Poplar Bluff receiver Greg Coble can't quite haul in a pass in the end zone while being defended by New Madrid County Central's Jamareia Jones during the first quarter Friday night in New Madrid. (Brian Rosener/DAR)

By BRIAN ROSENER ~ DAR Sports Editor

NEW MADRID -- Pete Bryant made his first career carry a memorable one Friday night.

The Poplar Bluff sophomore took the handoff with his team trailing midway through the fourth quarter, slipped through a tackle and found the end zone 50-yards later. He also scored on his fourth, and final, run in the closing minute to complete the Mules' 26-16 come-from-behind win against New Madrid Country Central.

It made for a memorable debut for Mules coach Shane Kearbey.

"Those kids, they just bucked it up in the second half and decided they were going to come out and make some things happen," Kearbey said. "We're just extremely proud of them. I can't put it to words really."

Midway through the third quarter things looked bleak for Poplar Bluff.

Trailing 16-0, the Mules had yet to pick up a first down and managed just 21 yards of total offense against the Eagles, who were ranked 10th in the Class 3 preseason state poll. There were also a pair of turnovers and two drives that ended deep inside Central territory with nothing to show for it.

The final 16 minutes, however, were a completely different story.

Poplar Bluff's Zach Ferguson scored twice in the span of 2 minutes late in the third quarter with one of Central's four turnovers in between. The junior ran for 88 yards on 18 carries while Bryant had 72 yards on just four attempts, scoring twice to complete the rally.

"They did a tremendous job coming back in that one -- showed a lot of heart," Central coach Arlen Pixley said. "We learned something from them tonight about what it takes to be a champion and that's keep plugging away and win it in the fourth quarter."

From left, Poplar Bluff's David Gaebler, Pete Bryant and Greg Coble celebrate after the Mules recovered a fumble Friday night. (Brian Rosener/DAR) [Click to enlarge]

The Eagles scored twice in the second quarter to build their lead, putting together a 12-play, 80-yard drive and later getting a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dontre Jenkins following one of Poplar Bluff's three turnovers.

Central produced 290 yards of offense and had the ball for nearly 29 minutes, but Poplar Bluff's defense made big plays to keep the Mules within striking distance.

Ethan Hollins and Ferguson recovered fumbles in the first half and Ben Knuckles picked off a pass that deflected off teammate Greg Coble near his own goal line early in the third quarter.

Poplar Bluff's offense couldn't cash in any of those opportunities but after the defense stopped the Eagles on fourth-and-3 near midfield, things started clicking.

Mules quarterback Todd Bullington completed his first pass, hitting Knuckles over the middle for a 9-yard gain, then found a leaping Kerey Smith for a 30-yard pass for the first down. Two plays later, Ferguson ran in a 6-yard touchdown but the two-point try fell incomplete.

"We switched our pass blocking schemes and we got in a good formation that opened up their defense," senior center Kelton Thompson said of the change "It was mainly they out-schemed us that first half I thought."

Kearbey said the first half was very frustrating and at halftime, the coaching staff started drawing plays on the board until they figured out a formation that might get one of New Madrid's defenders away from the point of attack.

"They fished around the playbook until they got it right," Pixley said. "We tried to make an adjustment there late and just had some kids mentally out of position, missed a lot of tackles there late -- that's fatigue."

The Eagles turned the ball over at their own 3-yard line when the ball slipped out of Jenkins' hands as he raised his arm to throw. Thompson ended up with the ball and on the next snap the Mules pulled within 16-12 when Ferguson ran in a 3-yard score.

New Madrid looked to pad its lead on the ensuing drive, pushing to Poplar Bluff's 16-yard line. But on first down, a fumbled snap all the way back to the 30 put the Eagles into a hole and the Mules later took over on downs at their own 14.

After the teams traded possessions, Ferguson broke a 23-yard run to midfield but cramped up on the play and had to come out. Bryant came in and put the Mules ahead on the next play.

"That was huge the way Petey came in," Kearbey said. "He's a sophomore but he definitely showed a lot of guts tonight."