Semoball

C5D1 Football: Cape Central dominates Mehlville to advance to semis

Cape Central's Marshon Edwards runs with the ball against Mehlville in the Class 5 District 1 quarterfinals on Friday at Cape Central High School.
Megan Burke ~ mburke@semissourian.com

The Cape Central Tigers used a massive first half en route to a 62-7 win over the Mehlville Panthers in the Class 5 District 1 quarterfinals Friday night at Cape Central High School.

The Tigers led the contest 55-0 at halftime and scored on the first play of the game as senior quarterback Morgan Diamond connected with senior wide receiver Marshon Edwards for a 55-yard touchdown.

Sophomore running back Za’Aire Thomas made it a two-score game when he punched the ball in on a seven-yard run.

Tigers coach Kent Gibbs was happy with his team’s fast start.

“We haven’t played well to start games so we talked about not giving away the first quarter,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, scoring on the first and third play of the game gave us the start we wanted. That was important for us and we kept it up the whole time.”

Diamond and Edwards connected again, this time from three-yards out to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead just under nine minutes into the first quarter.

Diamond finished 3-for-3 passing for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Much like the first, the second quarter featured a quick score for the Tigers as junior linebacker Cayden Butler-Beuchaw returned an interception for a 57-yard touchdown pushing Central’s lead to 28-0.

Gibbs preached the importance of playing well defensively all week.

“We talked about (the importance) of all three phases last week,” Gibbs said. “Especially in the playoffs it’s important to get the defense going and get extra possessions.”

Thomas picked up his second rushing touchdown of the half just two minutes later, breaking off a 76-yard run.

“He’s gonna make plays if we can get him the ball,” Gibbs said. “We just had a good all-around game. The offensive line did a great job blocking.”

With two offensive touchdowns in the half, Edwards got in on the fun defensively with a 13-yard pick six to give the Tigers a 42-0 lead.

“Marshon is one of those guys he’s always doing exactly what he needs to do,” Gibbs said. “Tonight we were able to get him the ball and he rose to the occasion.”

Edwards finished the game with two receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns.

Freshman running back Keyshawn Boyd tallied a five-yard rushing touchdown and on the ensuing possession Thomas added his third touchdown of the half with a 21-yard rush to give the Tigers a 55-0 halftime lead.

Thomas had eight carries for 163 yards and three touchdowns.

The Tigers (7-3) advance to the Class 5 District 1 semifinal round and travel to Oakville on Friday.

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