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Cape Central airs it out in 41-6 win over NMCC
NEW MADRID -- The Cape Central Tigers did what they could to help New Madrid County Central push them off the field during their first drive of the season.
Holding penalties, missed blocks and getting covered in the backfield led to three third-and-long situations for the Tigers, but even they couldn't slow themselves down.
Cape Central quarterback Christian Cavaness worked his magic to keep the Tigers on the field, which eventually led to their first score and a 41-6 win over the NMCC Eagles on Friday night.
"We got them in 3rd and long and we couldn't get off the field," Pixley said. "You can't do that against good squads."
The first drive, which ended with Cavaness diving in for a two-yard run, told signs of what was to come for the Eagles.
During their first drive, NMCC quarterback Jimmy Ash got caught 22 yards in the backfield, trying to scamper away from an incoming Cape Central defender. Ash would then drop the ball trying to throw it away but ended up fumbling it instead which was recovered by the Tigers at their own 30-yard line.
Although the Tigers would lose the ball trying to go for it on fourth-and-five, NMCC would punt during their next drive.
Needing 59 yards to go for their second score, Cape Central capitalized on a late-hit penalty committed by the Eagles after a first down pass from Cavaness.
On the very next play following the crucial blunder, Cavaness cut through the NMCC defense for a 23-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a two-score lead.
"He's making plays because we're giving him 10-yard cushions," Pixley said. "Mental mistakes. I'm not going to take any credit from them because they have a good ball club."
After their second punt of the game, the Eagles allowed Cavaness, who went 12-of-18 for 171 yards passing as well as 47 yards on the ground, his first score through the air. The Cape Central dual-threat hit Tae Jenkins for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
NMCC would lose the ball by fumble during their next drive, giving the Tigers the ball on their own 16-yard line, although the Tigers would miss their field goal try from 36 yards out.
Cape Central would tack on another score right before the half with a bit of luck on their side.
With 4.1 seconds left showing on the clock, Cavaness dropped back and lifted a pass to Garan Evans at a chance of a jump ball scenario in the end zone. The pass ended up being tipped in the air by NMCC's Courtland Shannon before falling into Evans' hands.
"There was just come missed assignments there and we looked at a lot of kids tonight," said Pixley. "This is a non-conference and non-district game, but we obviously play to win them all.
"I'm impressed with our effort. I thought it was three-times better than it was last year when we played them. They're a quality squad and we stood toe-to-toe with them for awhile."
NMCC opened their first drive out of the half with a fumble -- their third of the night -- which gave the ball to Cape Central on their own 49-yard line.
A 3-yard run by Eric Evans, who ended up diving backwards into the end zone, put the Tigers up by a very comfortable 34-0 score.
After the halftime break, NMCC went with sophomore quarterback Corey Guest under center. Guest made an immediate impact with decent gains on the ground after the snap and throw the air.
He connected with Gabe Smith for NMCC's only score of the night. Guest hit Smith with around a 10-yard pass and Smith ran for another 18 for a 28-yard touchdown. Their two-point try failed afterwards.
"We've got to move the ball," Pixley said. "We've got issues at quarterback that are in there one day and not in there the next. We're constantly evaluating that position. Corey (Guest) did some good things, I thought Jimmy (Ash) did some good things in the first half -- we did some bad things around Jimmy. He made some right reads and some great throws and we had guys that were a little off on routes."
Cape Central, however, tacked on one final score with the second string in and running the ball right up the middle. Mikey Jones broke lose for a 5-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left.
The score put the mercy-rule into effect and the cap on their season opener.
"We're starting freshman right now on offense," Pixley said. "We have sophomore cornerbacks, one starting sophomore linebacker and we're starting a brand new defensive line.
"If you roll the film, when you take out about five big plays, it looks like New Madrid's playing with them."
Cape Central ran for 207 yards on 41 carries. NMCC gained 82 on 29.
The two combined for 15 penalties for a total of 120 yards.
Jayshawn McDaniel led NMCC's rushing attack with 48 yards on 11 runs. Jones topped Cape Central's list with 64 yards.
"I love our squad," said Pixley. "We did some real good things and we looked really positive at times. We're working hard and our attitudes were really good. A lot of the stuff tonight were to our demise. You can't sit there on 3rd and long three times and give up three big plays."
Central 7 20 7 7 -- 41
NMCC 0 0 6 0 -- 6
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C -- Christian Cavaness 2 run (Calvin Lovig kick), 4:58
Second Quarter
C -- Cavaness 23 run (Lovig kick), 10:53
C -- Tae Jenkins 20 pass from Cavaness (Lovig kick), 9:01
C -- Garan Evans 27 pass from Cavaness (kick failed), 0:00
Third Quarter
C -- Eric Evans 3 run (Lovig kick), 7:25
N -- Gabe Smith 28 pass from Corey Guest (pass failed), 2:44
Fourth Quarter
C -- Mikey Jones 5 run (Lovig kick), 1:36
Team Statistics
| C | N | |
| First downs | 18 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-207 | 29-82 |
| Passing yards | 171 | 61 |
| Passes | 12-18-0 | 6-14-0 |
| Punts | 1-36 | 5-106 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 3-3 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-58 | 7-62 |
Individual Statistics
Rushing -- (C) Chris Martin 3-21, Jacob Campbell 5-15, Mark Ray 5-12, Alex Davis-Carter 8-37, Christian Cavaness 5-47, Eric Evans 4-6, Mikey Jones 10-64, Devon Johnson 1-5. (N) Jashawn McDaniel 11-48, Willie Jimerson 2-1, Jimmy Ash 5-(-11), Lamonte Nelson 3-(-4), Harvey Brown 1-1, Corey Guest 6-22, Stanley Smith 2-18, Shermon Taylor 1-4, T.J. Clark 1-3.
Passing -- (C) Christian Cavaness 12-18-171-0. (N) Jimmy Ash 5-9-33-0, Corey Guest 1-5-28-0.
Receiving -- (C) Jacob Campbell 2-35, Jacob Boerboom 2-38, Eric Evans 1-14, Tae Jenkins 2-28, Garan Evans 4-54, Mark Ray 1-2. (N) Willie Jimerson 1-8, Gabe Smith 4-57, Jashawn McDaniel 1-(-4).