Redhawks, Tigers had exciting seasons on the gridiron

It sure is nice to have local football teams playing games after Thanksgiving.

That was the case last weekend as both Cape Central High School and Southeast Missouri State University played postseason games on the same day.

SEMO finished its regular season as the Ohio Valley Conference Champions and earned a spot in the FCS playoffs. Their opponent: University of Montana.

Coach Tuke's team traveled to Missoula, Montana Saturday for the first-found game and nearly pulled off a victory.

The Redhawks built a 24-3 lead starting the third quarter, but Montana came back with 31 unanswered points and ended SEMO's otherwise stellar season. The loss left SEMO one win short of reaching it's 10th win of the season, a goal coach Tuke regularly called "Mission 10."

Still, what a year for the Redhawks. Coach Tuke has built a program with a winning expectation. It's exciting football to watch.

Earlier on Saturday, Cape Central hosted a state semifinal game at Tiger Stadium.

After early parity between Cape and Fort Osage, the game soon got away from the Tigers and Fort Osage would go on to win 56-20. But a final four finish for Cape Central is something to celebrate.

The Tigers rebounded from last year's 2-7 campaign to finish this season with a much improved a 10-4 record.

Coach Kent Gibbs told the Southeast Missourian he believe this could propel the program.

"I'd like to think this is a stepping stone," Gibbs said. "At the end of the day it's hard to get this far and you can only use this as a stepping stone if you're willing to work for what it takes to get you there. This experience should be invaluable. If we take this experience and turn it into work and get some more kids in the program and keep pushing through then it'll be a valuable experience."

Congratulations to both the Redhawks and Tigers on great seasons.