Cape Central boys storm in front early, roll over North County in Fountain City opener

Going on the road for their first game of the season up north in the Fountain City Classic in De Soto, Missouri, the Cape Central Tigers lived up to their second-seeded billing with a dominant 74-31 victory over the North County Raiders on Monday night.

TySeanDre’ Edwards led Monday night’s effort out of the post, with senior guards Mar’K Mills and Matayo Rivers playing a centric role in the offense, Mills emerging as a high-level shooter and playmaker.

Despite not getting much play last season, Mills came into this one with a penchant for the bucket, throwing down a mean two-handed jam in the second quarter as part of an emerging Central offense which could be a problem this season for local squads.

Improving to 1-0 for the season, Cape got its season going in a hurry with a monster run in the first quarter to build a lead and never relented, trailing for less than 20 seconds in its first victory of the year.

North County dropped to 1-1, having won its first game of the year against St. Paul Lutheran of Farmington last weekend but dropping to the .500 mark after coming out sluggish against the new-look Tigers.

The win advances the Tigers into the second round of the Fountain City Classic, taking place on Friday night after a four-day break against the Fort Zumwalt West Jaguars at 8:30 p.m. at De Soto High School.

With a win a side on Friday night, we could easily see a Saturday night matchup between a potential Class 5-contending Sikeston squad and archrival Cape Central for another Fountain City Classic championship battle.

North County scored the game’s opening two points, but a big rally from Central gave the Tigers 17 consecutive points before finishing the first quarter with a 24-8 lead over the seventh-seeded Raiders.

That lead only extended as the Tigers continued their hot start offensively to piece together a 42-18 halftime lead.

The Tigers got the running clock up and going in the third quarter, and already in a big hole, it took the Raiders until the final minute of the third to score their first points of the second half as the lead swelled to 55-22 going into the final frame.

Already with a runaway victory, Cape Central’s running-clock fourth quarter ticked away quickly as the Tigers grabbed a 74-31 victory to open up the Fountain City Classic and the season.