Cape Central coach Kent Gibbs talks to his team after the Class 5 semifinals last year in St. Louis.

Cole Lee ~ Southeast Missourian

When you do it once, they’ll call you lucky. When you do it twice, it forms a pattern.

For Cape Central, the doubters have been proved wrong. After the Tigers’ run to the semifinals in 2022, they followed it up with another in 2023 to cement their place as one of the top teams in Class 5.

Their two recent runs to the semifinals make four in the past decade – more than any other team in the area. For veteran head coach Kent Gibbs, it’s a sign of the hard work and excellence that the Tigers have seen over the past two seasons, and he appreciates the newfound respect for the program.

Cape Central running back KeyShawn Boyd runs past a defender in the Class 5 quarterfinals last year in Eureka, Mo.

Tony Capobianco ~ Southeast Missourian

“Expectations are always good to have,” Gibbs said. “It says that you’ve had that success.

“Our goal is to get the playoffs and make a run when we can. We positioned ourselves well the last couple of years, and that's what we want to hopefully keep doing, not only this year but in years to come.”

The story centered around the emergence of the phenomenal KeyShawn Boyd last year, who broke multiple Cape Central single-season rushing records after amassing 2,063 yards and 32 touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Zai’Aire Thomas improved on a breakout sophomore season by totaling 1,824 yards (1,423 rushing, 401 receiving) while scoring 27 total TDs as a junior.

Cape Central's Gavin Pittman stares down his tackle in the Class 5 semifinals against Cardinal Ritter College Prep last year in St. Louis.

Cole Lee ~ Southeast Missourian

“They work hard, and they complement each other,” Gibbs said. “KeyShawn is able to bang it in there when we need to, and we move Zai’Aire around a lot and get him in space so he doesn't have to bang it in there.

“That's been a good formula for us, and hopefully we can keep doing those kinds of things.”

Cape Central's "Thunder and Lightning" became the center of attention and ranks among the top running back duo in the state.

And that’s no small compliment, as the two helped push the Tigers all the way to the final four last season. The Tigers will go as far as Boyd and Thomas will take them.

“We're blessed to have two of the best running backs that I’ve had in my long career,” Gibbs said. “We’re very fortunate to have them.”

As a great coach does, Gibbs gave credit to the offensive line for creating the holes for the two exceptional backs last year, but also laying out the challenge to provide the protection again this season.

“Credit to the offensive line,” Gibbs said. “Our offensive line did really, really well last year. They came on and did a great job for the things we tried to do. They're gonna have to do the same thing again this year.”

Among the less-discussed narratives with the 2023 Tigers was the injury to Deklin Pittman that forced the changing of the guard to Jathan Spain as the Tigers' starting quarterback.

Spain led a magical run through the playoffs that helped Cape notch one of its greatest seasons in program history, but Pittman’s return makes it a conversation, and the answer has emerged.

For the start of the 2024 season, Gibbs expressed the utmost confidence in junior quarterback Pittman to be the top man for the Tigers ahead of one of Cape’s tougher regular season schedules in recent memory.

But that hasn’t been a shoo-in win, and that was quite clear from Gibbs’ remarks late in the summer cycle.

“Jathan did a great job for us,” Gibbs said. “He did what we needed to do. He ran our offense and didn't make many mistakes. He was the quarterback for a state semifinal team, and hats off to him for what he did.

“We’ve got Deklin back, and we look for him to be our starter if things go well, just kind of see how that goes. We've looked at a couple of different backups if you will – guys who are in there battling for that 1A position.”

One of the biggest impact spots for Central this season will be the loss of leadership on the backside of the ball, with one major loss on the defensive depth chart.

Davarious Nunley made a huge impact on Central’s semifinal trip last season, but his departure to the Division-I ranks at Southeast Missouri State, creates a big hole.

“No doubt, we’re gonna miss Davarious,” Gibbs said. “We're gonna miss his leadership, his steadiness at play, work ethic, visibility, there’s no doubt we're going to miss him.”

But his departure creates an opportunity for new faces to step up into those roles, and Gibbs expressed some serious confidence for the new guys as the fresh 2024 season approaches.

“We've had some young kids that have stepped up and filled in and done some big things for us this summer. Barring injury, we've got some kids that can step in there and take a leadership role and play good football for us.”

If those new fits can step up and into those holes, there’ll be a lot of hype surrounding this program, with the ceiling raising once more for a legendary run.

It starts in the summer, and the 66-year-old Gibbs has seen enough to know what it takes to mold a championship squad.

With any luck, the celebration will be playing the games in the fall, because Gibbs’ program is focused on the process and what it’ll take to live up to these new expectations.

“Expectations are good, and history is good, but it's got to be about what happens today,” Gibbs said. “We've talked to them about having that strong work ethic and taking it one day at a time. We've been really focusing on taking care of little things as we go.

“I think these kids have responded because we've had a good summer.”

Cape Central

Coach: Kent Gibbs (Sixth season with team; 32-26 team record; 192-167 career record)

Last Season: 10-4, Class 5 District 1 champions, Class 5 semifinalist

Key Returns: KeyShawn Boyd, Zai’Aire Thomas, Deklin Pittman, Gavin Pittman

Key Departures: Davarious Nunley

Schedule

Aug. 30 — vs. New Madrid County Central, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 — at St. Charles West, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 — vs. Sikeston, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 — at Poplar Bluff, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 — vs. St. Dominic, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 — vs. Jackson, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 — at Farmington, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 — vs. Lift for Life, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 — vs. Kennett, 7 p.m.