Bearcats win shootout with Charleston

Jerry Jarrell photos Nick Hessling (No. 40, right photo) leaps a Bluejays defender on one of his 34 rushing attempts that netted 185 yards and two touchdowns. [Click to enlarge]

The game was an offensive bonanza for football fans, as the two teams raced up and down the field scoring at will. In the end, it was Dexter that fired the final volley when quarterback Ben Mills punched it in from 1-yard out with 4:59 remaining to cap an 85-yard drive and put the game's final points on the scoreboard.

Charleston had plenty of time to reload and attempt to spoil Dexter's Homecoming, but an interception by Caleb Shafer at the Bearcats' 46 with 3:07 to play ended the threat and allowed Dexter to run out the game clock.

Dexter's Seth McBride (No. 30, dark jersey) is congratulated on the win after the game by Bluejays quarterback Chase McClendon as he prepares to shake hands with his Charleston counterpart, Tony Riggins (No. 30, white jersey). Riggins rushed for 223 yards and scored four touchdowns, while McBride ran for 196 yards and scored three times. [Click to enlarge]

Dexter scored on 7-of-10 possessions on the night and Charleston was equally effective, finding the end zone on six of its nine possessions, but the Bearcats were able to get the big defensive stop they have been looking for all season in the end.

"I told our defense basically that is doesn't really matter what we've done all night, what matters is what we do right now." Dexter coach Aaron Pixley said of his team's game saving defensive effort. "They went out there an didn't give up and came up with a great stop. That was a great interception by Caleb Shafer."

The two teams combined for nearly 1000 yards of offense, with Dexter rolling up 614 (seven TD's) and Charleston 371 (6 TD's). Dexter's path to the end zone was more calculated and deliberate, while the Bluejays used explosive big plays to find pay dirt.

Dexter's Ryan Windham (No. 81) is hauled down near the sideline by three Charleston defenders after catching a Ben Mills pass during Friday's 49-42 Homecoming win by the Bearcats. [Click to enlarge]

Charleston's offensive numbers could have been much higher if they hadn't started several drives with good field position and a shortened field. Bluejays running back Tony Riggins only carried the ball 12 times, but amassed 223 yards and four touchdowns, on runs of 85, 57, 42 and 24 yards.

Dexter's more deliberate offensive attack controlled the ball (76 offensive plays to Charleston's 49) and the clock (27:14 to 20:46). Seth McBride and Nick Hessling combined for 381 rushing yards. McBride only carried the ball 15 times, but produced several long runs for his 196 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while Hessling, a workhorse, ran the ball 34 times to chart his 185 yards and two six-pointers. McBride also added a receiving touchdown to his statistics when he hauled in a 31-yard strike from Mills.

Mills finished the game 10-of-14 for 162 yards and one interception. Ryan Windham was his favorite of five targets on the night with four catches for 52 yards.

Dexter's Gary Summer (No. 10) snags up a Nick Hessling (No. 40) fumble near the goal line during Friday's 49-42 win by the Bearcats. Summers would fall on the ball in the end zone for a Dexter touchdown. [Click to enlarge]

"The whole offense looked good," Pixley stated. " We threw the ball 14 of 15 times in the first half and that worked extremely well. We spread the ball around. Then obviously the running game...we blocked well for it. Whenever you block well, you are going to run well. It doesn't matter who you have back there, but both those backs (Hessling and McBride) ran very, very good.

"Nick got going and it was good to see him gain confidence as the game went on," he continued. " He got dominate, took care of the ball well. Seth McBride, I felt like he ran his most physical game. I tell you what, he put some pops on some people out there and that's what we do. But they couldn't do that without the offensive line. I felt like the offensive line blocked well tonight."

For the second straight game, Dexter jumped out front when McBride broke loose for a 55-yard score, but Charleston was quick to answer when Riggins broke free for a 57-yard score. Dexter's point after kick was good, but Charleston failed on a two-point attempt to leave Dexter on top, 7-6.

Dexter quarterback Ben Mills (top photo) scrambles for yardage during Friday night's 49-42 Homecoming victory over Charleston at Charles Bland Stadium. [Click to enlarge]

Dexter marched 57 yards on its next possession and got a break when Hessling fumbled the ball near the Bluejays end zone, but Gary Summer recovered for loose ball across the end line for the six points and a 13-6 lead.

Riggins put the first points of the second quarter on the board with a 24-yard run, but Dexter again answered with Mills hooked up with McBride for a 31-yard pass-run score.

It took Charleston two play to respond when Riggins again broke through the Bearcats' defense for a 42-yard touchdown, and when Maurice Moore's 2-point run was good, the Bluejays had the lead, 20-19.

It was Dexter's turn to answer, and it came in the form of a 16-yard run by Hessling that capped a six-play drive. McBride ran in the two-point conversion and the 'Cats regained the lead, 27-20. Dexter added another Hessling TD with 30-second remaining before the half for a 34-20 advantage.

Charleston came out and scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to tie the game at 34-all, but again, Dexter bounced back.

Mills picked up four yards from midfield, McBride added 11, Hessling tacked on back-to-back runs of 12 and 17 yards, before McBride penetrated the right side of the Bluejays defense for the touchdown from 6-yards out and a 41-34 Dexter lead.

Charleston followed with its own drive, an 8-play effort capped by a pass from quarterback Chase McClendon to Deonte Jones for 40-yards and the go ahead score after Jerquawn Sherrell ran in the point conversion for a 42-41 Bluejays lead with 9:05 to be played in the fourth.

Dexter was precise and punishing in its next drive as the Bearcats went exclusively to the ground for what proved to be the winning drive. Mills finished off the 13-play march with a 1-yard quarterback keeper, and McBride converted the 2-point extra point to set the final score at 49-42, and set up the game saving stand by the defense when Shafer picked off a McClenden pass intended for Jones.

"Offensively we played very well," Pixley said. "Defensively we've got a long way to go. Make no mistake about it. Charleston... people had better not take them lightly. They have the skill to really give people fits. There running backs are fast and they've got a couple of receivers that can go and have great hands and the quarterback is very good. Watch out for that. They played well and I told their coach after the game that he should be proud of his boys because they played hard."

Dexter improves to 2-4 on the season and 1-0 in the SEMO Central Conference standings. Charleston slips to 1-5 on the season.

Dexter will be on the road next Friday when the Bearcats will visit the Caruthersville Tigers in another league matchup.