The talk leading up to the rematch between the Central Tigers and Sikeston Bulldogs was all about the vast improvement of Sikeston.

That talk came to an abrubt end late in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs' opening drive was near perfect. Sikeston converted a pair of fourth-and-shorts, drained the clock to keep the ball away from Central's dynamic offense and found itself 1 yard away from the end zone.

On fourth-and-goal, Sikeston quarterback Nathan Hampton took the snap from under center in the Bulldogs' double-wing formation and handed the ball to running back Victwon Riley, who ran into a host of Central defenders at the 2, bringing an end to a 17-play drive that consumed more than nine minutes.

The goal-line stand sparked the top-seeded Tigers, who raced out to a 49-point lead at halftime and cruised to a 56-7 victory over the fifth-seeded Bulldogs in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Friday night at Tiger Stadium.

"Our kids got tired of hearing about Sikeston getting better, and that's the truth. We used that to our advantage. We wanted to show that we've gotten better as well," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "We exploded in the first half, and I think we showed that we've gotten maybe a little bit better than they have."

Central's Braion Owens carries the ball against Sikeston in the second quarter of the Class 4 District 1 semifinals Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 at Central. (Glenn Landberg)

Central defensive end Andre Statam said getting the early defensive stop was a point of emphasis in practice this week.

"It put them down. They thought they were going to run all over us, and we stopped them and got the ball back," Statam said. "Like coach said in the locker room before the game, 'If we get a stop, we're going to explode.' We did."

Braion Owens' 5-yard run gave the Tigers (9-2) some breathing room before lighting a fuse on the next play.

The senior running back used a good block to find some open space on the left side and made a defender miss, dashing past the last wave of defense for a 93-yard touchdown run. Brennan Redinger kicked the first of his six extra points to give Central a 7-0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.

"We've been practicing on their defense all week," Owens said. "We had our scout [team] running their defense, and we saw how they were lining up. It was exactly how we were practicing it all week. Those blocks were in place. Everything was in place, and we scored."

The Tigers jumped on a Riley fumble at the Sikeston 30, and on the ensuing play, Owens spun out of a tackle and scampered into the end zone on a 30-yard run to push Central's lead to 14-0 with 12 seconds left in the quarter.

The Tigers were unfazed by the windy and cold conditions throughout the evening, and Owens finished with a game-high 155 yards on seven carries.

"I was proud. It was windy, nasty, cold. It didn't affect us," Norman said. "Our kids are fresh right now, and they're playing well. They're going to have to keep it up every week."

Central's Lamarcus Johnson flexes for the crowd in the fourth quarter against Sikeston during the Class 4 District 1 semifinals Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 at Central. (Glenn Landberg)

The Bulldogs (6-5) coughed up the ball on their next play from scrimmage before Nikylus Thompson hauled in a 21-yard pass from Peyton Montgomery as time expired in the first quarter to push Central's lead to 21-0.

Although class wasn't in session Friday, Montgomery said the team met at school in the morning and hung out with each other to establish some routine.

"I think that was a big thing," said Montgomery, who finished 3 of 3 passing for 55 yards and one touchdown. "It kind of gave us a rest from school and made us stress-free. We came out and did our thing."

A 13-yard punt gave Central great field position at the Sikeston 35, and on the next play from scrimmage, Al Young tacked on a 35-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 27-0 with 8:30 remaining in the first half.

The onslaught carried on as the Tigers got the ball back at the Bulldogs' 23 after Sikeston failed to field the kickoff. Jalen Reddin had a 23-yard touchdown run on Central's next play from scrimmage, Young added the two-point conversion run and suddenly, the Tigers led 35-0, scoring on five of their first six plays from scrimmage.

"We knew exactly how they were going to come out," Owens said. "We knew how aggressive they are on the defensive end, and we just had an answer for everything that they had."

Central forced two turnovers on downs that produced two more touchdowns -- a 15-yard run by Montgomery and an 8-yard run by Young -- before taking a 49-0 lead at the break.

Norman said the goal-line stand in the first quarter set the tone for the remainder of the game.

"I felt like our defense played well on that first drive, believe it or not. They were just able to convert some of those fourth-down plays, and we bowed our back and held them on that goal-line stand," he said. "After that, we exploded."

With a running clock in the second half, a pair of personal fouls helped Sikeston move the ball into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but a fumble by Earnest Fobbs was picked up by Kway'chon Chisom, who returned the ball 79 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 56-0 lead with 10:06 left in the game.

Central produced 21 points off four Sikeston fumbles.

"Turnovers are huge. Our defense created those turnovers, and you obviously can't give a good team or any team the ball and expect to do well," Norman said. "Unfortunately for them, they turned the ball over to us, and we made them pay."

Sikeston ended the Tigers' shutout bid after taking advantage of a Central fumble and scoring on a 34-yard touchdown run by Fobbs with 1:41 remaining in the game. Fobbs led the Bulldogs with 21 carries for a team-high 109 yards, while Riley added 60 yards on 16 carries.

Felawn Smith, Young and Thompson combined for 130 of the Tigers' 333 rushing yards. Montgomery credited the improvement up front for the offense's efficiency in recent weeks.

"Really our linemen have improved tremendously," Montgomery said. "They stay on their blocks and keep their feet moving."

The win advances Central into next week's district championship game against third-seeded Hillsboro, which defeated second-seeded Festus 21-10 on Friday.

But Norman's approach remains the same. He's focused on one team.

"We're focused on getting better at Cape Central football," he said, "and if we do that, we'll be successful."

Sikeston 0 0 0 7 -- 7

Central 21 28 0 7 -- 56

First Quarter

C -- Braion Owens 93 run (Brennan Redinger kick), 1:29

C -- Owens 30 run (Redinger kick), 0:12

C -- Nikylus Thompson 21 pass from Peyton Montgomery (Redinger kick), 0:00

Second Quarter

C -- Al Young 35 run (kick failed), 8:30

C -- Jalen Reddin 23 run (Al Young run), 8:15

C -- Montgomery 15 run (Redinger kick), 2:09

C -- Young 8 run (Redinger kick), 0:14

Fourth Quarter

C -- Kway'chon Chisom 79 fumble return (Redinger kick), 10:06

S -- Earnest Fobbs 34 run (Nathan Hampton kick), 1:41

S C

First downs 9 8

Rushes-yards 45-180 28-333

Passing yards 15 55

Passes 1-5-0 3-4-0

Punts-average 2-25 0-0

Fumbles-lost 6-4 1-1

Penalties-yards 2-25 5-46

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Sikeston, Fobbs 21-109, Victwon Riley 16-60, Jason Moore 3-6, Hampton 4-3, Donnell Cobb 1-2; Central, Owens 7-155, Felawn Smith 3-45, Young 2-43, Thompson 7-42, Reddin 1-23, Montgomery 1-15, Aaron Harris 3-12, Joshua Jones 1-2, Trent Leimer 1-0, Team 2-(-4).

PASSING -- Sikeston, Hampton 1-5-15-0; Central, Montgomery 3-3-55-0, Thompson 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING -- Sikeston, Cobb 1-15; Central, Thompson 1-21, Chisom 1-19, Reddin 1-15.