Central Missouri football: Battle beats CMAC rival Hickman; 4 other Boone County teams win

In Week 4 across Boone County, five of the seven teams in action took home wins Friday night.

This includes two statement wins from Class 1 and Class 2 contenders, as well as a crosstown rivalry game that featured big plays.

The only team that wasn't in action was Tolton Catholic, which had its game against Bishop DuBorg canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

Here's what happened in Week 4 of prep football:

Battle holds off Hickman

In a matchup between two crosstown Central Missouri Activities Conference rivals, Battle's big-play offense was too much to slow down.

LJ Williams scored three touchdowns against his former school and Spartans quarterback Justin Goolsby threw four scores as Battle beat Hickman 35-22.

Williams scored on a 90-yard kickoff return touchdown and two long passing touchdowns of 28 and 59 yards.

Hickman scored first on a six-yard run from Deon Weston. Kewpie defensive back Jaiden Tandy held off Battle's offense with an interception in Hickman's own end zone, which led to a heavy dosage of Weston to start the game.

Williams struck right after with his kickoff return touchdown. On the next Battle possession, Williams caught his 28-yard touchdown pass on a tipped ball that landed right in his hands.

The very next Spartan possession after that, Williams scored a 59-yard touchdown after he got behind the Hickman secondary.

Hickman never laid down and began the second half with a recovered fumble. Weston scored his second of three touchdowns early in the third on a 45-yard run to cut the Kewpies' deficit to 21-15.

Weston finished with 202 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns Friday. Goolsby outdid that performance, throwing for 283 yards and four touchdowns.

His final touchdown to Livingston Coaty sealed the win for Battle.

Hallsville remains unbeaten

Tyger Cobb kept his offensive success rolling against Eldon as Hallsville won its fourth straight game to stay undefeated.

Opening the game with two long touchdowns, the Indians held a double-digit lead for the entire game after that and held off Eldon 34-20.

Cobb's first scores were from 53 and 73 yards out. Hallsville led 22-6 at halftime.

Eldon cut the Hallsville lead to 10, as the Mustangs scored to make it 22-12. But, Cobb ran for a third score and threw another to Landyn Sievers to preserve the win.

Rock Bridge blows out Capital City

Looking for its third win in a row, Rock Bridge headed back to Jefferson City and took care of business.

The Bruins led Capital City 23-0 at halftime and kept scoring, throttling the Cavaliers 40-13.

Sam Kaiser hit Payton Messer with 37 seconds left in the first half, and Jack Bower scored late in the third quarter to make it 30-0.

It's the third consecutive win for Rock Bridge, which hosts Helias next week in a CMAC showdown.

Harrisburg knocks around Westran

Tanner Lanes scored five total touchdowns as Harrisburg stayed undefeated in a key Lewis & Clark Conference matchup.

The No. 8 Bulldogs trampled the No. 10 Tigers 44-14, as Harrisburg moved to 4-0 on the year.

Hayven Samuels struck first for Harrisburg, but it was Lanes who owned the night. 

Lanes threw four touchdown passes and ran for one more score. Harrisburg led Westran 30-8 at halftime and got revenge for last year's 24-22 heartbreaking loss in the regular season.

Southern Boone beats Versailles on the last play

In a thriller that came down to the final seconds, the Eagles scored on a fourth-down play late in the fourth quarter and held on defense.

Winning its first game of the season, Southern Boone beat Versailles 24-20.

The Eagles trailed 20-10 entering the fourth quarter, and rallied back in the final frame.

Jacob Bowles scored a rushing touchdown to make it 20-17, and the Eagles came back down to the Versailles 1-yard line. Hayden Steelman scored on a 1-yard run on fourth down with 43 seconds left.

Versailles drove to the Southern Boone 30-yard line, but the Eagles intercepted Versailles' last-gasp heave to preserve the win.

Monroe City handles Centralia 

Monroe City forced three Centralia turnovers and held the Panthers scoreless in the first half en route to a comfortable win.

The young Panthers got on the board as Beau Gordon ran the ball in from five yards out, but Monroe City won 44-6.

Monroe City led 16-0 at halftime but blew the game open in the second half with four second-half touchdowns: two in the third and two in the fourth quarter.

Gordon ran for 32 yards and his score, and also passed for 93 yards on the night.

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com, or 435 414-3261.