Thomas shines in latest Cape Central rout, shutting out St. Charles West away

Cape Central's Zai'Aire Thomas breaks free for a 61-yard touchdown during a Friday, September 6, 2024 game between the St. Charles West Warriors and the Cape Central Tigers at St. Charles West High School in St. Charles, Mo. Cape Central defeated St. Charles West, 35-0.

Cole Lee ~ clee@semoball.com

Going on the road for a chance to march out to 2-0, Cape Central took little time to open up the scoring in a methodical 35-0 win over St. Charles West.

Relying heavily on the talents of Zai’Aire Thomas in the receiving game, the Tigers diced up a slower Warriors offense with some explosive plays on the outside.

After fumbling on the first drive, senior quarterback Deklin Pittman came back out and got the first score of the game using his legs, and it all just clicked from there.

Leaning on some great defense, including a couple of fumble recoveries and an interception by junior Breijon Clemons, Central controlled this one from end to end to put together its second win.

With the offense flicking on the running clock late in the third quarter, the defense capped off the performance with a few stops in the second half to keep the shutout intact.

That now makes two shutouts in two wins for the 2024 Cape Central Tigers.

Not just that, but with a pair of wins in the first two weeks, it’s the Tigers’ first 2-0 start since the 2019 season.

Thomas joined the squad in 2021 but played a big role in its breakout 2022 season that saw him not only go on record-breaking pace but also help the squad to its first semifinal in nearly a decade.

Now helping the Tigers out to a perfect start through two weeks, he’s set his sights much higher as they continue to turn heads.

“I’ve pretty much been here since the bottom,” Thomas said with a smile. “To be able to watch it, and be able to know I helped, even just watching it now and having nights like these, it just feels really good.”

Thomas scored 24-and-61-yard touchdowns on back-to-back drives going through the air, landing the sealing blows that iced a huge Cape Central first half on the road.

Behind a great defense, the offense’s job seemed easy as every time the Central offense had a miscue of fanned on a drive, the defense picked it right back up.

In what’s been the failsafe for Cape Central these past few seasons, the playmakers on the back side of the ball have proved just as explosive through two weeks as ever.

“The big thing, from a defensive standpoint, is we're playing really, really physical,” veteran Tigers coach Kent Gibbs said. “You know, you start by playing physical, but you also have to run to the ball, and I thought tonight was more of the same.

“You see a ball carrier or receiver, and then you see six, seven, sometimes eight black helmets there. Any time that you're physical and you pursue the ball like that, you're going to be successful on defense.”

Favored by such a wide margin going into the game, the Tigers have shown that even as the favorite, they can take care of business and get the big win going away.

With an ugly fumble on the first drive of the game, that physical Tiger defensive unit forced a fumble just two plays into the ensuing first drive from St. Charles West, and Pittman made the most of it.

It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it’s another one on a long list for the old skipper in Gibbs, who’s turned Cape Central from a team scheduling low-level opponents to salvage wins to a serious threat for a rout even when going away.

The winning experience of heading to back-to-back semifinals has helped a lot with this, Gibbs claimed, as his playmakers are showing more confidence than ever breaking into 2024.

“I think the added games that you get by playing 14 games instead of 10,” Gibbs said. “You know, it's another month of practice. These seniors, they've got two extra months of practice.”

Thomas, now a senior and a well-spoken leader of the unit, has become a key example of the winning generation of Tiger football athletes that have passed through over the past few years.

Behind him, junior KeyShawn Boyd had a busy night as well, scoring two touchdowns over the ground, putting another 14 points on the board with the help of superstar kicker Joey Charlton.

With the monstrous talents of those two in the backfield, liable to make a play through the air or on the ground, there’s been little resistance as Cape’s rolled out to one of its best starts in recent memory.

That upperclassman experience and the forward mindset that these guys bring into every matchup have rewritten the book on Cape Central football.

“Anytime you make a deep run, you build on your knowledge of what it takes to win,” Gibbs said.

“We tell our kids, as every coach does, to just keep playing every play. Regardless of positive or negative. I think our kids do that.”