When Capital City's football program suspended operations after its Week 6 game against Helias, there was no guarantee the Cavaliers would play again this season.
All the program could cling to was hope and a potential return to normalcy.
Hope, as well as a stellar defensive performance, helped lead the Cavaliers to their first victory as a varsity program Friday night - a 13-7 win against Kirksville on Friday night at Adkins Stadium.
"The last three weeks have been trying for a lot of reasons," Capital City coach Shannon Jolley said. "That feeling of getting through those challenges is probably more powerful than winning. I couldn't have been more proud of the kids coming back ready to work on Monday. We seemingly didn't miss a beat."
The Cavaliers' defense held Kirksville to just 61 yards in the second half and 206 for the game. The Tigers (5-4) did not have a first down in the third quarter.
"It wasn't perfect by any means, but we're sure proud of their effort," Capital City defensive coordinator Cameron McDaniel said. "We tried to have more guys than they could block in the run game, and hold up as best we could in the passing game."
Capital City (1-6) marched 46 yards in 10 plays to open the second half and take the lead for good. Junior Ian Nelson crossed the goal line by mere inches on fourth-and-goal from the 1 to put the Cavaliers ahead by the final score with 6:20 left in the third quarter.
Capital City overcame five fumbles, with the fourth and final lost fumble coming on the second play of the fourth quarter. Kirksville completed a long pass and marched to the Cavaliers' 12-yard line, but junior Grayson Jones tackled senior Noah Copeland for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs.
"I saw the guy coming in motion and knew I needed to make that tackle," said Jones, who also had an interception to end the first half. "Someone had to make a play, and I knew it needed to be me."
Hurley Jacobs converted a pair of fourth downs to help the Cavaliers eat up clock and secure the win. The burly sophomore plunged ahead for 3 yards on fourth-and-1 at the Capital City 33, then muscled his way for 2 yards on fourth-and-1 with 2:04 left to salt it.
"It's about setting the tone and creating the culture we want," Jolley said. "We always want to go for it and be the aggressor. There's so much to be gained for being assertive and calling your own shots, instead of being on the defensive."
The teams combined for five turnovers in the first half.
Kirksville scored just 76 seconds into the game. Junior quarterback Jaden Ballinger connected with Copeland for a 48-yard catch and run, then threaded the needle to senior Lane Feeney for a 16-yard touchdown pass on third-and-3.
Junior Ethan Wood's fumble recovery and 23-yard return on the first play of the second quarter put the Cavaliers in prime position to tie it at the Kirksville 36. Nelson's 24-yard burst set up Jacobs' 7-yard touchdown run with 10:26 left in the first half.
Capital City had two solid chances to take the lead before halftime, but squandered both with fumbles.
The Cavaliers took over on the Kirksville 13 after the Tigers' punter put his knee down trying to field a low long snap. A hard count by junior Taggert Bodenstab got the Tigers to jump offside on fourth-and-3 from the 6, but Capital City coughed up their second fumble on the next play.
The Cavaliers turned the Tigers over on downs on the next drive, but fumbled again in the red zone.
Jacobs finished with game highs in carries (21) and rushing yards (104). Nelson added 70 yards on 14 carries, and Wood chipped in 46 yards on 12 carries.
Defensively, sophomore Joe Schaefer recorded two tackles for loss. Wood also had a sack, while Dameon Long and Gabe Strobel each had one tackle for loss.
Ballinger completed 15-of-19 passes for 143 yards, and also rushed seven times for 25 yards. Copeland had eight catches for 84 yards, and Feeney added four catches for 42 yards. The Cavaliers limited junior running back Landon Yardley to just 29 yards on 13 carries.
Capital City will head to Rolla on Friday to begin district play.
The Cavaliers are the No. 6 seed in Class 5 District 4, while Rolla (4-3) secured the No. 3 seed Friday with a 28-10 win against Camdenton (4-5), which ended up with the No. 5 seed.