Brian Rosener is the keeper of the Semoball Cup which is presented to the school with the most successful season. It is based on a formula that takes into account the combined winning percentage of all sports teams plus bonus points for advancement in postseason play for both teams and individuals. The bonus points are divided by the number of teams a school fields. Rosener has been the sports editor for the Daily American Republic in Poplar Bluff, Mo. since December 2001. He was born and raised in St. Louis, where he attended Lindbergh High School and Webster University. He is married to Jennifer, a Poplar Bluff native, has a son Jack and a dog named Satchel who stands in for his @semoballBrian photo.

Sikeston 34, Bluff 28

Posted Saturday, October 25, 2008, at 12:54 AM

Sikeston players celebrate a come-from-behind win Friday night. (photo by Brian Rosener)

Sikeston's C.J. Council returned an interception 45 yards with no time left Friday night as the Bulldogs rallied past Poplar Bluff, 34-28.

The Bulldogs (5-4, 1-1 district) tied the game with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard run on fourth down by quarterback Charlie Bohannon, who returned from a back injury after missing two games. Bohannon hit Niquavious Dixon with a pass to convert a two-point try to match the Mules 28-28.

Poplar Bluff (4-5, 0-2 district) converted a fourth-and-1 near midfield on the ensuing drive but the Bulldogs hit the Mules for a 1-yard loss on the next play and a false-start penalty made it second-and-14. Gratten Allen knocked down a pass for the Sikeston defense, which stopped Poplar Bluff's Zach Ferguson after a 4-yard gain to force a punt.

The Bulldogs got the ball back with 2:24 left and marched to the Poplar Bluff 38 with under a minute to go but a false-start penalty on third down and a sack by Kelton Thompson forced Sikeston to punt with 15 seconds left. After the punt was downed with 3 seconds left, Mules quarterback Todd Bullington rolled out to the left side and fired with no time left. Council made a leaping catch then headed the other way towards the pylon. He got a block from teammate Ray Clark inside the 5 on Poplar Bluff's Aaron Ellis, who hit the two out of the end zone after crossing the goal line.

Sikeston players mobbed Council in the end zone to celebrate the win, but because a district game must complete each point-after attempt, the Bulldogs were flagged 15 yards for excessive celebration. On the point-after, Bohannon's pass fell incomplete.

With Farmington's win over West Plains, Sikeston and Poplar Bluff are both still alive in the playoff race with the Knights clinching at least one spot. Here's how it could play out (remember it's after midnight when I did this math:

Farmington beats Sikeston, West Plains beats Bluff; Farmington wins title, WP second.

Sikeston beats Farmington, Bluff beats West Plains; Sikeston wins title, Farmington is second.

Sikeston beats Farmington, West Plains wins; Three-way tie for title goes to point tiebreaker with the winner taking the title and the runner-up based on head-to-head (I'll have to double-check that with MSHSAA, but if there's a tie in the point system then it gets really crazy.)

Farmington beats Sikeston, Bluff beats West Plains: Farmington wins title, three-way tie for second is broken through point tiebreaker. As it stands now, the Zizzers have a 7-point lead on Sikeston and 19-up on Bluff. If the Mules win by 12 or more and Sikeston losses, even by just a point, Bluff advances. If the Mules win by 9 or less, WP advances as long as Sikeston losses by more than 1 point.

Confused? It took me 45 minutes driving home to figure that out and I'm still not sure it's 100 percent.

Poplar Bluff had two plays stopped by inadvertent whistles on plays that could have resulted in scores -- the Mules finished each of those drives with touchdowns. The second time, Mules coach Shane Kearbey drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for coming onto the field so instead of the ball at Sikeston's 11, it was first-and-25 at the 30 when the down was replayed. Poplar Bluff drew a season-high 13 flags for 100 yards. Sikeston had five counting the final play and one for a kickoff that went out of bounds.

Each team had a turnover but the difference was that the Bulldogs scored six points off theirs while the Mules couldn't convert Zach Ferguson's interception in his own end zone in the first quarter.

Ferguson finished with 138 rushing yards while Sikeston's Eli Jackson ran 28 times for 184 yards. Bohannon was 7-for-13 for 137 yards passing including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Williams.

Poplar Bluff led 6-0 after one quarter and rallied to tie the game at 14-14 with 12 seconds left in the half when Bullington hit Ferguson for a 5-yard pass. Ferguson's pass to kicker Josh Thompson on the point-after tied the game. The Mules needed just four plays to take the lead in the second half when Ferguson scored on a 24-yard run with 8:48 left.

Jackson's 1-yard run pulled Sikeston to within 21-20 with 11:02 but the kick missed to the left. Poplar Bluff answered with a six-play drive finished by Ferguson's 1-yard run for a 28-20 lead with 9:28 to go but Sikeston answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game.

Comments

View 8 comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

One of the best games, as a avid High School sports fan, I have seen in a VERY VERY long time. Though the officiating was EXTREMELY POOR, and the officiating crew should probably be reported to Missouri State High School Activities Association for being completely clueless, it did not take away from both teams leaving everything they had on the football field. Congratulations to Sikeston on a very well earned victory!

-- Posted by semosportswatcher on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 9:27 AM
I didn't see the game - why in the world would Bluff throw on the last play instead of taking a knee to head for overtime??

-- Posted by WhatsamattaU on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 9:34 AM
First year coach mistake, is my take on it, I maybe completely wrong. But with a "sudden death" overtime, you take a knee and take your chances in OT.

-- Posted by semosportswatcher on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 10:22 AM
Exactly..why in the world do you throw that pass....yes Bluff had some sucess with passes deep, one or two great catches....but with Sikeston playing prevent....CJ was just playing center field.....when he made the pick...he was at almost full speed going the other way ....considering the fact that Sikeston had a sure TD pass dropped by Council in the first qtr..and another deep ball dropped in the third....Sikeston could have had quite a margin. Bluff outsized the Dogs on both sides of the ball, but it seemed their defense tired on two long Sikeston drives in the second half... Sikeston's last defensive stand, two no gains up the middle, tackles by Josh Carlisle, and Tyler Combs ....and a batted down pass by linebacker Gratten Allen out in the offensive right flat..., forced Bluff to punt to the Dogs with 2 and change left..Sikeston went down the field, but stagnated...and they too punted back to Bluff. The ball blown dead with 3 seconds left. I too, could not believe what I saw as Bluff sailed a floater out there that literally hung in the air. Pretty exciting finish, and exactly the way distric play should be....tuff, and down to the wire. Great game to both teams. Just think.... that was the same match-up that saw Bluff beat Sikeston 50-6 last year.

-- Posted by Headhunt on Sat, Oct 25, 2008, at 10:41 AM
My memory is getting bad, but didn't P.B even with the two inavert whistle calls, still go ahead and score on those possessions. If so, didn't change the out come.

-- Posted by lastride67 on Sun, Oct 26, 2008, at 3:40 PM

Brian Rosener's response:
I wrote this Friday night: "Poplar Bluff had two plays stopped by inadvertent whistles on plays that could have resulted in scores -- the Mules finished each of those drives with touchdowns�" only to set up what happened next, the reason why Bluff got flagged late in the first half. For them to score late after that whistle and flag gave them some momentum into halftime. Had they not, it could have been a bigger hole to overcome in the second half.
Yes, they did! I think his post is a little deceiving, but semosportswatcher is actually a Sikeston fan.

-- Posted by sportsfanatic on Sun, Oct 26, 2008, at 10:08 PM
I'll compare the records I have to what you posted and I'll post it here when I get a chance. Thanks for taking the time to look it up.

-- Posted by semohoops on Mon, Oct 27, 2008, at 8:10 AM
So did we ever figure out what happens , if Sikeston beats Farmington , and Zizzers win against the Mules....??

-- Posted by Headhunt on Mon, Oct 27, 2008, at 4:04 PM

Brian Rosener's response:
What I came up with Friday night (above) is still true to the best of my knowledge.

Respond to this blog

Posting a comment requires free registration:

If you already have an account, follow this link to login
Otherwise, follow this link to register