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Dexter runs over Bulldogs
DEXTER - The Sikeston Bulldogs football team continued its early-season struggles with a 31-7 loss to Dexter at Charles Bland Stadium on Friday night.
Dexter running back Alex Becker had a career night, rushing for 256 yards with five touchdowns on 29 carries.
He had 207 yards and four touchdowns by halftime and he didn't get tackled for a loss the entire night. His final tally is even more impressive considering his longest run was just 23 yards.
But while Becker was clearly the standout, Bulldog head coach Jerry Dement was more concerned about problems with his defense.
"It was the most embarrassing first half for us that I've been around in a long time," said Dement. "Once they smacked us around, we didn't answer. I'm very disappointed in the toughness of this football team."
At no point in the game did the Bulldogs show an ability to stop the Bearcats' offense. The only thing keeping the game from getting totally out of hand was three lost fumbles by Dexter.
Dexter racked up 349 yards rushing and had 407 total yards -- the highest total the Bulldogs have allowed this season.
"We've got some players that are playing their rear off, but we've got others that are sitting and waiting for it to happen instead of making it happen," said Dement. "And we're not going to tolerate that. I'm totally displeased with our effort in the first half. We put the kids in the spots, and they just weren't wanting to hit. The story of the night was them being more physical than us. I know one thing, we will not tolerate not being physical. We're going to find kids that want to play physical or they'll be sitting on the sideline."
Sikeston's defense wasn't alone. The Bulldog offense also struggled, managing just 152 yards of offense and a season-low 73 yards on the ground.
"We practiced better this week and I felt like we took that to the game," said Dexter coach Aaron Pixley. "The kids were very emotional before the game. The Sikeston game is big for us. They're right down the road, it's a bigger school. We were 0-2. We knew they were going to come out playing hard so we knew we had to match that and I believe that our kids did that. It's a great win for us, we're happy to get away with it."
Dexter took its opening drive and promptly marched 70 yards in eight plays capped by Becker's 8-yard TD run. Josh Davis provided the extra point to make it 7-0.
Sikeston's lone highlight of the game was answering on its ensuing drive, using a balance of the run and pass to go 64 yards in seven plays with Acie Dixon plunging in from five yards out. Andrew Powell booted the point after to tie things up with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
But it was all downhill from there for the Bulldogs.
Becker had scoring runs of 12 and 6 yards to extend the lead to 18-7.
Then with 1:30 left in the half, Sikeston quarterback Chase Ferrell fumbled after being sacked which Dexter recovered.
On the very next play, Becker scored on a 14-yard run with 1:25 left in the half to put the Bearcats ahead 25-7 heading into halftime.
The Bulldog defense played better in the second half, causing two fumbles, including one that Tyler Baker returned 45 yards.
Dexter's lone second half touchdown came from Becker on a 2-yard run with 5:50 left in the game.
"He's a good running back," said Pixley. "Just when you think you got him down you better not let up because he runs the same way on every play. That's why he's a good running back. Whenever we're blocking for him, we're pretty special. We don't mind to run him straight ahead. He's tough. He can carry the ball a lot."
Dexter quarterback Josh Stevens completed 5-of-9 passes for 65 yards with an interception. Justin Foushee ran five times for 50 yards.
Sikeston's offense was led by Dixon's 83 yards on 13 carries.
Ferrell completed 9-of-22 passes for 79 yards with two interceptions. Robbie Howard caught five passes for 54 yards.
"We're just streaky," said Dement. "Penalties took us out of several drives. And I mean silly penalties. We moved all the way down there and then we get a little nervous and back down. We had some penalties that really hurt us. Chase was a little inconsistent, but he did some nice things tonight. We had some nice catches and we had some drops."
It's the fourth straight year that Dexter has defeated the Bulldogs, this coming after the Bulldogs reeled off seven straight victories against the Bearcats from 1995-2001.
Sikeston will host Jackson next Friday at 7 p.m. while Dexter will host Malden.