CARUTHERSVILLE -- The Dexter football team dominated early, but Caruthersville made a pair of big plays in the fourth quarter to overtake the Bearcats 30-12.
The Bearcats took a 12-0 lead in the second quarter and trailed only 16-12 at halftime against a team that entered the game with a 4-1 record that included a win over Class 1 state-ranked Valle Catholic.
"These kids had the best week of practice they've had all year," Dexter coach Aaron Pixley said. "It showed. They came out mentally prepared. They weren't fooled by anything. I just think they were dialed in. They came out here to win a football game and came up short."
Corbin Strong's 58-yard run set up the Bearcats' first touchdown late in the first quarter. Caleb Hoggard followed with a pair of 2-yard runs, the second giving them a 6-0 lead with 1:32 remaining. Hoggard's extra-point attempt was blocked.
Dexter's defense overcame a mistake by its special teams to give it a 12-0 lead.
The Bearcats (2-3, 0-2 SEMO South) muffed a punt after going three-and-out, but Strong intercepted a pass from Devin Russell and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Peyton Driskill's two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.
Caruthersville (5-1, 1-1) scored twice in 16 seconds late in the quarter to take the lead.
Nicholas Moore's 21-yard run set up the Tigers' first touchdown. Russell's 9-yard run with 2:35 to play cut their deficit in half. Russell scored the two-point conversion, slicing Dexter's lead to 12-8.
The Bearcats fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and on the next play, Moore raced 24 yards for a touchdown. Russell connected with Dundi Hamilton for the two-point conversion, and Caruthersville led 16-12 with 2:19 left in the first half.
"First quarter all the way through until the last three minutes of the second quarter, we were pretty much dominant," Pixley said. "It's a testament to how Caruthersville is because they can score a lot of points in a very short amount of time. ... One moment, you're up 12-0. The next thing you know, you're down 16-12."
The Bearcats nearly retook the lead in the third quarter. They drove 76 yards but came up a yard short of a touchdown on fourth-and-1.
"At halftime, we were in good spirits.," Pixley said. "We were still in the game and played very hard. Came out in the third quarter and had a great drive. Just didn't finish it off, and again, we struggle sometimes finishing off drives. We have to find a way to do that."
Caruthersville coach Jimmy Jackson was proud of his team's defensive stand.
"I thought our guys did a good job of standing in there," Jackson said. "That's tough to do, especially from a momentum standpoint. (Dexter's) getting all the momentum. Then you stand up on them on fourth down and keep them out. I thought they did a good job."
Fifty-eight of those yards came on the ground, highlighted by a 19-yard run by Hoggard. Hoggard gained 30 of his 55 yards on the drive, and Strong had 28 of his game-high 147.
"They've got some tough players," Jackson said. "(Strong) runs the ball hard. (Hoggard) runs the ball hard. They're strong kids. ... They're O-line gets a good push for them. So we knew we were going to have to come out and play a physical football game. I felt like at times we did that, and at times we didn't really tackle well."
Deandre Davis recovered the fourth of Dexter's four fumbles early in the fourth quarter, setting up another Caruthersville touchdown.
Moore broke loose for a 50-yard gain, and on the next play, Russell connected with Jermaine Alexander for a 16-yard touchdown. While the two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, the Tigers extended their lead to 22-12 with 10:02 left in the game.
The Tigers began their next drive near midfield following a short punt by Dexter. Charles Tillman's 12-yard run on first down put them in Dexter territory, and Hamilton capped the 57-yard drive with a 23-yard run. Russell scored the two-point conversion with 4:59 to play, clinching the victory for the Tigers.
"I felt like our kids gave great effort tonight, the whole night," Pixley said, "and I know they put 30 points on the board, but you know, it wasn't from a lack of effort. I felt like our line blocked hard. I felt like our running backs ran hard. We played great defense about 95 percent of the time."