Cape Central slams Webster Groves in Class 5 District 1 quarterfinals

Cape Central senior Zai'Aire Thomas coasts down the sideline against the Webster Groves defense in the Class 5 District 1 quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 1. The Tigers defeated the road Statesmen 42-7.

Kaiden Karper ~ kkarper@semoball.com

CAPE GIRARDEAU — Cape Central’s first touchdown on Friday night came early in the first quarter on a Torrance Murray two-yard plunge at the goal line.

It was worth six points. Maybe some style points, as well.

The Cape Central Tigers had plenty of both during their dominant 42-7 rout of Webster Groves in the Class 5 District 1 quarterfinals at Tigers Stadium.

Going old school against a heavy underdog, Cape Central stuck to its bread and butter and relied on stifling defensive play and a bruising run game led by Murray and Zai’Aire Thomas to wear down the Statesmen early and often in its playoff opener.

Thomas, who entered the night averaging 12.9 yards per carry, eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season after putting up 214 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Murray finished with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own. Senior quarterback Deklin Pittman threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 50 more.

The 35-point win was the third largest margin of victory for the program in a playoff game under head coach Kent Gibbs.

“We needed to handle adversity when it happened, and we did that,” Gibbs said. “We got a couple of really good stops defensively, and then we needed to finish. And we did that tonight too. We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds that we’ve got to take care of. Some what I would call ‘dumb penalties’ that we've got to get rid of. But man, you’ve got to like the aggression of our defense and you’ve got to like how our offense performed. We did a great job blocking up front. Just really pleased with the effort.”

This one was well decided before halftime. Thomas ran for touchdowns of 2, 15 and 78 yards in the game and defensive back Cole Geiser picked off Webster Groves quarterback Will Travers at midfield to set up a late score as the Tigers built a 28-7 lead by the break.

The play of the game came in the second half when Pittman unloaded a deep ball to senior wide receiver Carter Armstrong, who beat the Statesmen cornerback in man coverage and dashed into the end zone for a 91-yard touchdown.

“He (cornerback) was just sitting with his feet in the mud,” Armstrong said. “So, I just went up to him and gave him a quick out step. He breaks on it and then I just bursted out, caught it and kept running.

“I’ve been waiting all year for this because I feel like we underutilize our passing game sometimes and you saw what happened tonight when we use it a lot more. We put up a lot of points with it.”

Armstrong and senior Paul Tran, who caught a 20-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, were the Tigers’ leading receivers on the night.

Cape Central’s defense rattled Travers and Co. for the majority of the game. Along with a handful of turnovers, Webster Groves reached the red zone four times throughout the night and had just seven points to show for it.

Senior safety Gavin Pittman, who entered the game with a team-high 88 tackles, notched a big tackle-for-loss on fourth-and-2 at the Cape Central 12-yard line in the third quarter to force a turnover on downs. Cornerback Malachi Johnson got an interception at the Cape 10-yard line midway through the second half to also keep the Tigers in the clear.

“I tell you what, when you play physical defense, it just sets the tone for you, and that's what we've been doing,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, tonight we did that. They had a lot of minus-yardage plays. Gave up a couple early pass completions, but at the end of the day, I think we had two goal line stands where we kept them out of the end zone. So, you’ve got to be proud. They just answered the bell.”

Now it’s all about rinse and repeat moving forward.

“We like we tell our kids, ‘it’s 0-0 as far as the season is concerned,” Gibbs said. “It’s win or go home. Watching Bluff, they're a much improved football team and we know we'll have our work cut out for us.”

Cape Central will look to carry the momentum over to its District 1 semifinal matchup against Poplar Bluff next Friday night at Tigers Stadium. The Tigers throttled the Mules 49-6 during the regular season.