Park Hills, Mo. (KFMO) - The Ste. Genevieve Dragons are advancing to the Class 3, District 1 football championship after defeating Central 26-16 on Friday.
Friday's matchup was the second meeting between the Dragons (7-4) and the Rebels (6-5), with Central taking the first game 40-34 in triple overtime. This time, only regulation time was needed. After a scoreless first quarter, Central got on the board in the second quarter after a 9-yard touchdown run by quarterback Jaxon Jones. That'd be the only score for the first 24 minutes, with Central leading 8-0 at the half.
From there, it'd be 26 straight points for the Dragons, starting with a 14-yard touchdown run for Owen Roth to make it 8-6. Quarterback Luke Ferranto added his first TD run of the day soon after to make it 12-8. Following another defensive stop, Ste. Genevieve's Wyatt Grein got his first score from 13 yards out. Finally, to cap it off, Ferranto took the football 95 yards to take a 26-8 lead.
Central scored the final touchdown of the game, a 4-yard score for Jones, but it was too little, too late, as Ste. Genevieve knocked off the Rebels in Park Hills.
Ste. Genevieve advances to the District Championship, where they will face top-seeded Dexter. The Bearcats defeated Fredericktown 56-20 in their semifinal matchup.