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Alexander, Portageville runs over Scott City football team into district semifinals
PORTAGEVILLE, Mo – Nothing Scott City’s defense tried seem to phase Portageville Friday night when they two teams opened up play in the Class 1, District 1 Tournament.
Senior running back Lamar Alexander caused the Rams fits all night, rushing for 177 yards and two scores to help the Bulldogs extend their season with their fifth win in the last six games, 50-15.
“Lamar is back and healthy,” Portageville head coach Jeff Bullock said. “He battled the first five or six weeks with a foot issue. Since he’s come back he’s really freed us up.
“People talk about Connor Barham and Ian Torrey swapping positions, but don’t give credit to Lamar. He’s been a huge part of that.”
Portageville wouldn’t be forced to punt until deep in the third quarter converting their first four drives of the night into touchdowns.
Three of their scoring drives lasted two plays or less thanks in part to runs of 72 and 48 yards by Alexander.
Through the air quarterback Connor Barham converted on 10 of 16 passes for 216 yards, including strikes of 64 and 57 yards to Torrey. Portageville finished the night with five plays of 34 yards or more to outgain the Rams 434-363 on the game.
“We had people there and didn’t make a tackle,” Scott City head coach Jim May said. “When you have speed and make someone miss it can be a long night in a hurry. That’s just what happened.
“We knew coming we needed to get stops and didn’t come up with very many.”
Running back Chance McKinley tried to single handedly keep the Rams in the game, rushing 36 times for 215 yards and a score.
Unfortunately for Scott City several long drives stalled short of the end zone, four drives ending on turnovers on downs, two on interceptions and another on a fumble.
With a chance to make it a two-score game heading into the locker room, Scott City drove to the Bulldogs’ five-yard line before a sack ended the half. It was one of six sacks forced by Portageville’s defense.
“We shot ourselves in the foot,” May said. “We moved the ball down the field and then we’d get a penalty, a turnover or something. That was the story of the game. We knew coming in we were going to have to drive the ball offensively.
“It was going to be tough to stop Portageville because they have some players that really give us fits. That’s the way it goes.”
A successful onside kick gave Scott City the ball to open the game only for the drive to stalk in the red zone at the 19-yard line.
The Bulldogs took over and marched 81-yards down the field before an 11-yard run by Alexander put his team up 6-0 with 6:04 left in the first quarter.
Portageville’s next drive went 92-yards and was capped with a quarterback sneak by Barham to make it 14-0 with 10:41 left in the half following the two-point conversion.
Following another defensive stop, the Bulldogs extended their lead again thanks in large part to Alexander taking the first play of the ensuing series down the field 72-yards to the one-yard line.
Torrey’s quarterback keeper on the next play made it 22-0, following the two-point conversion, with 5:23 remaining in the half.
Scott City found their way on the board with 2:02 before the break with a 14-yard strike from Spencer Stratman to Joe Paganos.
Seconds later, however, the Bulldogs answered in the form of a 65-yard touchdown pass from Barham to Torrey to make it 30-7 going into the locker room.
“Offensively we were very fortunate,” Bullock said. “We had a lot of big plays early and moved the ball well. When we’re in sync offensively we’re pretty good offensive football team.”
Two unanswered touchdowns in the third quarter led to much of the fourth frame using a running clock.
Portageville put the finishing touch on the rout when Hunter Gates picked off a Stratman pass and ran it back for a 31-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to make up the 50-15 final.
The 35-point point differential near mirrored their regular season meeting when the Bulldogs won 40-7.
“Our really inexperienced offensive line has done a tremendous job figuring out what they need to do to help give us some gaps to hit,” Bullock said. “The kids have come so far from that 0-4 start to the season.”
“Scott City’s quarterback had a good game throwing the ball. They were much improved. The score might not reflect it, but they really improved from the last time we played them.”
Alexander led the way for Portageville in yardage, gaining his 173 yards on just 13 carries, averaging over 13-yard-per-carry,
He gained 153 of those yards on his first five touches of the night.
Torrey was Barham’s favorite target, catching five passes for 149 yards and a score. He rushed twice for 24 yards and another touchdown, giving him two on the night.
For Scott City, McKinley’s 215 yards easily led the way, representing over half the team’s offense.
Stratman was 13 of 20 through the air for 161 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“(McKinley) ran the ball extremely hard and laid it on the line,” May said. “He battled and that’s all you can ask from him.
“He’s a senior coming out here and knew there was a chance this could be his last game and he laid it all on the line. You can appreciate that.”
Portageville moves on to play Valle Catholic in the district semifinals Friday at 7 p.m. at Valle High School.
As the top-seed in the district Valle earned a first-round bye and has won the Class 1 state championship in six of the last seven years.
“That’s a pretty good team up there,” Bullock said of Valle. “The great thing about high school football is every Friday night there’s a chance. We have some kids that I think may be match-up issues for them. They’ll have to work and prepare and we’ll definitely have to get better defensively to stop coach Judd Naeger and his crew.
“It’s a machine, but it’s a well-deserved machine. If you’re the team that maybe sneaks in there and comes out with a win that’s something these kids would never forget the rest of their lives.”
Scott City - 0 7 0 8 - 15
Portageville - 6 24 14 6 - 50
First Quarter
P – Lamar Alexander 11 run ((Connor Barham pass failed), 6:04
Second Quarter
P – Connor Barham 1 run (Ian Torrey pass from Connor Barham), 10:41
P – Ian Torrey 1 run (Ian Torrey run), 5:23
S – Joe Paganos 14 pass from Spencer Stratman (Nick Hillman kick), 2:02
P – Ian Torrey 65 pass from Connor Barham (Lamar Alexander run), 1:27
Third Quarter
P – Lamar Alexander 48 run (Lamar Alexander run failed), 9:46
P – Connor Barham 6 run (Ian Torrey run), 1:07
Fourth Quarter
S – Chance McKinley 17 run (Spencer Stratman run), 10:14
P – Hunter Gates 31 interception return (Lamar Alexander run failed), 2:30