Written by
Dee Loflin, SMT Manager/Editor

Caruthersville, Missouri – The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game and went on to pad their lead 27-7 by halftime.  Caruthersville defeated the Dexter Bearcats 40-20. 

“Caruthersville came ready to play,” commented Dexter's head football coach Justin Peden.  “They did a great job in the first half with big plays and a couple of errors on our part.  They were able to get rolling and a team like Caruthersville keeps pushing if you let them get up on you.  They did a good job and we dug ourselves a hole.  We tried to dig out of it in the second half, but we just couldn’t quite get out of it.”

The Bearcats rallied when Ethan Stevens ran an 85-yard touchdown on the return in the opening play of the second half.  That gave the Bearcats a little moment in the third quarter.

“Big returns can be game changers,” Peden said.  “We got the return for the touchdown and thought ‘hey here we go!’ We were rolling a little bit, but we kind of stalled out on offense here and there and our defense wasn’t able to have an answer for their run game.  It just kind of snowballed from there.  The kick returns were big, but you have got to be able to follow it up offensively and defensively.  We weren’t able to do that tonight, but we will get better.”

Quarterback Peyton Pollock passed the ball for 189 yards. 

Dexter recorded an exceptional 258 yards in kick-off returns.  Carson Dean led the Bearcats with 100 yards, Ethan Stevens tallied 85 yards, and Dylan Bazarian had 73 return yards.

Noah Kronk had an extraordinary game with a game-high 19 tackles.  Ethan Stevens and Drake Mitchell also finished in double digits with 11 and 10 tackles each.

The Bearcats have fared much better this season in the injury department.  Last year it seemed they were plagued with injuries, but now mid-way through this season the ‘Cats continue to look well.

“We’ve got a couple of injuries here and there,” stated Peden.  “We’ve got some bumps and bruises, but nothing that is bad.  We have been a lot more blessed than last year when the injury bug bit us pretty hard.  This year we have not had very many injuries of consequence, just guys needing ice at practice.  The first half of the season we have had a lot of ups and downs and hopefully we can learn from those and come out ready in the second half of the season.”

Next week Dexter will host rival Kennett.  Both are 2-3 on the season and it’s HOMECOMING for the Dexter Bearcats! 

“Homecoming is always a good week,” commented Peden.  “I think the guys will be doubly ready after tonight to make a statement.  It is going to be a good week of practice, I am sure.  I think the guys will want to learn from this game and come out ready.  Homecoming can be a distraction if you let it, but I don’t think these guys will do that.  We will be ready to play and hopefully come out of it with a different outcome than tonight.”

Final Score Dexter 20, Caruthersville 40

CARUTHERSVILLE   14 13 0 13 - 40

First Quarter

C - Peyton Faulkner 73 yard run (Trevonne Leatherwood kick good), 10:31 (7-0 Caruth)

C - Tyler McCaig 6 yard run (Leatherwood kick good), 4:26 (14-0 Caruth)

D - Peyton Pollock 1 yard run (Jason Jarrell kick good), 1:21 (14-7 Caruth)

Second Quarter

C - McCaig 20 yard pass from Faulkner (Leatherwood kick good), 5:32 (21-7 Caruth)

C - Faulkner 44 yard run (conversion failed), 0:28 (27-7 Caruth)

Third Quarter

D - Ethan Stevens 85 yard return (Jarrell kick good), 11:44 (27-14 Caruth)

Fourth Quarter

C - Daniel Fugate 37 yard run (conversion failed), 8:28 (33-14 Caruth)

D - Stevens 2 yard pass from Pollock (Jarrell kick failed), 7:31 (33-20 Caruth)

C - Faulkner 6 yard run (Leatherwood kick good), 5:19 (40-20 Caruth)

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - (Dexter) Peyton Pollock 13-19, Carson Dean 6-16, Ethan Stevens 2-27, Dylan Bazarian 2-5, Jake Adams 1-1. (Caruthersville) Daniel Fugate 22-148, Rodrick Jones 16-48, Peyton Faulkner 12-188, Tyler McCaig 3-6, Treyvathan Hunter 2-9, Scotty Adams 1-1

Passing - (Dexter) Peyton Pollock 14-29-1 = 189. (Caruthersville) Peyton Faulkner 5-7-0 = 35

Receiving - (Dexter) Austin Aldridge 5-80, Ethan Stevens 3-56, Gavin White 2-14, Jason Jarrell 2-21, Noah Kronk 1-9, Austin Chesser 1-9. (Caruthersville) Tyler McCaig 2-26, Thomas Young 1-9, Terrance Raspberry 1-5, Daniel Fugate 1-(-5)

Punting - (Dexter) Ethan Stevens 2-65. (Caruthersville) Peyton Faulkner 4-143.