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SHS defense holds Eagles to just 25 total yards in 29-0 win
SIKESTON -- Two games into the season, Sikeston's defense has yet to allow 100 yards of total offense.
That is, 100 yards in both games combined.
After limiting Charleston to just 67 yards of offense in the season opener, Sikeston took it a step further and held New Madrid County Central to 25 yards of offense in the Bulldogs' 29-0 home opening win at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium on Friday.
It's the fewest yards the Bulldogs have allowed in a game since holding Charleston to 16 yards in a 54-0 win in 2009.
"The defense just played outstanding," Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs said. "Our defensive line was huge tonight and dominated them. They kind of smothered what New Madrid tried to do. We did real well stopping the run, knocking passes down and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback when he tried to throw the ball."
Sikeston held NMCC to three-and-outs on eight of the Eagles' 11 possessions. One of them was a four-and-out.
After allowing three first downs to Charleston, the Bulldogs held NMCC to just two first downs.
"They've got some speed and they've got some thickness there on the defensive line," NMCC coach Arlen Pixley said. "Those kids are 210-pounders, they play with a low pad level and they play with a high motor. When you get four guys up front with that size, speed and strength that can do that -- my sole concern coming in was how our offensive line would matchup with their defensive line. They really, really dominated us up front tonight."
While Sikeston's defense performed well, the Bulldogs' offense struggled putting points on the board.
The Bulldogs' opening possession started with promise, but a Chris Word fumble near midfield ended the drive.
The Eagles couldn't take advantage of the field position and were forced to punt to the Bulldog 22.
Sikeston put together an 11-play, 78-yard drive capped by quarterback Reese Porter's 3-yard plunge to take a 6-0 lead.
After forcing an NMCC punt, Sikeston's ensuing drive also showed promise, but Word went down with an ankle injury on the first play of the second quarter.
The 5-foot-10, 200 pound senior had rushed for 104 yards on 13 carries already, but the injury sidelined him for the rest of the night.
And with that, Sikeston's offense seemed to go with him the rest of the first half.
But with the way Sikeston's defense was performing, one couldn't help but wonder if the six points the Bulldogs had already scored would be enough to win the game.
It wasn't until Sikeston's defense tackled NMCC's Harvey Brown in the end zone for a safety with 48 seconds left in the half that they were able to pad its lead to 8-0.
In last week's 12-0 loss to Malden, NMCC was hurt by five turnovers. The Eagles cleaned up the turnover problem, but took a step backwards with its blocking.
"We're struggling to pick things up right now," Pixley said. "Blocking and tackling takes a lot of want to and effort and we're going to have to keep working on it until we get it. That's all I can tell you."
The second half started much the same way the first half was played as the teams punted to each other on the first three possessions.
Sikeston's offense finally was able to put something together on its second possession of the third quarter helped by a 20-yard punt return by Ray Council to the NMCC 8-yard line.
Backup running back Peyton Boyd also went down with an injury earlier in the third quarter leaving Gibbs to turn to third string running back Courtney Hawkins.
The 5-6, 145 pound junior was up to the challenge as he scored on the first play of the drive, darting through the middle for the touchdown to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 15-0.
It was the beginning of a spark that Hawkins provided the offense. He finished with a solid 49 yards rushing on 10 carries.
"Courtney, to be honest about it, doesn't get a whole lot of snaps in practice but I said, 'hey look, you just got to act like you're scrimmaging the freshmen like you did the other day and go out and play,'" Gibbs said. "He came out in the second half and he really ran aggressive and really hard. I'm really proud for him to step up like he did and pick us up."
After recovering an onside kick, Sikeston drove 49 yards on nine plays capped by Porter's 2-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 22-0.
NMCC was held on downs on the following drive, setting up a 28-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown run by Chase Davis to reach the final margin.
"I thought we played great defensively in the first half, considering how many times we gave them a short field," Pixley said. "In the second half we just got worn down. Our defense was on the field so much because our offense is ineffective and can't move the football, so you're going to wear down. I don't care who you are."
Sikeston forced the Eagles to punt nine times in the game.
The Bulldogs controlled the field position as they started drives in Eagle territory six times.
Porter, in just his second game at quarterback, rushed for a career high 149 yards on 26 carries with two scores.
However, the passing game did not click as he was 1-of-7 for eight yards.
"We missed some passes early in the game and felt like those could have been big plays for us, but he did rush the ball really well and he was aggressive," Gibbs said of Porter. "He's still got to learn how to get down sometimes and protect the football and protect his body a little bit. But I thought he was a whole lot more aggressive tonight than he was last week and I look for him to continue to improve, particularly if the offensive line continues to do the things they did tonight.
"They really got off the ball well, they really attacked, were aggressive and finished blocks."
Gibbs pointed out one particular play that fired up the whole team when sophomore linebacker Earnest Fobbs laid a devastating hit on NMCC's Malik Stevenson on a short pass near the sideline on the first play of the second half.
Stevenson hung onto the pass for no gain on the play, but was shaken up by Fobbs' hit and had to take a few moments to recover.
"Earnest Fobbs making a big hit on the little out pass really got us going-- we talk about that all the time with our defense being aggressive and taking it to them," Gibbs said. "We did that all night long."
Senior linebacker Clay Porter said, "Earnest is a natural hitter. He loves to hit and loves the contact. We played with a lot of emotion."
Sikeston finished with 340 yards of total offense, topping last week's total by 17 yards.
Gibbs pointed out the improved play by the offensive line.
"There were a couple times we got out and ran some trap blocks, one in particular I remember Gage Barber planting a kid on the edge for us which enabled Reese to run a little counter play," Gibbs said. "If you get off the ball and create some seams then guys can get four and five yards. I know the 35-yard plays are what everybody comes to watch, but those four and five yard pops makes your play calling a whole lot easier. So I think the biggest improvement we had was our offensive line this week."
Another improvement was on special teams with Nathan Hampton providing three extra points, successfully executing the onside kick, but also keeping NMCC's offense pinned deep with his punting, including one that was downed at the Eagle 2-yard line.
Walker led the Eagles with 33 yards rushing on five carries.
The Bulldogs improve to 2-0 following its fifth straight win over the Eagles. NMCC drops to 0-2 on the season.
| NMCC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | 0 |
| SHS | 6 | 2 | 8 | 14 | -- | 29 |
First Quarter
S -- Reese Porter 3 run (run failed), 6:41
Second Quarter
S -- Safety, 0:48
Third Quarter
S -- Courtney Hawkins 8 run (Nathan Hampton kick), 3:17
Fourth Quarter
S -- Porter 2 run (Hampton kick), 11:55
S -- Chase Davis 28 run (Hampton kick), 7:14
| Team Stats | N | S |
| First downs | 2 | 16 |
| Total yards | 25 | 340 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-24 | 58-332 |
| Passing yards | 1 | 8 |
| Comp.-Att.-Int. | 2-11-0 | 1-8-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2-2 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-32 | 8-60 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
Rushing -- NMCC, Mikeal Walker 5-33, Willie Jimmerson 6-6, Larry McIntosh 1-3, Malik Stevenson 8-1, JaMonte Sykes 1-1, Harvey Brown 1-(-3), Austin Lynn 6-(-17). Sikeston, Reese Porter 26-149, Chris Word 13-104, Courtney Hawkins 10-49, Chase Davis 1-28, Peyton Boyd 4-4, Nathan Hampton 1-1, Team 3-(-3).
Passing -- NMCC, Austin Lynn 2-11-0 1. Sikeston, Reese Porter 1-7-0 8, Nathan Hampton 0-1-0 0.
Receiving -- NMCC, Asten Newsom 1-1, Malik Stevenson 1-0. Sikeston, Earnest Fobbs 1-8.