Pirates use big first half to put away Bearcats

DEXTER -- It was not the home-opener that the Dexter Bearcats had in mind on Friday night.

The Gosnell, Ark. Pirates came into Charles Bland Stadium and pretty much had it their way all night long, especially in the first half where they scored all of their points to hand Dexter a 40-20 defeat.

It didn't look like it was going to be that way for Dexter though, from the way they marched up the field in their first possession of the game.

The Bearcats started on their own 40-yard line and eventually made it to the Pirates 18-yard line mostly on the arm of Dexter quarterback Ben Mills.

With the way that Mills was throwing and Dexter's receiving core was catching, it seemed almost inevitable that the Bearcats was going to put the first points on the board.

As Mills dropped back to pass on second down and five yards to go, he threw a pass that was intended for Jered Stephens but wound up in the hands of Gosnell's Cody Mace on the five-yard line. Mace had nothing but space in front of him as he took a 95-yard interception return into the end zone to stop any momentum that the Bearcats had.

"We came out on fire," Dexter head coach Aaron Pixley said. "We were passing it well down the field and just one mistake can't stop you from playing football. I don't know what happened whether it got in our offenses heads or what. But, we just quit executing at that point and it just seemed like Gosnell kept getting more and more momentum and kept getting stronger. You got to tip your hat to them, they played a great first half and we didn't."

Dexter's Seth McBride is tackled by a host of Gosnell, Ark., defenders in the first quarter Friday night. (David Jenkins, Staff)

Dexter's Seth McBride is tackled by a host of Gosnell, Ark., defenders in the first quarter Friday night. (David Jenkins, Staff)

Mills did not have a very typical throwing game for the Bearcats as he threw four interceptions in the first half which almost tied his total record of five from last season.

"He's so different from anybody else," Pixley said about his starting quarterback. "He's not going to be perfect all the time. No football player is. He's going to correct that. I guarantee you. I think he was trying to force some things there and try to make plays. And a lot of times you'll throw interceptions. So, whenever your offense is reeling sometime your players will try and force it and that's what happened."

The Pirates first half consisted of six touchdowns, two in the first quarter and four in the second as Gosnell had no problem pushing the ball up the field with their running game using a "T" formation. A lot of misdirection and using runs up the middle was the game plan for the Pirates, who used the offensive line as a wall to give his running backs all the room they needed.

"It was inside all the mass of bodies," Pixley said about their offensive style. "Finding the football is difficult against them. You really have to blow their offensive line up to stop them. We did that at times but we didn't do it enough. Our linebackers were over-pursuing because they were great cutback runners. They're great at getting in third down situations and getting first downs."

Third down conversions are what Pixley said was a big problem against Gosnell.

"We had a couple times were it was third and nine or third and eight and both times they got a 10-yard run and a 12-yard run," he said. "You got to stop that. We lost our composure in the first half and thats very non-typical of a Dexter Bearcat team. But at the same time, we got it together at halftime and came out here and kept our cool. We played against a lot of their number two's but, we kept our cool and just tried to execute from that point on."

Senior running back Jevon Smith for the Pirates rushed for 139 yards on 13 attempts and also ran for two touchdowns. Quarterback Isiah Love completed five passes for 106 yards and one touchdown.

"I was proud of them," Gosnell head coach Brian Sims said. "Our seniors that we have, who all start for us, came out here and played good. And that's what we needed to happen. We had 20 seniors last year and we didn't have much back besides two or three kids that played a lot last year so, we really needed this to help build our confidence and I think it will help us out.

"We knew offensively we were explosive," Sims added. "With our offense and Jevon Smith we're going to put points on the board."

As for Dexter, Joshua Sifford ran 13 times and gained 66 yards to be Dexter's leading rusher. Mills completed 11-of-21 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. The Bearcats had seven players catch at least one pass from Mills.

"We've been 0-2 before," Pixley said. "And we've come out alright on the season. It's not dark and gloomy yet."

Dexter (0-2) will be on the road next Friday for their next game to take on the Sikeston Bulldogs.