East Prairie flies by Chaffee

CHAFFEE -- The East Prairie Eagles football team cruised past the Chaffee Red Devils 53-8 Friday night at host Chaffee's homecoming game.

East Prairie head coach Jason Aycock was very pleased after Friday's contest with his team and their execution.

"We came out and executed tonight," Aycock said. "We executed on offense. We executed defensively. We really played an all around game."

The Eagles (3-3) were lead offensively by senior running back M.C. Williams whose 204 yards on 16 carries with four touchdowns helped East Prairie establish control of the game early.

Williams says "he played well" , but gives all the credit to his offensive line.

"All the credit goes to my offensive line," Williams said. "They do a heck of a job blocking for me. I tell them that if they can give me openings that I will do everything I can to help win us the game. But I can't do anything without them (offensive line) and when I have a good game it's only because they played well."

Aycock is not so modest about William's impact.

"There are not too many 'M.C. Williams' in the state of Missouri," Aycock said. "I don't mean this in a cocky way, and I feel other coaches would agree with me, M.C. (Williams) might be the best back in southeast Missouri. I feel like he could start and excel in any program in this area. It's not just his running. He plays good defense, he can catch the ball, he is just an all around athlete and a great leader. I am very blessed. M.C. (Williams) makes me look like a very good coach."

Eagle quarterback Conner Scott, who had a very efficient game through the air Friday, also sung the praises of his offensive line.

"Our offensive line did great tonight," Scott said. "We need to develop an extra layer to our offense with a quick fire passing game, and we did that tonight. But, all the credit for that needs to go to the offensive line and how the won at the point of attack."

Aycock said that both of his lines, offensive and defensive did a great job Friday night.

"We won the battle at the point of attack tonight," Aycock said of his lines. "We played very physical, and that's what won the ball game for us."

Although East Prairie earned more than 340 yards on the ground Friday night, something they have had no trouble doing so far this season, Aycock and his squad were most pleased with the production in the passing game.

"After we established the running game tonight, we started passing," Aycock said. "That (passing) was the aspect of our offense I was most pleased with tonight. We haven't passed a lot this year. We have been working on that to add another threat or layer to our offensive attack. Of course, we will continue to look to the run first. But, we proved tonight that we are not a one dimensional team. We have to have that passing game in good shape for not if, but when we run into some one who really packs it in the box and slows our run attack."

Aycock not only credits the calm determination of Scott, his sophomore quarterback, but the capabilities of his rarely used receiving corps, led by junior Kaleb Williford.

"Conner (Scott) came out tonight and showed a lot of patience in the pocket," Aycock said. "He is a good pocket passer, we are working to make him more mobile, but he is very solid in the pocket. His (Scott's) receivers did a heck of a job gaining yards after the catch. They haven't had a lot of action this year, we haven't had to use them with M.C. (Williams) and Jordan (Jarrett) in the backfield, but we want to know we have that option, and they did a great job tonight."

Aycock points to the leadership of his seniors as the biggest key to the Eagles success this season.

"The success of our season boils down to our senior leadership, most notably from Ian Penrod, but also all our seniors," Aycock said. "These guys have played together since the seventh grade. They are a cohesive unit and they are hungry for wins. You cannot substitute that leadership, it is so important for our younger guys. They are ending up with a good year. I'm just glad to be a part of this group of kids, its been a great experience."

The Red Devils (3-3) knew stopping Williams and the Eagles would be extremely difficult.

"East Prairie has a good team," Chaffee head coach Charlie Vickery said after Friday's loss. "No question about that. Both of their running backs are good. Their line played very well also."

Vickery noted that tackling was the Red Devil's biggest shortcoming Friday.

"We did not do a very good job of tackling," he said. "We did not tackle nearly as well as we are capable of doing. But we have to give them (East Prairie) a lot of credit. They won in every aspect of the game."

Turnovers also prevented Chaffee from establishing an offensive rhythm.

"Turnovers really hurt us tonight," Vickery said. "You cannot have six turnovers and expect to do very well. We moved the ball well in the first half, but we could not convert because of turnovers and mistakes. We were able to move it, but you have to put it in the endzone."

Vickery said his squad used Fridays game as an opportunity to learn and improve.

"We have to get things turned around," he said. "I told my boys at half time, we have to start to work on next week this half. We have to get focused and come out more aggressive. But the thing about my boys is they are not going to quit. We had a bad night tonight against a good team. But we will learn from it, improve, and move on."