By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

The atmosphere was electric Friday night at Charles Bland Stadium - it was homecoming night, and the Bearcats faced off against one of the toughest teams on their schedule: the Caruthersville Tigers.


Despite trailing 41-28 at halftime, the ‘Cats defense stepped up in a big way during the second half, and the Bearcats scratched out a come-from-behind 56-55 victory.


Head coach Aaron Pixley noted Caruthersville’s talent after the game, and was very pleased with his defense’s second-half heroics.

“We stepped up in the second half and played much, much better, and we really needed to. The offense was playing pretty darn good in the first half, we scored 28 points, and typically you’re winning games like that,” he said. “We just had to tackle better - we talk about it all the time. We switched defenses and went to an odd front - we did that right before half and it started working, we started getting some stops, and we stuck with it in the second half.”


“We made them punt quite a bit, and that’s key against a great team like [Caruthersville]. It doesn’t really matter where they are on the field; a yard line doesn’t mean anything to them,” Pixley continued. “They can score from anywhere, and we did a much better job in the second half; this football team did a great job of coming together and playing for each other after halftime.”

“[Caruthersville is] one of the best teams in southeast MIssouri, regardless of class. They’re outstanding, and they're going to go a long way, I truly believe that. It was a great win for us.”

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The ‘Cats were led defensively by senior middle linebackers Alex Cliff and Nick Summers, who had 5 and 10 tackles, respectively.

“I feel like we switched some things up and we all came together and really pulled through,” Cliff said after the game. “We played for each other and not for one person - it was a team effort.”

The defensive unit made a huge stop on a two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. Elbie Fonda, after breaking a 36 yard TD run, was stuffed at the goal line to preserve the Bearcats’ 56-55 lead.

“That was huge - we were exhausted on that play. I almost called a timeout right there just to give them a blow,” Pixley said of the play. “It kind of looked like [Fonda] was going in, but we really filled hard from the backside and kicked him out; that was huge. They held on and played with so much heart and desire. Again, I’m really proud of this football team - it was a total team effort.”

Senior cornerback Garrett Wray made a crucial interception with under a minute left on the clock - the Tigers came out on their last possession throwing balls deep down the field, but Wray popped in front of a Tiger receiver to get the pick and seal the Bearcat victory.


Dexter’s offense had an outstanding performance all game long, racking up over 550 yards of total offense. Josh Overall netted 121 yards on 14 rushes for 4 TD’s; quarterback Cody Stevens rushed 24 times for 218 yards and 2 TDs, and completed 9-15 passes for 139 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.


The Bearcats’ offensive line dominated during the course of the game - the ‘Big Nasties’ didn’t allow any sacks and only one negative play from scrimmage in the contest.


“I’m happy about it. I feel good about the win,” left tackle Zach Lacy said after the game. “They’re a good team. I just feel like we can clean up a few things, things were ugly at times”


“The O-line dominated them,” Stevens said of the offensive line. “They came out hitting them, drove them back five or six yards every play. We had big holes to run through, Josh and Nick got through there. Passing offense was awesome, they blocked really good tonight.”

Coach Pixley was extremely pleased with the team’s offensive production, as well as the continuation of his offensive line’s outstanding play.


“Offensively, we played extremely well. We were very good up front - the quarterbacks and running backs ran the ball extremely well, and when we threw it, we made plays in the passing game. Total team effort,” Pixley said.

“It took us a little while, they’re big and strong up front on defense. We were making some plays, but as the first quarter kept going on and got into the second quarter, I really feel like we were very physical, more physical than they were up front. We really started taking control of the line of scrimmage. Late second quarter, going into the second half, I felt like we controlled the line of scrimmage on the defensive side and stopping the run well.”

With the win, the ‘Cats advance to 6-1 (2-0 conference) on the season, and look to begin the ‘second season’ next week, when they open District play against the Kennett Indians.

“We come in every game like it’s the biggest game of the season. Every single one, one at a time...that’s how we take it,” Cliff said of the Indians. “Their quarterback, played against him for a few years. He’s a very talented kid and they still have talent in the backfield, they always do.”


Pixley noted the potential scoring threat the Indians’ offense poses, but feels his squad is up to the task.

“From what I understand, they can score a lot of points. That’s scary, but we’re going to watch film on them,” he said. “They’re a very much improved football team, and they’re going to play us hard and give us everything they have. We’re going to go to Kennett, hopefully focused and ready to go and play as hard as we can.”


Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.


For a full breakdown of the game’s stats, click here.