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Bearcats down Fredericktown to earn spot in district final
DEXTER — Survive and advance.
That’s what the Dexter football Bearcats did as they outlasted the Fredericktown Blackcats 56-20 in the Class 3 District 1 semifinals Friday night at Charles Bland Stadium.
Dexter had a bye last week thanks to their top seed in the district, while Fredericktown defeated Potosi 23-21 last Friday in the quarterfinals and came to Dexter looking for an improbable upset.
Thanks to the Blackcats’ tenacity and passing game, combined with numerous Bearcats mistakes on defense, the game was close until late in the third quarter, but Dexter’s running game pounded the Fredericktown defense in the second half to pull away for the commanding victory.
Dexter coach Chad Jamerson suspected the week off could have made his team a bit rusty in the early going.
“I do think it caused a little rustiness and caused us to have a little bit of slow feet tonight,” Jamerson said. “We had to buckle down and figure some things out, and once we figured out that we needed to play a little bit better, I felt like we showed some resolve and came together and did our job.”
Dexter (10-0) started fast on the ground, driving into Fredericktown territory with little resistance. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, Devin Turnbo fumbled on what would have been a first-down run, and the Blackcats took over at 8:51 of the first quarter.
Dexter’s defense held, and the Bearcats finished their second drive with a Jett Grams two-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion failed, and Dexter led 6-0 with 5:33 left in the first quarter.
Fredericktown (4-7) decided to go for it on fourth-and-four from their own 25-yard line on their next drive, and quarterback Easton Wood hit a wide-open Leeandrea Catchings for a 75-yard touchdown pass. After the kick, Fredericktown led 7-6.
Dexter concluded the first quarter with a false start penalty on its own fourth-and-four and had to punt.
The Bearcats’ slow start continued on defense, as they held Fredericktown on a third-and-long but committed a face mask penalty to keep the Blackcats’ drive alive. Another penalty, this time for pass interference at the goal line, gave Fredericktown another first down and a shot to increase its lead.
However, the Blackcats’ drive stalled with four consecutive incomplete passes, and Dexter took over on its own 19-yard line. The Bearcats drove the length of the field, with Lee-Michael McDonald taking it across the goal line. This time, the two-point conversion was good, and Dexter led 14-7 with six minutes left in the half.
McDonald scored another running touchdown on the next Dexter possession, and the kick gave the Bearcats a 21-7 lead, which they took with them into halftime.
Fredericktown took the second half kickoff and drove 60 yards for a touchdown, a seven-yard pass from Wood to Catchings to cut Dexter’s lead to 21-14 with 8:37 remaining in the third quarter.
“I think we were just overzealous,” Jamerson said of his team’s pass coverage. “We overplayed a little bit too much, and maybe we didn’t execute assignments as well as we’re used to.”
The Blackcats tried an onside kick, but Dexter recovered on its 44-yard line. Nolan Alford took the first handoff on a sweep right and ran it 56 yards into the end zone. The kick restored Dexter’s two-touchdown lead at 28-14.
More penalties and poor pass coverage continued to plague the Dexter defense, leading to a 42-yard pass from Wood to Catchings to give Fredericktown a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. Zac Botbyl took it in for the score, but the kick was no good, making it 28-20 with 5:47 left in the third.
Dexter responded in much finer fashion on offense, feeding Grams on power runs down the field, and Montgomery carried it in from the one-yard line to extend the Bearcats’ lead to 35-20.
Dexter scored again early in the fourth quarter, with a long run from Montgomery setting up a seven-yard touchdown run by Langston Werneck to give the Bearcats a commanding 42-20 lead.
Bearcats quarterback Jackson Howard made it 49-20 with a one-yard touchdown run with 7:02 left in the game.
Grams added the final score on a seven-yard touchdown with 4:10 remaining.
“Our plan is always to pound the rock,” Jamerson said. “We want to come out and establish a strong running game, and usually we play really good defense to match that.”
He added that despite some rough moments, his defense still had a good game.
“Most teams would be pretty happy with only allowing 20 points, but for our standard, we expect more,” Jamerson said.
Dexter will host Ste. Genevieve (7-4) in the district championship next Friday. Ste. Genevieve beat Park Hills Central 26-16 in the other semifinal game.
“Ste. Genevieve knocked us out the last two seasons,” Jamerson said about the next matchup. “We’re fortunate to play for district championship at home — they’re going to be ready, we’re going to be ready, and I think it’ll be a great battle.”