Dexter stops Caruthersville in shootout

davidj@standard-democrat.com

SIKESTON -- In a battle of state-ranked teams where offense was at a premium, it was the Dexter defense that stepped up when it mattered most.

Holding a slim one-point lead in the final minute of Friday's SEMO Central match-up with Caruthersville, the Bearcats' Garrett Wray intercepted a Tiger pass, sealing a 56-55 win in a game that featured over 1,100 yards of total offense.

However, the interception wasn't the biggest stop of the night for the Dexter defense. That came minutes earlier after Caruthersville's Elbie Fonda raced 36 yards for a score to make the score 56-55. Although instead of going for the tie, the Tigers elected to attempt a two-point conversion.

"With injuries we were running out of bodies and if we would have went into overtime I would have had to give (Dexter) the edge there so I just took a gamble," said Caruthersville coach Nathan Morgan. "We're on the road, a little shorthanded with injuries and we took a gamble."

The gamble didn't pay off as Fonda was stuffed by the Bearcat defense a yard shy of the goal line.

"That was huge and we were exhausted," said Dexter coach Aaron Pixley. "I almost called a timeout right there to give them a blow but I didn't do it. It really looked like he was going in but we really filled hard from the back side and hit him and kept him out."

Defense was lacking early, as both teams scored at will, with Caruthersville holding a 41-28 lead with six minutes still remaining in the first half. However, an alignment switch on the defensive front for the Bearcats started giving the Tigers fits.

"We switched defenses and went to an odd front," Pixley said. "We did that right before half and it started working and we started getting some stops and the second half it really seemed to work.

"We made them punt quite a bit which is key against a great team like that. It doesn't really matter where they are on the field because a yard line doesn't mean anything to a team like that because they can score from anywhere."

Trailing 41-28 entering the third quarter, Dexter began to take control of the game, scoring 28 unanswered points. Quarterback Cody Stevens started the second half scoring with a five-yard run followed by a 55-yard run from Josh Overall that saw the senior running back stop on a dime near the sideline causing several Tigers to over-pursue before cutting back to the middle of the field to score, slicing the lead to 41-40.

Overall then gave the Bearcats the lead for good on the first play of the fourth quarter when he scored from 20 yards out to put Dexter ahead 48-41. Dexter then seemed to take control 50 seconds later when Ryan Joyner intercepted a Caruthersville pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. After the two point conversion run by Stevens, Dexter held a 56-41 lead.

"Coach told us all week that we were going to have to score because they were going to score, so that's how it was," Stevens said. "Our offensive line was dominating. I think we had Jesus above thinking of us. We just had a great second half."

After the Bearcats forced Caruthersville to punt, the Tigers found new life after recovering a Dexter fumble, one of four Bearcat turnovers in the game. Caruthersville quickly took advantage of the mistake as Darrell Monroe scored from 23 yards out. After a Monroe two-point conversion run, Dexter held a slim 56-49 lead.

Caruthersville then stuffed Dexter on a fourth-and-two, before Fonda scored from 36-yards out, leading to the huge Dexter stop on the two-point conversion.

"This football team did a great job of coming together at halftime and coming out and playing for each other and I'm very, very proud of them," Pixley said.

Dexter compiled 560 yards of total offense in the game. Stevens led the Bearcats with 218 yards on the ground as Dexter finished with 421 rushing yards. Overall gained 121 yards and four touchdowns. Stevens also threw for 139 yards and was helped by several highlight reel catches from wide receiver Tyler Miller.

"Offensively we played extremely well," Pixley said. "We were very good up front. Our quarterback and running backs ran the ball well and when we threw it we made plays in the passing game."

The Tigers had allowed only 57 points on the season before allowing 56 to the Bearcats on Friday.

"We just didn't tackle well," Morgan said. "These guys aren't afraid to be physical and they came out tonight and gave it all we got. (Dexter) showed up in typical Dexter fashion and punched us in the mouth and we responded, but we just have to wrap up better when we make tackles."

Caruthersville also put up impressive numbers with 557 total yards. Quarterback Tyler Grissom threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns while Fonda gained 243 yards and four touchdowns.

"That's one of the best teams in southeast Missouri, regardless of class," Pixley said of Caruthersville. "They're outstanding and they are going to go a long way. It was a great win for us."

With the win Dexter improves to 6-1 on the season and improves to 2-0 in the SEMO Central while Caruthersville falls to 6-1 and 2-1 in the SEMO Central.

Caruthersville 21 20 0 14 -- 55

Dexter 13 15 12 16 -- 56

Scoring summary

First quarter

D--Josh Overall 3 run (Alex Cliff kick), 8:39.

C--Elbie Fonda 56 run (Steven Rodgers kick), 7:31.

C--Jamal Johnson 24 pass from Tyler Grissom (Rodgers kick), 4:52.

C--Fonda 26 run (Rodgers kick), 2:31.

D--Cody Stevens 1 run (kick failed), :21.

Second quarter

C--Darrell Monroe 53 pass from Grissom (Rodgers kick), 11:49.

D--Overall 1 run (Stevens run), 8:40.

C--Fonda 80 run (Rodgers kick), 8:28.

D--Tyler Miller 14 pass from Stevens (Cliff kick), 6:44.

C--Fonda 45 pass from Grissom (kick blocked), 6:13.

Third quarter

D--Stevens 5 run (kick failed), 8:02.

D--Overall 55 run (kick failed), 5:51.

Fourth quarter

D--Overall 20 run (Stevens run), 11:53.

D--Ryan Joyner 33 interception return (Stevens run), 11:01.

C--Monroe 23 run (Monroe run), 6:42.

C--Fonda 36 run (run failed), 4:12.

Team statistics

C D

First downs 20 29

Rushes-yards 33-312 50-421

Passing 15-29-2 9-15-1

Passing yards 245 139

Punts 4-28.3 2-36.5

Fumbles-lost 0-0 4-3

Penalties-yards 7-62 6-45

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Caruthersville -- Elbie Fonda 17-243, Darrell Monroe 9-64, Tyler Grissom 3-(-18), Tyler Cobb 2-22, Travis Murray 1-1, Jamal Johnson 1-0.

Dexter -- Cody Stevens 24-218, Josh Overall 14-121, Nick Summers 11-68, Alex Cliff 1-14.

PASSING

Caruthersville -- Tyler Grissom 15-29-2 245.

Dexter -- Cody Stevens 9-15-1 139.

RECEIVING

Caruthersville -- Elbie Fonda 4-47, Jamal Johnson 3-60, Tyler Cobb 2-19, Darrell Monroe 2-59, Travis Murray 1-10, Jeremy Grant 1-7, Phil Lancaster 1-40, Antonio Mackins 1-3.

Dexter -- Chase Young 5-77, Tyler Miller 4-62.