cape Central) coach (Kent) Gibbs --- he’s got them rolling pretty good.”

The Mules got on the board with their next possession, driving the ball deep into Cape Central territory, culminating in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Jay Edmundson to Logan Slack.

The kick was good, but a false start penalty on the Mules pushed them back, and on the second try, Edmundson failed to covert a two-point try, leaving them trailing 21-6.

The rest of the half was all Cape Central’s with two more touchdowns coming after an Edmundson fumble and interception on subsequent Mules’ possessions. Their final score came with six seconds left in the half, another TD run from Boyd as the Tigers led the Mules 42-6 at the half.

The Mules received the second half kickoff and drove the ball past midfield, but after turning the ball over on downs, Cape Central got back to work, needing only two plays to score again and drive their advantage to 49-6.

The Mules had a chance to score in the third, with Edmundson turning a backfield scramble into a 40-yard scamper to the Cape Central seven-yard line. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed Poplar Bluff back to the Tigers 20, and two incomplete passes turned the ball back to the Tigers.

In the fourth quarter, with Cape playing their backups, they drove the ball to the Mules five-yard line but took a knee with time expiring in the game.

“Eventually when we gel, I think we’re going to be a pretty good football team, but we have to put together a full three-phase game,” Mannon said.

Cape Central racked 439 yards of offense on the night, including 321 on the ground. Boyd led the Tigers with 171 yards and three scores on 16 carries. Meanwhile, Thomas had three catches for 106 yards, all resulting in scores, to lead the Tigers' receiving corps.

Edmundson led the Mules with 63 yards rushing on seven carries, while Caden Jenkins added 49 yards on five totes. Dereck Burton led the Mules in receiving with six catches for 50 yards.

The Mules will play conference rival Jackson on the road next Friday.

“You’ve got to have the memory of a goldfish in football,” Mannon said. “As soon as we watch the tape tonight and go over it in the morning, we bury it, and we go on to Jackson.”