Ranson rushes for three touchdown, leading Sikeston football to win over rival Cape Central

Sikeston running back Jackson Kuykendall (30) finds a running route as Cape Central cornerback Jamarious Thomas (9) moves to tackle Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

Tra Ranson had never played Cape Central in football. He made sure his first game against the Tigers was a memorable one.

The Sikeston senior, who transferred in from New Madrid County Central this past spring, rushed for three touchdowns, and the Bulldogs rolled to a 21-0 win over conference and district rival Cape Girardeau Central at Tigers Stadium.

The Tigers gained less than 200 yards on offense and were shutout for the first time since Oct. 10, 2014. With the loss, they dropped to 1-4 overall, 0-3 in the SEMO Conference North. It was Central's fourth consecutive regular-season loss to the Bulldogs, who entered the game on the heels of a blowout loss to Jackson.

Sikeston linebacker Tra Ranson (1) watches as defensive back Gage Rolwing (9) tackles Cape Central running back Tyrus Reddin (3) by the ankles on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

"Coming off our loss last week, any win is going to be great, and obviously with Cape Central we've had a rivalry the last 10 years or so," Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs said. "It gets pretty intense with the kids. A big win in the conference. A big win in our district standings, and certainly we'll take it and move forward with it."

Ranson rushed for 145 yards on 17 carries, and much of his yardage came at quarterback in a Wildcat formation.

"My linemen was blocking for me, that's all," Ranson said. "I appreciate everything they do for me, and without them I wouldn't have scored."

It was the most touchdowns Ranson had scored in his high-school career.

"It's a big win," Ranson said. "This is a big win for me. Just went out there and played."

Central had chances to take an early lead, twice driving inside Sikeston's 25-yard line. Those drives stalled, though, as the Bulldogs forced turnovers on downs.

"You stall out on offense, and we'll have to look at it and see what broke down," Central coach Arlen Pixley said. "We're young, and we get in situations where we expect the next guy to make the play for us and then it crumbles."

Cape Central's Donye Taylor (1) brings down Sikeston tight end Trent Elliott (36) during a game Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau.

BEN MATTHEWS ~ bmatthews@semissourian.com

After the second stop, Sikeston drove down into Central territory and punched the ball into the end zone. Ranson capped off the 13-play, 84-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Sikeston (3-2, 2-1 conference) a 7-0 lead with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left in the first half.

The Bulldogs stuck to the ground on the drive with 73 of the 84 yards coming on runs, the longest was a 16-yard scamper by Jackson Kuykendall to put the ball at the Central 1 and set up Ranson's third-down touchdown plunge. Kuykendall finished with 104 yards on 22 carries.

Central had a chance to respond on the next drive when a 31-yard pass from Cameron Cox to Tyrus Reddin set the Tigers up inside the Sikeston 10. An incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal from the 4 ended the drive, though.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with an onside kick, and the gamble paid off as Sikeston recovered the ball at the Central 49.

Central had its hands team on the field and was prepared for the onside, Pixley said, but a miscommunication between players allowed the Bulldogs to recover.

"Felt like if we could get an extra possession and get a quick score things would start going our way a little bit more, so we took the gamble," Gibbs said. "It was a nice job by those kids out there."

Ranson took over on the drive, rushing for 33 yards on fourth-and-1 play, then scoring on a 3-yard run out of the Wildcat.

"As disheartening as it was on offense to not finish, we didn't finish on defense," Pixley said, "It's hard to function that way. Our kids need to buy into the fact that there's certain aspects of our program that we want to get accomplished."

Ranson sealed the win with a 51-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, again out of the Wildcat.

The Bulldogs have used the formation throughout the season, and leaned on it heavily against Central.

"There's not a lot of secrets what you're going to do," Gibbs said. "[The linemen] did a good job of getting off the ball, not allowing penetration. ... It's a good way to rest our quarterback, who goes both ways. Tonight it worked to perfection."

Central finished with 170 yards on offense, compared to 307 for Sikeston. Cox led the Tigers in passing and rushing with 72 and 32 yards, respectively.

Central will finish out the conference slate next week at Poplar Bluff.

Pixley believes Central is taking steps forward. He said the Tigers prepared properly for the game, played hard and at max speed. He said the ability to finish, on offense and defense, was missing.

"The fourth phase of what we're trying to get accomplished is not being accomplished right now," Pixley said. "We've got to get back to the drawing board. We've got Poplar Bluff next week. They're in a similar boat that we are in."

Second quarter

S -- Tra Ranson 1 run (Jackson Kuykendall kick), 5:37

Third quarter

S -- Ranson 3 run (Kuykendall kick), 9:59

Fourth quarter

S -- Ranson 51 run (Kuykendall kick), 8:55

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Sikeston, Tra Ranson 17-145, Jackson Kuykendall 22-104, Gage Rolwing 7-21, Team 1-(-5); Cape Central, Cameron Cox 15-32, Tyrus Reddin 4-28, Ivory Alexander 6-27, Dashawn Franklin 6-6, Cameren Walley 1-1, Chauncey Hughes 1-(-1).

PASSING -- Sikeston, Rolwing 4-11-1-42; Cape Central, Cox 10-25-1-77.

RECEIVING -- Sikeston, Trent Elliott 2-28, Ranson 1-11, Ricky Scott 1-3; Cape Central, Hughes 5-17, Reddin 1-31, JaQualen McGruder 1-11, Henry Brown 1-8, Donye Taylor 1-7, Alexander 1-3.