Homecoming usually brings in a big crowd for the Bearcats, but this was no usual Homecoming.  The weather played a huge role keeping the fans out of the stands, and it was unkind to those on the field of play.  The tempature dropped dramatically prior to game time, the wind was brutal, and at times the rain came down in sheets.   All these factors led to both a sloppy field and some sloppy play as well.  The two teams combined for a total of 9 fumbles on the evening, and both teams found it quite difficult to attempt to pass the ball consistently.

Charleston won the toss and elected to receive.  They wasted no time in showing what their rushing attack was capable of, as their 7 play, 60 yard drive was culimated with a 16 yard touchdown run by Deiontral Winston. After a succesful two point conversion, Charleston established a 8-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.

The Bearcats were unable to respond with a score, as they had a fumble and were forced to punt twice in their three possessions in the opening frame.  At the end of the first quarter, Charleston was still on top 8-0.

Charleston opened the door for the Bearcats by fumbling on each of thier first two possessions of the second quarter.  Trevor Waldner and Ryan Joyner came up big for the Cats by recovering the two fumbles, but the Dexter offense was unable to convert these opportunities into points on the board.

Midway through the second quarter, Dexter had driven the ball down to the Bluejays 20 yard line, but a 4th &9 pass fell incomplete and Dexter turned the ball back over to Charleston.  Following long runs by Rontavious Clark & Robert Bogan, the Bluejays moved the ball to midfield.  Two plays later, Clark worked his way to the outside and streaked down the sideline for a 45 yard touchdown run.  The two point conversion was again successful, and Charleston extended thier lead to 16-0.

Following the touchdown, the Bluejays attempted an onside kick that was recovered by Dexter's Wyatt Kiger at midfield.  On the second play from scrimmage, the Bearcats fumbled the ball again and gave possession back to Charleston with only 2:51 left in the first half.  Charleston once again found success with running the football, and quickly moved into Dexter territory.  Charleston quarterback, Michael Hull completed a pass to Winston, who was tackled by Jonathan Foels at the Dexter 4 yard line in what appeared to be the final play of the half.  The Bearcats had already began heading into the fieldhouse, when the officials announced that they had awarded a timeout to Charleston with only 1 second left on the clock. On the following play, Bogan ran the ball around the left side and was met by Dexter's Brad Wick on the 1 yard line.  With this huge defensive stop at the goaline, the Charleston lead at halftime remained 16-0.

Dexter took possession of the ball to start the second half, and found success with their run game.  Solid carries by Wick and Foels moved the ball down the the Charleston 29 yard line, but the potential scoring drive ended with yet another fumble.

The Dexter defense come out strong in the second half, forcing the Bluejays to end each of thier first two drives of the second half with a punt.

 

"We hit their backs all night long at the line of scrimmage, but we did not tackle well in the first half.  In the second half we did a much better job of tackling." said Dexter coach Aaron Pixley.

Dexter's next possession started on thier own 35 yard line.  On the second play from scrimmage DJ Dowdy found some open field on a quarterback keeper and ran 19 yards into Bluejay territory.  Wick and Foels continued to run the ball well for the Cats, and Dexter moved the ball on the ground all the way down to the Charleston 19 yard line.  It was there that DJ Dowdy found an open Chase Young in the end zone for the touchdown.  Following the TD, Brad Wick ran the two point conversion in from the 3 yard line, and the Charleston lead had been cut to 16-8.

In the fourth quarter, Charleston had driven the ball into Dexter territory and were looking for the score that would put the game out of reach for the Bearcats, when Chase Young came up with a huge interception at the 18 yard line.

The situation brought back memories of last week's game with New Madrid, as Dexter once again had 5 minutes left in the game to drive the length of the field in hopes of tying the game with a touchdown and a two point conversion.  Two pass completions by Ethan Stevens and Jonathan Page, followed up by a 9 yard run by Wick moved the ball down to the Bluejays 45 yard line.  On the next play, Dowdy and Page hooked up again and the completion move the ball to the 28 yard line. However, that is as close as the Bearcats would come to scoring.  On the next play a holding penalty backed the Cats up 10 yards, forcing Dexter to throw the ball downfield.  On 4th and 15, Dowdy's pass to Young fell incomplete, and Charleston was able to succesfully run the remaining time off the clock, securing thier 16-8 victory.

The Bluejays racked up 279 yards rushing in the game, but the majority of their success came in the first half.  The Dexter defense allowed only 2 Charleston first downs and a total of only 56 yards of offense in the second half.

On a very tough night to throw the ball, DJ Dowdy completed 7 or 14 attempts for a total of 64 yards passing and 1 touchdown.

The Bearcats were led in rushing by Brad Wick, who had 50 yards on 16 carries.  Dowdy rushed for 33 yards, and Joyner had 8 carries for 29 yards.

Young and Page each had 2 receptions in the game, for 28 and 26 yards respectively.  Freshman Ethan Stevens had one catch for 14 yards.

The Bearcats were led in tackling by Waldner and Noe, who each had 9 tackles.  Foels finished the game with 7 tackles, and Page was right behind him with 6.  Joyner and Quertermous each finished the night with 5 tackles.

With the loss, the Bearcats move to 1-6 on the season.  Next week, Dexter will take on the Park Hills Rebels in what is the final home game of the season.  Kickoff is set for 7:00 P.M.