SCOTT CITY -- For a brief moment Friday at Chaffee, Red Devils fans had something to cheer about, and the players had reason for hope.
But a penalty erased Chaffee freshman Zach McDaniel's 90-yard interception return for a touchdown, which would have made the score 28-13 late in the second quarter. Scott City scored on the following play en route to a 55-14 win on Chaffee's homecoming.
"If that would have been a clean pick, that could have helped them out a bit," Scott City running back Matt Schaefer said. The penalty was one of five costly first-half mistakes that led to 28 Scott City points. After Chaffee quarterback Jeff Daugherty threw his first of two interceptions, Schaefer went 30 yards on the Rams' second offensive play for his first touchdown of the night.
"Coach told me I'd be the fastest person on the field, so I knew I could bounce it outside," Schaefer said.
Schaefer's 30-yard touchdown run was one of four touchdowns in the game. In the first half alone, Schaefer had 150 yards rushing on seven carries.
"Matt's a good little back, but we haven't changed anything offensively since the first day of practice," Scott City coach Jackie Johnson said.
The Rams offense was full of big plays in the first half. Schaefer had three rushes for 20 yards or more, and quarterback Luke McClellan had 125 yards passing on only two completions. Scott City's third touchdown came on a 91-yard touchdown pass to Jason Schenimann.
"We executed the offense tonight," Johnson said. "When you execute the offense you're going to have big plays."
The Rams took a 34-6 lead into halftime and went back to work in the third. Schaefer put up another 70 yards in the third quarter, and McClellan threw two touchdown strikes to Ryan Glastetter to push the score to 55-6.
"They were ready to play for this game," Johnson said. "I hope they have this intensity the rest of the year."
Chaffee had one last bright spot in the game when Chris Hanback scored from a yard out for the Red Devils' final score. Hanback's touchdown was set up by a 47-yard run from senior Nick Powderly.
For the game Schaefer rushed for 221 yards, a career best. McClellan finished 5-for-6 for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
"The line did a hell of a job blocking tonight," Schaefer said.
Chaffee finished the game with five turnovers, all of which led to Scott City scores. Powderly led the offense with 72 yards rushing and three receptions for 27 yards. Scott City will be home Friday for its homecoming game against Park Hills Central.
"We're sitting 2-3, and we feel like we should have a better record," Johnson said. "We're preparing for the next five games and for district play."
Scott City's 55 points were the most points it has scored since a 55-0 win over Crystal City in 1999. That was also the last year Scott City made it to the playoffs.
"Hopefully," Schaefer said, "this will get our momentum going into homecoming."
JACKSON -- With backup quarterback Marc Lumsden throwing three touchdown passes, the Jackson Indians broke a two-game losing skid with a 32-3 homecoming victory over visiting Fort Zumwalt West.
Lumsden, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound senior, started in place of senior Tyler Profilet, who missed the game with the flu. Lumsden threw touchdown passes of 12, 34 and 93 yards in his first varsity start as Jackson (2-2) scored 32 unanswered points against the Jaguars (1-4).
The victory was the first for Jackson since a season-opening 12-7 victory over Sikeston. The Indians, coming off an open week, had scored just 34 points in their first three games combined.
The Indians scored 26 of their points in the third quarter, when they built on a 6-3 halftime lead.
While Jackson's offense rolled with Lumsden at the controls, the Indian defense stymied the Jaguars, forcing six turnovers.
Fort Zumwalt was unable to pick up a first down on four first-quarter possessions, but the Jaguars grabbed a 3-0 lead on their fifth possession. Fort Zumwalt opened the second quarter by picking up all four of its first-half first downs on a drive which ended with a 34-yard field goal by junior Matt Hottelman Jackson struggled to just two first downs on its first five possessions, but the Indians struck for a touchdown on their sixth possession, which started at the Jaguar 37 with 3:53 left.
After the Indians picked up two first downs, Lumsden found junior receiver Neil Grossheider on third down for a 12-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed and Jackson led 6-3 with 56 seconds left in the half.
The Indians gave the Jaguars a taste of things to come when sophomore Jordan Sneathen ran back the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a 12-3 lead. It was the first of four touchdowns in the period. Lumsden connected with Brad Crader on the two-point conversion pass for a 14-3 lead.
Fort Zumwalt drove inside the Jackson 10 on its next possession before fumbling, the first of three consecutive turnovers by the Jaguars.
On third-and-10 from his own 7, Lumsden connected with senior receiver Derek Miller for a 93-yard scoring pass. The PAT again failed, but Jackson led 20-3 at the 5:09 mark.
Jackson failed to move the ball after the Jaguars fumbled again on their next possession, but the Indians scored their third touchdown of the quarter after junior defensive back Nathan Leoni intercepted a Dustin Nellesen pass deep in Jaguar territory. The Indians cashed in with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Aaron Randolph for a 26-3 lead with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
Jackson recovered the ensuing kickoff, which bounced off a Jaguar player. A late hit on the play gave the Indians possession at the Jaguar 40. Lumsden then hooked up with Miller on a 34-yard scoring pass for a 32-3 lead with 2:21 remaining in the quarter.
On the game, Lumsden completed 12 of 26 passes for 203 yards passing. The Indians added 56 yards rushing for 259 yards total offense.
Jackson will visit Cape Girardeau County rival Central at 7 p.m. Thursday at Houck Stadium.
STE. GENEVIEVE -- Ste. Genevieve running back Adam Schwent rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns on his first four carries of the night. That pretty much told the De Soto Dragons what kind of night it was going to be as the host Dragons claimed a 35-6 homecoming victory Friday night at Dragons Stadium.
Schwent, also a linebacker, would add two more touchdowns by halftime and finished the night with 195 yards rushing. He sat down offensively in mid-third quarter and sat out the entire final quarter. He also had a 70-yard touchdown run nullified by a clipping penalty.
Schwent scored on the first play of the game's opening drive on a 64-yard run for a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game. After De Soto punted on the ensuing drive, Schwent traveled 33 yards--on fourth-and-26--with seven minutes left in the quarter for a 13-0 lead.
With three minutes left in the opening quarter, Schwent scored again from 8-yards out. A conversion pass made it 21-0.