Dexter's playoffs hopes take a hit in loss to NMCC

Jerry Jarrell photos Dexter's Hunter Bruce (No. 11) forces an incomplete pass with a hard hit on NMCC's Bryan Waters, while senior Nick Hessling (No. 40) turns the corner for positive yards during Friday's game at Charles Bland Stadium. New Madrid defeated Dexter, 34-14. Other photos include: Dexter's Caleb Miller (No. 20) recovers a fumble near NMCC's gola line, while Brad Jany (No. 85) stiff arms an Eagles' tackler while running back a kick during the Bearcats' 34-14 loss at Charles Bland Stadium Friday night. Dexter defenders Nick Hessling (No. 40), Aaron Mace (No. 34), and Caleb Stanley (No. 44), bring down NMCC's Rodney Anderson. [Click to enlarge]

The matchup of Class 3, District 1 and SEMO Central Conference rivals saw New Madrid dominate Dexter early, scoring on its first two possession, while defensively shutting down the Bearcats. New Madrid built a 20-0 half-time lead, then scored on its first possession of the third to make it 28-0 before driving the last nail in the 'Cats coffin when defensive lineman Dominique Thornton gathered in a deflected pass and rambled 32-yards into the end zone to make it 34-0.

"It was almost like we were waiting to see if we could play with them, instead of coming out and just taking it to them," Dexter coach Aaron Pixley said of his team's unexplainable slow start.

"Defensively, they (NMCC) are very good," Pixley continued. "They're all about pressure on defense. They pressured us and we didn't handle it very well on offense and it showed. Our quarterback was pretty much scrambling (sacked 3 times) for his life most of the time and its hard to have a good passing game that way. They bumped our receivers off the line of scrimmage and we knew they were going to that. We worked on bump coverage all week long and we still didn't do a great job of getting off."

New Madrid limited Dexter to just 10 first down and 167-yards of total offense (75 rushing, 92 passing), while forcing the Bearcats into three turnovers (1 interception, 2 fumbles). Of Dexter's six first-half possessions, three were 3-and-outs, one ended with a fumble and the other two totaled nine plays before both ended with punts.

Dexter was still in the game trailing 20-0 at the half, but the sudden turn of events early in the third quarter were devastating to the Bearcats.

Dexter's Caleb Miller (No. 20) recovers a fumble near NMCC's gola line, while Brad Jany (No. 85) stiff arms an Eagles' tackler while running back a kick during the Bearcats' 34-14 loss at Charles Bland Stadium Friday night. Dexter defenders Nick Hessling (No. 40), Aaron Mace (No. 34), and Caleb Stanley (No. 44), bring down NMCC's Rodney Anderson. [Click to enlarge]

New Madrid was putting together a 13-play drive when the Bearcats dug in with the help of a holding penalty to put the Eagles in a fourth-and-18 situation, but quarterback Dontre Jenkins (8-of-13 for 104 yards) was able to find Kony Ealy behind the Bearcats' defense and the two connected for a 33-yard scoring strike.

On Dexter's opening offensive drive of the third quarter, Ben Mills (9-of-18 for 92 yards) connected with Caleb Stanley when the senior receiver made a spectacular one-hand grab for a 17-yard gain. Three plays later, after losing eight yards, Mills went back to pass on third-and-18, but his attempt was deflected at the line of scrimmage and Thornton was able to haul in the ball and head for the end zone to make it, 34-0.

"You just can't," Pixley said when asked about his team's turnovers. "You just can't do it, not against teams like this. They are very opportunistic. That's why they pressure you on defense. They want turnovers. They're trying for turnovers on every play. You just have to take care of the ball. You can't fumble it, you can't throw a pick, even though the pick was batted up in the air and a big defensive lineman caught it."

Dexter put its first points of the game on the board when Mills scored from the one after a Bryan Waters fumble at the Eagles 3. Dexter used a 49-yard run by Nick Hessling to help move the ball deep into New Madrid territory, but the 'Cats were unable to score from the seven and turned the ball over on downs, to set the stage for Waters' fumble near the goal line.

Dexter put the game's final points on the board with 2:26 remaining on a Mills to Stanley 12-yard scoring pass.

"From a defensive standpoint I felt like after the first quarter, we kept getting better and better," Pixley stated. "We gave up two big plays. I've seen teams against New Madrid give up five, six, seven big plays. We gave up two. One early (40-yard TD run by Bryan Waters) and then on the fourth down pass to Ealy. The rest of it, we made them earn every bit of it. I felt like we tackled better as the game went on and we got more physical as the game went on. We gave up 34 points, but our defense played pretty well. If our offense cold have played with them, it would have been a much better football game.

"We just have to get on to Perryville," he added. "We still have a shot at this. I thought I heard a score that they (Perryville) were beating Kennett late. They are a good football team and we are going to have to play well to win."

NOTES: Dexter's hopes of making the playoffs are still alive since two teams from each district advance this season. Perryville did defeat Kennett Friday night, 31-12, so next week's road game against the Pirates looms even larger for the Bearcats. Dexter drops to 3-5 overall, 0-1 in district and 2-1 in league play, while New Madrid improves to 6-2 overall, 1-0 in district action, 3-0 in league play.