Knights rally past Cape Central in second half

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Sophomore Conner Davault rushed for 128 yards on 23 attempts and returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown during a dominant third quarter, as Farmington rallied past Cape Central 44-28 on Friday night.

Quarterback Zach Hibbits completed 17-for-25  passes for 210  yards and three scores, including a pair of TD strikes to senior Andrew Johnson, as the Knights (2-2) reeled off 37 consecutive points to win their SEMO North opener.

Farmington secured its first lead at 24-20 midway through the third when Charlie Uptegrove lunged across the plane from 5 yards out on his fifth straight carry.The senior running back added 70 yards on the ground overall.

Cape Central (0-4) then saw its upset bid evaporate quickly by committing turnovers on its next two plays from scrimmage, and the Knights would promptly capitalize each time to seize command.

Cole Thomure scored on a 4-yard surge moments after Farmington recovered a fumbled snap, and Davault picked off an ensuing slant pass from Tigers quarterback Andrew Williams to suddenly make the margin 36-20.

Following a Cape Central three-and-out, Hibbits connected with Johnson on a 20-yard strike to begin the fourth quarter. Kyle Odle caught the subsequent 2-point conversion pass.

Farmington trailed 20-7 at one point and its defense spent much of the first half trying to corral Tigers tailback Brandon Pickens, who compiled 138 rushing yards before the intermission.

Pickens raced 68 yards down the left sideline on the gameÕs opening snap, giving the host Tigers the early momentum and a 7-0 lead.

The Knights answered with a 13-play drive that covered 88 yards, capped by a short toss from Hibbits to Thomure, but Cape Central would force two fumbles on completed passes to halt other promising drives during the first half.

Williams, who finished 11-of-17 passing overall for 150 yards, found Tae Jenkins open for a 20-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, then capped the next Cape Central march with a 2-yard sneak to build a 13-point spread.

Farmington settled down with two key scoring drives before the half. Several strong gains from Davault set up a 10-yard TD pass from Hibbits to Johnson with 4:09 remaining in the second.

Ethan Hennes made two tackles for loss which helped the Knights regain possession at their own 15, and Hibbits converted an important fourth-and-16, scrambling pass to Odle to push deeper into Cape Central territory.

Logan Bradley booted a 22-yard field with three seconds on the clock, as Farmington closed to within 20-17 at the break.

Johnson and Odle each made three receptions in the contest, as Hibbits distributed the football to eight different targets.

Zach Boerboom paced the Tigers with five catches, and his 20-yard grab from Wiliams with 1:56 remaining capped the scoring.

Justin Heberlie and Grant Beavers each recorded a sack, and Hennes made nine tackles for the Farmington defense.

Farmington   7  10  19   8 – 44

Cape Central  14   6   0   8 – 28

First quarter:

CAPE (7-0) – Pickens 68-yard run (Ponder kick), 11:44

FARM (7-7) – Thomure 2-yard pass from Hibbits (Bradley kick), 7:01

CAPE (14-7) – Jenkins 20-yard pass from Williams (Ponder kick), 0:27

Second quarter:

CAPE (20-7) – Williams 2-yard run (Kick blocked), 9:33

FARM (20-14) – Johnson 10-yard pass from Hibbits (Bradley kick), 4:09

FARM (20-17) – Bradley 22-yard field goal, 0:03

Third quarter:

FARM (24-20) – Uptegrove 5-yard run (Bradley kick), 6:02

FARM (30-20) – Thomure 4-yard run (Kick blocked), 3:17

FARM (36-20) – Davault 33-yard interception return (Kick missed), 3:03

Fourth quarter:

FARM (44-20) – Johnson 23-yard pass from Hibbits (Hibbits pass to Odle), 11:53

CAPE (44-28) – Boerboom 20-yard pass from Williams (Williams pass to Boerboom), 1:56