Central football team topples Poplar Bluff 26-6

~ The Tigers were aided by defense and special teams to move to 4-0 on the season

The Central offense sputtered throughout the night but showed their true colors when it mattered most.

Tigers' quarterback Peyton Montgomery ran wild in the second half while Central's defense came close to getting its first shutout since 2011, and the Tigers defeated the Poplar Bluff Mules 26-6 on Friday night at Poplar Bluff Junior High School.

"Any time you come to Poplar Bluff and you get away with a win, you better be happy with that, so that's the first thing," Central coach Nathan Norman said. "Hats off to Poplar Bluff. They played a heck of a game. Some of our playmakers were able to make big plays at opportune times, and that was the difference in the game."

Central (4-0, 2-0 SEMO North Conference) entered the game averaging 44 points per game. The Tigers' offense struggled against Poplar Bluff (2-2, 0-2), which had held its opponents to an average of 18 points per game prior to Friday night.

Norman said it was undoubtedly his offense's biggest test this season.

"They played well against us. Some of that might have been us, but most of that was Poplar Bluff," Norman said. "They had a good gameplan. Their kids played hard. They played good assignment defense."

Central running back Braion Owens carries against Poplar Bluff during the second quarter to score the second touchdown Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

The two teams exchanged punts to begin the game before the Tigers forced their second punt midway through the first quarter, giving way for Al Young to add to his productive season.

The Tigers' leading scorer fielded the punt near midfield and worked his way to the end zone for the first score of the game. The 52-yard punt return and Nathan Mecum's extra point gave Central a 7-0 lead with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers forced the Mules to punt seven times in the first half while the offense continued searching for answers. Central punted three times in the first half and turned the ball over on downs once.

However, the Tigers rallied behind their defense to find points. A fielding mistake on a punt kept the Mules' drive alive several minutes into the second quarter. On third-and-10, Poplar Bluff quarterback Joe Darlin -- who was filling in for injured starting quarterback Kameron Misner -- was forced out of the pocket and threw the ball across the field, where Braion Owens read the play perfectly.

"All week we've been working on flex and all their reads and all the different formations they run," Owens said. "I just played the play how I was coached, and I was in the right spot to make a play."

Owens intercepted the pass and broke a number of tackles on his way to the end zone for the 49-yard return.

Central defensive coordinator Scott Schweinbold said Owens' hard-fought return showed it's a benefit to have the team's running back in possession of the ball on defense.

Central wide receiver Al Young returns a Poplar Bluff punt for the first touchdown during the first quarter Friday, Sept. 12, 2014 in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"Especially with an exceptional athlete like he is," Schweinbold said of Owens. "We stressed all week that when they do certain routes and if he got to a certain spot that he could make that interception. He did. He got to the right spot and made the play, and he made a heck of a run to score that one. It was a great run."

Central carried its struggles into halftime as Montgomery threw his second interception of the season on the team's next possession.

Despite the 13-0 deficit at halftime, Poplar Bluff coach Mark Barousse was pleased with the way his defense performed in the first half.

"We wanted to play good D and keep it kind of close to the vest offensively in the first half. The young quarterback made some mistakes," Barousse said of Darlin, who threw two picks in the first half. "We didn't want to punt it to [Young], trying to punt it out of bounds. We made a mistake on the punt, but I think you take those two mistakes away and I thought we played pretty hard, I really do. I think defensively we played well."

In the third quarter, Montgomery orchestrated a crucial 10-play, 68-yard drive that was capped by a 15-yard touchdown run by Young to give the Tigers a 20-0 lead with 8:19 remaining in the quarter.

The drive was kept alive by three first down runs by Montgomery, including a 12-yard run on fourth-and-4 and a 27-yard run on second-and-18.

"We were spying two linebackers on [Montgomery], and we still couldn't catch him," Barousse said. "We covered them down there in the secondary, and he made some good plays with his feet in the second half."

The Tigers had nothing going in the passing game as Montgomery finished 4-of-7 passing for minus-3 yards, but after being held to only 22 rushing yards in the first half, the senior signal caller showed his elusiveness in the second half, adding 132 second-half rushing yards to finish with a game-high 154 yards on 19 carries.

Meanwhile, Central's defense carried its shutout bid into the fourth quarter.

Owens scored on a 4-yard run to give the Tigers a 26-0 lead with 9:04 left in the game.

It took an 18-play drive, but on the ensuing possession, Poplar Bluff scored its only points of the game when Darlin ran in from 4 yards out to cut the Mules' deficit to 26-6 with less than three minutes remaining in the game.

"I think that drive was really, really good," Barousse said. "I thought we had some excellent things up front blocking. I thought they did a good job. That was a nice drive. We just need to kind of carry that over to next week."

The Tigers held Poplar Bluff to 104 yards of total offense. In its last 10 quarters of play, Central has given up a total of 13 points.

Schweinbold said the defensive focus is simple.

"We try to work on the basics, stick with that and not change much," he said. "We try and attack the ball."

The Tigers will take the road Saturday against Ladue Horton Watkins, which moved to 4-0 with a 17-7 win over Class 5 Parkway Central.

"I thought [the defense] played extremely well, and we had a couple mental penalties I'm not happy with that hurt us," Norman said. "We've got to do better than that. That can beat you in a big game, but the defense played well."

Central 7 6 7 6 -- 26

Poplar Bluff 0 0 0 6 -- 6

First Quarter

C -- Al Young 52 punt return (Nathan Mecum kick), 6:20

Second Quarter

C -- Braion Owens 49 interception return (kick failed), 7:38

Third Quarter

C -- Young 15 run (Mecum kick), 8:19

Fourth Quarter

C -- Owens 4 run (run failed), 9:04

PB -- Joe Darlin 5 run (run failed), 2:43

C PB

First downs 10 7

Rushes-yards 42-241 31-57

Passing yards -3 47

Passes 4-7-1 12-22-2

Punts-Average 4-34.5 9-29.8

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 8-77 6-35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Central, Peyton Montgomery 19-154, Owens 9-36, Young 5-33, Jordan Franklin 6-12, Khane Booker 2-4, Joshua Jones 1-2; Poplar Bluff, Bi Nguyen 17-45, Briar Alford 2-8, Zane Foust 3-7, Darlin 8-0, Dustin Gatewood 1-(-3).

PASSING -- Central, Montgomery 4-7-(-3)-1; Poplar Bluff, Darlin 7-17-36-2, Foust 5-5-11-0.

RECEIVING -- Central, Kway'chon Chisom 2-2, Young 1-(-5); Poplar Bluff, Tristen Francisco 6-42, Austin Jefferson 1-5, Alford 5-0.