Thomas, Dominguez take area's top high school football awards

Cape Central running back Zai'Aire Thomas (left) won the Carr Trophy at Wednesday's Gridiron Banquet at the Black River Coliseum, while Caruthersville's Oscar Dominguez won the Derland Moore Award. The Carr Trophy goes to the best football player in the SEMO Conference, while the Derland Moore Award goes to the conference's top defensive player.

DAR/Mike Buhler

Saying that Zai’Aire Thomas did it all for Cape Central this season might be just a bit of an understatement.

Thomas helped the Tigers go 10-2 and make it all the way to the Class 5 District 1 championship game, plus the Cape Central senior scored 24 regular-season touchdowns — 13 on the ground and 11 more via reception — and threw for another as he scored 28% of the time he touched the ball on offense.

Wednesday night, those efforts were recognized when he won the Carr Trophy during the 79th annual Gridiron Banquet at the Black River Coliseum. Thomas is the first Cape Central player to win the Carr Trophy since 2016, when Kway'Chon Chism won it for the Tigers, and the sixth Tiger overall.

On the defensive side, Oscar Dominguez of Caruthersville was presented the Derland Moore Award as the SEMO Conference's top defender during the ceremony in Downtown Poplar Bluff which also honored the All-SEMO Conference team, the conference's top linemen and its scoring champions.

The 5-foot-6, 165-pound Thomas also picked up the scoring award in the SEMO North for the second time in three years, scoring 144 points during the regular season with 24 touchdowns as he accounted for more than one-third of Central’s points.

Thomas said it felt “great” to win the Carr Trophy.

“It means you're the best high school athlete around here,” Thomas said. “I've been working a lot for this, ever since I came into high school, so it feels great to actually have it now.”

Including Cape Central's three postseason games, Thomas finished with 32 touchdowns and 1,993 all-purpose yards, averaging 16.6 yards per touch on offense with 1,268 rushing yards and 644 yards receiving. He also threw a 53-yard touchdown pass, completing one of his two passing attempts on the season.

“It's great, especially splitting reps with another running back — and a great running back,” Thomas said. “So it feels good to still have the numbers to show for it.”

Jermonte Alexander of Caruthersville and Jett Grams of Dexter were also named finalists for the Carr Trophy, which was first presented in 1979.

Meanwhile, Dominguez, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound senior linebacker at Caruthersville, won the Derland Moore Award after finishing in the top three for the award in 2023.

This season, Dominguez led the conference with 128 tackles during the regular season, including 14 tackles for a loss. He recovered two fumbles, intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown. He helped the Tigers defense allow just 15.8 points per game during the first nine games as Caruthersville won the SEMO South division title, outscoring their five rivals 218-60.

“It feels good,” Dominguez said of winning the award. “But I would have rather had a team that made it farther (in) the state (playoffs). But I'm glad I did it with the guys I did it with.”

Including the postseason, which ended with Caruthersville finishing as the Class 2 District 1 runner-up, Dominguez finished with 175 tackles, including 2 for a loss, two sacks, one interception, one fumble forced, two fumbles recovered and one defensive touchdown.

Nolan Alford of Dexter and Kaesen McClain of Farmington were also finalists for the Derland Moore Award, which was first handed out in 2011.

Along with Thomas, conference scoring award winners also included Tavion Ware of East Prairie in the SEMO Central, who scored 124 points, and Caruthersville’s Sammy Bryant in the SEMO South, who scored 168.

The Outstanding Linemen Award in each division were presented to Jackson’s Brysen Wessell in the North, Caden Lee of Dexter in the Central and Charleston’s Deshaun Henderson in the South.

Jackson claimed the SEMO North title for the sixth straight year as coach Ryan Nesbit was named the Coach of the Year in the North. Dexter completed its first undefeated regular season since 1986, winning the SEMO Central title during which the Bearcats outscored opponents 177-8, as coach Chad Jamerson was named SEMO Central Coach of the Year.

Meanwhile, Caruthersville won the SEMO South for the first time since 2016, finishing with a 10-2 record with both losses against state-ranked Valle Catholic, as Dom Guglielmo was named SEMO South Coach of the Year.

Cape Central also was presented with the SEMO Football Officials Association’s Sportsmanship Award, while Aaron Pixley, former head coach at Dexter and Kennett, was honored with the Sam Giambelluca Lifetime Achievement Award for service to the conference.

Members of the All-SEMO Conference team were presented with their letter patches and certificates. The team is selected by the coaches in each division while the Carr Trophy and Derland Moore Award are determined by a committee of nine area officials.

Brian Rosener from the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame provided information for this story.