FARMINGTON -- New Madrid County Central got a long touchdown reception with just over two minutes left in the game, coming from behind to beat Farmington 24-21 on Friday night.
Both teams faced sloppy field conditions as rain pounded the field at Haile Memorial Stadium for the past two days. The Eagles though, ran the ball effectively immediately. The New Madrid offense was clicking early as Mack Kimble scored on a 39 yard option touchdown run to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead at the 8:51 mark in the first quarter.
New Madrid added the two-point conversion to make it 8-0. The Knights caught a break late in the first quarter. Barry Watson blocked a punt to give Farmington a new set of downs on the New Madrid 35-yard line. The Knights though, fumbled on the exchange between the center and the quarterback and gave the ball back to the Eagles.
New Madrid then fumbled to give the ball right back to the Knights with better field position. Farmington capitalized on the gift and Derek Wiles cashed in from 11 yards out to cut the lead to 8-6. Farmington added the point after to make it a one point game.
The Eagles added to their lead at the 6:34 mark in the second quarter. Brandon Fields kicked a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 11-7. However, the lead didn't hold as the Knights hit paydirt just before the half.
Wiles again broke loose, this time for a 33 yard touchdown run. At the half Farmington led 13-11.
The second half got started much like the first half ended. Wiles had back-to-back 37 yard runs to give Farmington another touchdown. The Knights went for and got the two-point conversion to make it a 21-11 ballgame.
The momentum had definitely switched in favor of the Knights as Eric King recovered an onside kick for Farmington late in the third quarter.
Farmington failed to capitalize on the ensuing drive and the Eagles' offense was back in business. Two pass-interference penalties gave New Madrid good field position. Eagles' quarterback Remond Willis punched the ball into the end zone from four yards out at the 11:11 mark in the fourth quarter to make it a 21-17 game.
The Knights' momentum and offense continued to sputter as New Madrid got the ball back with 3:15 remaining in the game. The Eagles went to the air assault. Willis hit Edgar Givens for a 37 yard touchdown pass to give the Eagles the lead with 2:12 remaining.
New Madrid added the point after to take a 24-21 lead. The Knights tried to rally on their next offensive drive but an interception ended the threat with 1:48 remaining. The Farmington defense though, stood tall on the Eagles' ensuing drive and gave the ball back to the Knights' offense with 1:16 left in the game.
The Farmington offense continued to sputter though as New Madrid closed out the 24-21 win. Both teams had a solid night running the ball as Wiles had 143 yards for Farmington and Kimble had 87 yards for New Madrid.
Farmington falls to 0-3 and will travel to Perryville on Friday. NMCC (1-2) will travel to Charleston on Friday.
CARUTHERSVILLE -- The Charleston Bluejays remained winless on the season after a 46-27 loss to SEMO Central rival Caruthersville on Friday night.
The Bluejays (0-3, 0-2 SEMO) had no answer for the Tigers' speed as junior tailback Jimmy Jackson rushed for 266 yards with three touchdowns.
Senior running back Chris Springer added 215 all-purpose yardage while scoring three TDs.
"We knew they had speed -- we knew that they could go at any time and they did all night," said Charleston head coach Brent Anderson.
Trailing 7-0, the Bluejays had a chance to tie the game but the Tigers' defense held firm on fourth-and-inches at the goal line.
Three plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Jackson took a toss sweep and broke free for a 98-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter.
Caruthersville (1-2, 1-1 SEMO) went on to take a commanding 33-7 lead at the half.
Charleston was able to battle back, trimming the lead to 39-27 in the fourth quarter.
Jackson broke the Bluejays' back once again, scampering free for a 65-yard TD run with nine minutes left in the game to set the final margin.
"They're a lot better than a lot of people think they are and I don't think we're as good as we think we are," said Anderson. "We played our worst ballgame of the year. Anything that could happen, did happen. Everything they did went right. Everything we did went wrong. They had an answer for everything we did."
Charleston will host SEMO Central rival New Madrid County Central next Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Caruthersville will play at arch rival Hayti on Friday night at 7:30.
MALDEN -- The Malden football team coughed up its chance to defeat the defending Class 2 state champion. The Green Wave lost five fumbles -- two in the red zone -- and failed to punch in several scoring opportunities in a 28-7 loss to No. 1 John Burroughs.
On a damp and foggy night, the Bombers (2-0) were just as careless with the football, committing four turnovers of their own.
But Malden (1-2) botched each scoring opportunity it was presented.
Trailing 21-7 midway through the fourth quarter, linebacker Anthony Burkman fell on a fumble at the John Burroughs 15-yard line. Just two plays later, though, Karrington Rogers was stripped of the ball.
Malden forced the Bombers to punt three plays later, and started its drive at its own 45. A 10-yard run from fullback John Sutton and three straight passes by Scott Matthews gave the Green Wave a first down at the 15. But Matthews fumbled the snap on the very next play to end the threat.
Two plays later, John Burroughs tailback Brian Jump took a handoff up the gut for a 89-yard touchdown with 46 seconds remaining in the game. Jump carried the ball 20 times for a game-high 235 yards.
Bombers quarterback Scott Van Slyke, son of former St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player Andy Van Slyke went 6-for-13 for 147 yards. He also ran for 59 yards and a score.
Malden rushed for 222 yards, led by Rogers' 96 yards on five carries. Sutton had 54 yards on 15 carries. Van Slyke gave John Burroughs a 7-0 lead when he hit wideout John Davis streaking down the left side line with 1:03 left in the first quarter.
Jump's one-yard plunge in the second quarter put the Bombers ahead 13-0. The Green Wave answered two plays later when Rogers took a reverse handoff and danced through the secondary for a 54-yard score.
Van Slyke added a one-yard score late in the third and hit Davis with the two-point conversion, making it 21-7.
PORTAGEVILLE -- Portageville had no problem disposing of Fulton County, Ky., on Friday night, winning 56-0.
The Bulldogs (2-0) led 42-0 at the half and never looked back. Fulton County falls to 0-4.
"We were a little worried about Fulton County going in," said Portageville head coach Jim McKay. "The games they've played were against much bigger schools so we didn't know what to expect. We seemed like we were flat at the beginning, but once the game got started we were ready to play."
Portageville spread the wealth on Friday. Leading the way was senior Aaron Bidewell, who had 95 yards rushing on seven carries with three touchdowns.
Antonio Scott had 82 yards on seven carries with a TD while Kyle Ezell had 75 yards on 11 carries. Ezell had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Detric Kershaw, Tyler Boatwright and Ryan Wilson each had touchdown runs.
"We play about six running backs every game," said McKay. "It keeps everybody fresh and it keeps everybody interested. We try to play everybody."
Portageville will play at Chaffee on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS -- Pattonville scored early and often and kept Jackson's football team winless with a 58-13 victory Friday night.
Pattonville (2-1), ranked fifth in Class 6, scored 50 seconds into the game on a 32-yard fumble recovery and never looked back.
Pattonville had six scoring plays of 40 or more yards and put up 293 yards of offense in the first half on only 15 plays. Junior running back Brian Quinn scored three touchdowns for the Pirates and senior Corey Henley added two more on the ground.
For the Indians, Stuart McIntosh came back after sitting out a game with a shoulder injury and ran for 83 yards on 17 carries. Sophomore Jason Meystedt had his second 100-yard game, racking up 106 yards on 16 carries.
The Indians rested starting quarterback Tyler Profilet -- along with many other starters -- in the second half after going into the break trailing 39-7. The 0-3 start is Jackson's first since 1998.
GOSNELL, Ark. -- Arkansas power Gosnell handed Kennett its first loss of the season Friday night, 35-7. With 3:07 remaining in the first quarter, Gosnell's Marcus Anderson ran in a touchdown and Shawn Lee kicked the PAT.
The Pirates added two more touchdowns in the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge by Ross Brown and a 38-yard scamper by David Blount to make it 21-0 at halftime.
At the six minute mark in the third quarter, Gosnell fumbled the ball and Kennett's Jeff Bailey recovered it. He then rambled over 40 yards to score. Brett Palmer kicked the PAT to make it 21-7.
Gosnell tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter off runs by Anderson and Josh Smether to make the final 35-7. Kennett standout Tyree Goolsby finished with 75 yards on 18 carries. Kennett (2-1) will host Sikeston on Friday.
OZARK -- Class 4 power Ozark manhandled Poplar Bluff on Friday night, 47-7. The Tigers scored on touchdown runs of 1, 12, 68 and 42 yards to lead 28-0 after the first quarter. They led 44-0 at halftime.
Poplar Bluff's lone score came on a 57-yard pass from Mark Gum to Tony Webb in the fourth quarter. In the game, Gum threw for 248 yards on 12-of-35 passing. Webb caught seven passes for 173 yards.
BONNE TERRE -- Perryville suffered its third consecutive shutout and dropped its conference opener.
North County (3-0, 1-0 MAFC Red) broke a scoreless deadlock when quarterback Adam Howard connected with Aaron Byington for a 58-yard scoring pass in the third quarter for a 7-0 lead.
Howard added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Joel Kurre led Perryville (0-3, 0-1) with 81 yards rushing on 18 carries. The Pirates had 134 yards rushing and 161 yards overall.
Jesse Whistler had 13 carries for 53 yards for the Pirates. Perryville lost three fumbles and was intercepted twice late in the game.
Some information provided by SEMO News Service.