It took nearly a quarter and two empty possessions before the Poplar Bluff Mules found their footing on offense Friday night.
Isaiah Johnson broke a 28-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening quarter as the Mules scored on four straight short drives in the first half to beat Dexter 35-12 at Mules Stadium.
"Still got a lot of improvement on offense to go," said coach Mark Barousse who won his 70th game leading the Mules.
Poplar Bluff (2-0) beat Dexter (1-1) for the ninth straight time in a series that has seen the Mules win 24 of the last 25 and will not continue next fall.
Logan Bell ran for a score and threw touchdown passes to Brett Barousse and Tyson Cox, who passed 2,000 career receiving yards. RaShawn McCain scored on a 6-yard run three plays after Barousse picked off a pass, the first of four turnovers by the Bearcats.
"When we gave up a score, our demeanor changed and we didn't compete as hard," Dexter coach Kevin Goltra said. "Combine that with all the turnovers, it was a real struggle."
Caleb Hoggard ran for 82 yards, including a 20-yard run in the fourth quarter, to lead the Bearcats offense. Corbin Strong added 31 yards rushing while Ben Sindle competed 4 of 13 passes for 91 yards.
Trevor McDonald picked up a fumble and returned it 48 yards to put Dexter on the scoreboard with 1:36 left in the third quarter.
Dexter managed 40 total yards of offense in the first half, picking up just two first downs on its opening drive.
"I think defensively it was good to see us stop the downhill run," Coach Barousse said. "They were big and they were physical and they tried to run it at us.
"We were a little soft early but then we kind of figured it out."
The Mules got multiple tackles from 18 different players and were led by 15 combined stops from linebackers Tanner Dunivan, RaShawn McCain and Makarius Bell.
"Coach, he addressed all week, tight, tight, tight, because they're not going to bounce it outside like most teams do, they stick it in and go inside," McCain said. "He fought us all week to stay tight and it worked."
While the offense worked things out, Poplar Bluff's defense and special teams kept Dexter bottled up.
When the Mules' opening drive stalled, Cox pinned the Bearcats at their own 5-yard line with a punt. Dexter couldn't flip the field after 11 plays or a second drive, a three-and-punt from the 20.
Cox returned the punt 12 yards to the Dexter 43 and on the next play, the Bearcats were called for a roughing-the-passer penalty. On third down, Johnson took a handoff to the right side, getting a block from Cameron Jones and Brett Barousse, cut back and avoided tackle with a jump-step at the 20 then ran past a diving defender to reach the sideline to the end zone.
Victor Rivera kicked the first of his five extra points and the Mules were up 7-0.
"Thought the line blocked well and we got the edge in stretch with Isaiah and RaShawn," Coach Barousse said. "There were some good things there."
Brett Barousse broke on a Sindle pass three snaps later to give Poplar Bluff the ball at the Dexter 31.
"I just dropped back in my coverage and was lucky enough for it to come right next to me," Brett Barousse said of his first career interception. "It was good placement and luck on my side."
RaShawn McCain ran for 11 yards then finished the drive on the next play with a 6-yard touchdown.
Makarius Bell forced a fumble three snaps later with a hit on the ball carrier and Mason Libla recovered it for the Mules at the Dexter 23. Johnson ran for 15 yards to set up Logan Bell's 1-yard touchdown with 8 minutes left in the half for a 21-0 lead.
Poplar Bluff's final scoring drive of the first half needed four plays for 58 yards.
Bell hit Cox in step down the right sideline with a defender on his hip for a 38-yard touchdown. It put Cox over 2,000 yards for his career and was the senior's 24 career touchdown catch.
"I gave them a signal and they misread it for another signal but they executed it perfectly," Coach Barousse said. "They checked it and were all on the same page and it ended up being a good deep ball for us."
The Mules led 28-0 at halftime and scored after forcing a three-and-punt by Dexter to open the second half.
Bell hit Myanza McCain for a 22-yard pass on the first play and Brett Barousse for a 27-yard touchdown with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
Bell threw for a career-high 153 yards on 9 of 12 passing.
"We've got a lot of guys and not enough footballs to get it to them," Coach Barousse said. "Right now that's a good problem."
Dexter completed its first pass of the season at the 7:13 mark of the third quarter, a 24-yard catch by Bo McMullin, but the Bearcats were stopped on fourth down.
"We had to move two players to brand new positions on the offensive line," Goltra said. "Couple that with a very good Poplar Bluff defense, yards were hard to come by.
"We should get healed up a little this week and reload for New Madrid County Central."
Unlike the previous week when the Mules couldn't shake Riverview Gardens in a 34-14 win, Poplar Bluff was able to substitute on offense and defense.
"A lot of those second teamers need to play," Coach Barousse said. "They're going to be playing a bunch next year."
Josiah Kilgore forced a Dexter fumble that Cameron Sweeney recovered while Wyatt Lazalier recovered the ball after it bounced off the kick returner 10 yards to the junior.
Nic Hampton, a 5-foot senior running back, got his first career carries with the student section chanting "Let's go Nic" in the third quarter.
"Whenever he got in there, everybody got happy," said RaShawn McCain who added that it's a goal to get an early lead and allow the second- and third-string teammates a shot to play.
"It's always good to see them get in because they practice with us and they go through all the sprints and they're out there with us."