TIGERS SEE MULES DRAG AWAY CROWN

It's the toughest on-field decision a coach ever has to make.

Overtime. No time left. You're trailing by one after a touchdown. Do you go kick the extra point to tie or go for two and the win?

In triple overtime of the Class 5A District 1 championship game between Cape Central and Poplar Bluff Friday night, Cape Central's Jerry Dement went for two.

It didn't work.

Poplar Bluff's Ryan Dicken intercepted a pass in the endzone thrown by Cape Central quarterback Frank McGinty, giving Poplar Bluff a 28-27 triple-overtime victory at Houck Stadium.

Poplar Bluff (5-5) advances to a Class 5A sectional contest at Kirkwood Wednesday night. Cape Central closed its season with a 4-6 record.

"I was glad he had to make the call," Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse said, "and not me."

After Travis Tinsley scored on a 14-yard pass from Stan Revelle to give the Mules at 28-21 lead in the game's third overtime, Central's DeMarco Williams ran for a 4-yard touchdown, making it 28-27.

The Tigers went for the two-point conversion and the win from the 3-yard line, but a motion penalty backed them up to the 8.

Forced to switched from a running play to a pass, Dement went for it anyway.

"I didn't want a sophomore kicker (Brian Emmendorfer) to have to win the district championship for us.

"The first play we had, if we hadn't jumped, I thought we would have gone in. But on the pass play, they had it covered."

Thus ended a wild game with high stakes. The Tigers, who have not won a district championship since 1989, knew they needed to win outright despite its 2-0 district record because of Jackson's 35-0 loss to Vianney on Friday.

The game was tied 14-14 going into overtime, and Central had to scramble to get there.

Poplar Bluff opened the scoring in the first minutes of the game, on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Revelle to Rajeran George.

The extra point was blocked by Williams, and the Mules led 6-0.

Central failed to convert on fourth down in Mules' territory three times in first half, and with Revelle's 1-yard dive into the endzone with 1:03 left in the second quarter, Poplar Bluff had built a 14-0 halftime lead.

Steven Criddle saved Central in the second half.

Criddle, who made a pair of one-on-one, touchdown-saving tackles in the first half, turned a harmless swing pass into a 74-yard touchdown with 10:12 left in the game.

Then with the Tigers facing third-and-six from their own 25, he took a short pass, broke a pair of tackles, and went for 60 yards to the Mules' 10-yard line.

Three plays later, Williams scored from five yards out. Emmendorfer's kick made it 14-14.

The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime. George outleaped two defenders for a 33-yard touchdown on fourth-and-23 to give the Mules a 21-14 lead.

"Unbelievable," Barousse said. "He just goes up and takes it."

Matt Ogles' diving catch in the endzone and Emmendorfer's subsequent kick tied the game at 21-21 moments later.

But after a scoreless second overtime, the Tigers could not match the Mules again.

"I was proud of the way we came back," Dement said. "This team played with heart all year."

Poplar Bluff shut down Central's running game, allowing just 93 yards on 42 carries. McGinty was 28-for-39 passing for 326 yards.

Lonnie Lewis led Poplar Bluff's ground game with 25 carries for 136 yards. The Mules had 219 yards rushing overall on 45 attempts.

Revelle completed 8-of-11 passes for 157 yards.