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Sikeston hoping to keep up momentum with Dexter ahead
SIKESTON -- Coming off a one-sided loss to Jackson in Week 3, the Sikeston Bulldogs rebounded with a thrilling 26-23 victory over conference and district rival Cape Central last week.
Now the Bulldogs will try to keep its momentum going when they host Dexter on homecoming night tomorrow at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium at 7 p.m.
Dexter is making its first trip to SPS Stadium in two years since its "hook and ladder" play in the final seconds stunned the Bulldogs, 20-15, to snap a streak of six straight losses to Sikeston.
While this is a different Dexter team with a new coach, the Bearcats got off to a slow start to this season with losses to Ste. Genevieve (35-6) and Poplar Bluff (41-8) only to pick things up in the last two weeks.
Dexter (2-2) comes into the game having won its last two games after defeating New Madrid County Central 34-14 and Middle College (Tenn.) 41-0 to give new head coach Kevin Goltra his first victories as the Bearcat coach.
Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs, now in his 10th season with the Bulldogs, sees a Dexter team with a formidable running game and sizable linemen. It's a team that is vastly different from last year's Dexter squad that Sikeston throttled 62-14, a game in which the Bulldogs forced seven turnovers.
"They run a power offense similar to what we ran the last two years," Gibbs said. "They do a few other things out of it. A lot of play-action stuff. They're running a variation of the double-wing. They'll split some guys out, but it's a lot of motion and misdirection. They're trying to run the football, obviously, but they've got a lot of different guys that will carry it whether it's their two wings, their quarterback or their fullback. Then they'll kind of lull you to sleep and throw the play-action stuff over the top. They've got a couple big receivers. They're big across the board."
The Bearcats' top ball carrier is senior Payton Tinnin, who leads the team with 276 yards rushing. He also has abilities as a receiver, hauling in a 28-yard touchdown pass against NMCC.
Hunter Lawrence, Trevor McDonald and Caleb Hoggard will also see plenty of carries for Dexter.
The Dexter offense is triggered by junior quarterback Ben Sindle. His top target is 6-foot-4 Gabe Jackson.
"Dexter presents a lot of problems," Gibbs said. "They're playing a lot of kids, trying to find the right combinations."
On defense, Dexter runs a unique alignment with five defensive backs and only three down linemen.
"Defensively they run a defense we haven't seen with a 3-3-5 look where they bring a lot of people, give you a lot of different looks up front and try to confuse your blocking," Gibbs said. "We just have to take what they give us and be consistent with what we do and try to execute when we get the opportunities."
Sikeston comes into the game 3-1, also defeating Charleston (52-0) and Kennett (22-12) in the first two weeks.
Last week against Cape Central, the Bulldogs rallied from a 13-0 second quarter deficit led by senior running back Justus Faulkner, who had 205 yards on 14 carries with three touchdowns.
Faulkner now has 450 yards and five touchdowns to lead the team this season.
"Our kids played really hard the other night, being down 13-0," Gibbs said. "We got a little spark there and got going and ended up playing really well. Our defense was just outstanding all night long. Take a couple plays away and we pretty much shut them down. I'm really happy with what we did the other night. We just have to use that to get us some confidence and get a little momentum into the rest of our schedule."
Senior quarterback Dre Johnson has also shown improvement the last two weeks. He now has 185 yards rushing and 184 yards passing this season.
Senior Phayzun Fobbs has 183 yards rushing and Keshawn Ellis follows up with 88 yards rushing.
Fobbs leads the team with nine receptions while 6-foot-2 sophomore Ricky Scott leads with 92 yards receiving, highlighted by a 66-yard touchdown reception last week.
On defense, lineman Josh Stinnett has been all over the field, leading the team with 35 tackles, eight for losses, three sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
"We've just got to concentrate on what we do and that's no different than any week and I think our kids have done a good job of that and hopefully we'll continue to do a good job of that," Gibbs said. "Homecoming adds a little bit for everybody. For us, we've just got to play like it's another ballgame, take care of our business and try to get one week better."
Sikeston leads the all-time series with Dexter 51-20.