LIVE from Morrow Stadium, Cape Central vs. PB

You can read my really bad first draft here. After a few hours of sleep and a check of the game film, I'll write something a little bit better for Sunday's DAR, hopefully.

Second half

Mules get the ball to start the second half. Central hit with 15-yard penalty for coming out of locker room late. On the kickoff the Mules do a fake reverse handoff, give it to Ferguson for a 77-yard kickoff return. He breaks a tackle at around the 30 and breaks the school TD mark with 11:47 left in the third quarter.

Mules lead 32-6.

Cape fumbles away first drive. Mules take over at 26 and score on fourth-and-7 on a 23-yard TD run by Ferguson. Kicker Kenyan Francis is out of town with the soccer team. got to go for it.

Mules lead 38-6 with 10:00 left in third.

Teams trade fumbles before Central turns the ball over on downs. On the next snap, McAnulty hits Johnson with a screen pass that he breaks for a 67-yard touchdown.

Mules lead 45-6 with 4:36 left in the third.

END OF THIRD QUARTER

Mules lead 45-6, but the Tigers are on the Bluff 26 to start the fourth.

Pickens scores on a 6-yard run with 10:31 left. Run attempt fails, Bluff leads 45-12.

After the Mules recover an onside kick attempt by Central, Bryant runs up the middle for a 54-yard TD run to put the Mules up 51-12 with 10:16 left in fourth quarter.

With 1:57 left in fourth, the Mules are forced to punt for the first time tonight.

MULES WIN 51-12.

I'll have a story later tonight.

Unofficially, Ferguson finished with 108 rushing yards leaving him 300 yards shy of Austin Tinsley's career rushing mark.

Here's the first half

Welcome to homecoming 2009 at Poplar Bluff.

Blake Talkington was just named queen. Blake's escort was quarterback Zach McAnulty. Over the years I've seen a trend in which the player that escorts the queen usually has a big game. We'll see if that plays out tonight.

Perfect night for football here. Full moon is rising over the east stands as the Sho-Me Band is playing "Carry on My Wayward Son." On the southeast end of the field is the homecoming floats designed by the four classes. The theme this year is 'Not all super heroes need a cape."

PBHS AD Jim Brown brought a good point while we were talking on the field a few minutes ago. At the end of the Hannibal game, the Mules appeared to score a touchdown when McAnulty's pass was tipped by Greg Coble to Jake Smith, who finished a 32-yard touchdown pass. However, there was a flag on the play for holding with no time left. In my notes I took down the penalty yards and didn't count the touchdown and the game was over.

Brown said that Hannibal had to have declined the penalty for the game to be over and, if so, then the touchdown would count. I always thought that a game couldn't end on a defensive penalty only. I'll check into that and might have to adjust the stats and score.

Any thoughts?

Along with working tonight, I'm watching my step-son Jack run onto the field with the Mules. Jack and his flag football teammates will try not to get run over.

Mules win toss, defer to second half.

Mules force three-and-punt. First snap, Poplar Bluff's Eljie Johnson turns up the right side and scores on a 57-yard run with 9:38 left in first quarter.

Central gets a first down, thanks to a Mules penalty, but punts four plays later.

The Mules go 55 yards on eight plays, scoring on a McAnulty 1-yard run. Kick fails, Mules up 13-0 with 4:10 left.

END OF FIRST QUARTER> Mules lead 13-0

McAnulty hits Jake Smith for a 7-yard touchdown pass with 10:11 left in half. Kick fails, Mules lead 19-0.

Cape's cooking after a 20-yard run by Brandon Pickens puts the Tigers at the Bluff 26-yard line. ... Mules stop Pickens on an 1-yard run, Andrew Williams' pass is incomplete before James Poindexter picks up 10 for a first down to the 15....

On fourth-and-9 from the 14, Central goes for it. Williams' pass is broken up but there's a flag on Bluff. First down at the 7. ...

Mules stop the Tigers three times but on third-and-goal from the 3, Terrance Howard breaks a tackle in the backfield and punches it in for a touchdown with 3:57 left in the half. The extra-point kick is a fake, pass is picked off by Zach Ferguson.

Mules lead 19-6.

On third-and-6 at their own 37 ... handoff to Ferguson. He goes untouched off the left side for a 63-yard touchdown run, tying the school record with his 45th career score. Mules lead 25-6 with 2:18 left in half.

Mules get to the Central 20 with 2.8 seconds left but McAnulty's pass to the end zone is incomplete as the half ends. It's the first drive in which the Mules haven't scored.

HALFTIME, Mules lead 25-6.

Halftime stats, Bluff out-gained Cape 295-103.

Ferguson has 85 rushing yards on six attempts and 60 receiving yards on three catches. McAnulty completed his first three passes and is 5-for-7 for 91 yards. Coble hit Ferguson for a 12-yard pass. Smith has a 7-yard catch and Shrum has a 12-yard catch.

For the Tigers, Pickens has run 15 times for 76 yards. Williams has completed 1-of-3 passes for 11 yards while Christian Cavaness threw an incomplete pass after going under center on the final drive of the half.

Rob Tate texts in that Kennett leads Malden 7-6 at halftime in the Flu Bowl.