'Dogs roll past Tribe in second half

SIKESTON, Mo. -- For the first 24 minutes Friday night, the Kennett Indians were battling neck-and-neck with arguably the best team in southeast Missouri.

The last 24 minutes were a different story.

The Sikeston Bulldogs went off for 32 points in the second half and dominated the time of possession to take a 39-0 win over the Tribe at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium.

It was the first time Kennett (3-4) had been shut out since a 37-0 loss at Dexter on October 27, 2006.

"We didn't have the ball in the third quarter," Kennett coach Kenneth "Red" Riedinger said. "They got two onside kicks and kept the ball away from us. But at the end of the day, we've got to make plays and we didn't. Sikeston is 7-0 for a reason."

Sikeston held the ball for over eight minutes in the third period, recovering a pair of onside kicks and holding the Tribe to a pair of three-and-outs.

"I liked the way we played in that third quarter," Sikeston coach Kent Gibbs said. "I didn't like the way we played the first half, we just had no intensity. Part of what went on was Kennett's play and how they played and those kind of things."

The Bulldogs started the second half by recovering an onside kick at the Kennett 44. Eight plays later, quarterback JuQualin Wiggins hit Niquavious Dixon on a 19-yard scoring strike to make it a 13-0 game less than two minutes into the period.

After forcing a three-and-out on defense, Sikeston took over on its own 26 and needed eight plays to march 74 yards, pushing the lead to 19-0 as Wiggins and Dixon hooked up on a 32-yard scoring toss.

The Bulldogs recovered another onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, needing just seven plays to march 48 yards, finding paydirt on CJ Council's 10-yard run with 2:13 left in the third period to make it 25-0.

In the third quarter, Sikeston outgained Kennett in total yards 158 to minus-9.

"We did a good job the first half ... " said Riedinger. "When we run the 10-1 every week, it's a learning experience for us (at times). We've just got to continue to work and get better to get where we're going. We make no excuses. Sikeston's a good football team. They came out in the second half and hit us in the mouth."

The 'Dogs tacked on a pair of fourth-quarter scores to set the final margin.

In the first half however, it was a different story. The Indians held Sikeston to just four first downs and kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard until shortly before halftime.

"We didn't execute," Gibbs said, "When I say this, (I give) all due respect to Kennett because their coach had his kids ready to go. They were obviously ready to go from the start of the game than we were. They played harder at times than we did in that first half and they just did an outstanding job."

Sikeston finally got things going shortly before halftime when Kyle Valentine recovered a Tribe fumble at the Bulldogs' 32-yard line. Five plays later, Wiggins broke loose for a 45-yard scoring gallop that broke the shutout and gave the 'Dogs momentum.

"We hadn't faced a good quarterback with the mobility Wiggins has," Riedinger said. "He did a good job of breaking tackles. We don't scheme for breaking tackles. This is the first time we've faced anyone like him."

Wiggins led all rushers on the night with 72 yards on nine carries, while Council added 59 yards on six carries.

Dixon caught four passes for 93 yards, while Jordan Williams added two catches for 59 yards.

"They did a real nice job of getting open No. 1, and catching the football," said Gibbs of his receivers. "And they had some outstanding runs after they caught the ball. Going into the game, we told the guys for us to be able to do these things that we want to do on offense, then this game is going to be different.

"We have to take shots down field and we have to create some big plays because we didn't think we were going to grind it on them so much. They came up and made big plays and big catches."

Dwight Usry led Kennett on offense Friday, catching a pair of passes for 30 yards and also running for 13 yards on a pair of carries.

The Tribe opens Class 3, District 1 play next Friday night at Perryville.

Notes: Sikeston's 7-0 start is the team's best since 1976. ... The Bulldogs' 459 yards is the most that Kennett has allowed all season. ... Cameron Wallace completed a 20-yard pass to Usry on a fake punt during the fourth quarter on Friday.