East Prairie slips in district standings after loss to Kennett

sports@standard-democrat.com

EAST PRAIRIE -- With a chance to lock up the second seed in the Class 2, District 1 standings, the East Prairie Eagles couldn't muster that same second half magic against Kennett they've had so often this season.

A dominant second quarter by junior quarterback Edward Wilson, who totaled six scores on the game, put the Indians on top by 30 points at the half as they rolled to a 56-20 turbo-clock win.

"We had some breakdowns on pass defense, but he's been a playmaker the last three weeks," Eagles' head coach Chad Jamerson said about Wilson. "We knew coming in if we could stop him, we felt like we'd give ourselves and opportunity to win. Unfortunately we couldn't stop him."

In only his fourth week under center, Wilson guided a Kennett (4-5) run-game that proved dominant all night long. He rushed 17 times for 136 yards and four scores in the first half alone for an impressive eight yard-per-carry average.

Wilson's success wasn't limited to the ground, going a perfect 5 for 5 through the air for 140 yards and a touchdown before the break.

After the two teams swapped touchdowns in the first quarter, allowing Kennett to take a 14-12 lead on extra-points, the Indians' breakthrough came in the final 12-minutes of the half.

Starting with a 35-yard score just 10 seconds into the second quarter, Wilson ran in four straight touchdowns for the Indians guiding them to a 28-0 run entering the locker room.

His second trip to the end zone came with 5:15 left in the half on a 48-yard run, followed by a 15-yard scoring sprint on Kennett's next possession.

One final five-yard touchdown run in the half with 19 seconds left put his team up 42-12 heading into the break.

"If it weren't for our lineman I couldn't have done it," Wilson said of his big night. "(That first half) we were blocking well and everyone was catching passes. Everyone was on the right track."

Lending to the Indians' offense racking up 326 first half yards was a defense that stifled the Eagles their first few series' and left Kennett in great field position consistently.

After starting their first drive on their own 33-yard line, the Indians opened every series the rest of the half on East Prairie's side of the field. This included twice inside the Eagles' 35-yard line.

"It helps whenever you're not backed up in your own territory and having to go 80 to 85 yards each time," Kennett head coach Aaron Pixley said. "It was good to get good field position and that's a testament to the defense. After the first three or four drives I thought our defense settled in and played the run very, very well.

"They did a good job putting pressure on the quarterback and forcing him to throw from different spots."

The Indians' defense held East Prairie to 110 yards in the first half, with 83 of those yards coming on a Brett Ellis touchdown pass to Mack Marcum late in the first quarter.

A 30-yard run from Jahaida Childress on Kennett's opening drive in the second half set the running clock in play less than a minute into the third quarter. Wilson capped his night with an eight-yard touchdown run early in the fourth to give the Indians a streak of 38-unanswered points.

"Defensively we didn't answer the bell," Jamerson said. "They were getting some good blocks and were able to roll up on our linebackers and they were able to control the line of scrimmage. When you can do that it takes us out of our defensive game plan.

"We like to use our line to keep guys off our linebackers because we have two pretty good ones that we feel can roam free. They weren't abel to run free tonight."

Kennett (4-5) out-gained the Eagles 493-185 in total yards with 352 yards coming on 36 carries for a 9.8 per-carry-average.

MC Hudson collected 73 yards on only four carries, including a 39-yard touchdown run on the Indians' opening drive.

Wilson finished his night with 149 yards and five scores on 19 carries while going 6 of 11 for 141 yards and a touchdown in the passing game. His favorite target, Fred Gooden, caught three passes for 94 yards.

"Our (first string) quarterback played a great game week one of the season and then tears his ACL," Pixley said of his team's quarterback troubles. "We're scrambling and trying to find guys that can play. We had a sophomore play pretty well for us in spurts and then we decided to go to Eddie.

"He's really a running back, but at the same time we work on the passing game everyday in practice and he had a good night there too. It all starts up front with those offensive lineman. If they don't do their job then our offense doesn't go."

For the Eagles (6-3), Deverence Jones carried eight times for a team-high 47 yards with Adrian Soto collecting 30 yards on 7 attempts. Ellis went 9 of 16 through the air for 136 yards, finding Mack Marcum five times for 124 yards and a score.

Though they end the regular season with a loss, East Prairie can take solace in the fact they're still guaranteed a first round playoff game at home next week. They drop to the third-seed in the district with Caruthersville overtaking them for the second-seed after staying close to Ste. Genevieve in a 21-17 loss Friday.

"6-3 so far this season is a heck of a lot better than 0-10 and 1-9 (the past two years)," Jamerson said. "We have some things we're very proud of and a six win season is one of them. To host a playoff is a special thing for us, so we want to come out and put the best product we can on the field."

Kennett 14 28 7 7 - 56

East Prairie 12 0 0 8 - 20

First Quarter

K -- Mc Hudson 39 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 4:08

E -- Adrian Soto 5 run (Chad Housman kick blocked), 3:11

K -- Edward Wilson 37 pass to Anthony Hawkins (Nathan Spence kick good), 1:09

E -- Brett Ellis 83 pass to Mack Marcum (Blayn Goodding run bad), 0:51

Second Quarter

K -- Edward Wilson 35 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 11:50

K -- Edward Wilson 48 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 5:15

K -- Edward Spence 15 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 3:21

K -- Edward Spence 5 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 0:19

Third Quarter

K -- Jahaida Childress 30 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 10:52

Fourth Quarter

K -- Edward Wilson 8 run (Nathan Spence kick good), 9:06

E -- Adrian Soto 1 run (Blayn Goodding run good), 4:01

__TEAM STATISTICS__

K E

Total Yards 493 185

Rushes-yards 36-352 25-49

Passing Yards 141 136

Comp.-Att.Int. 6-11-0 9-16-0

__INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS__

Rushing -- Kennett, Edward Wilson 19-149, Mc Hudson 4-73, Jahaida Childress 5-37, Joe Pittman 2-35, Fred Gooden 1-7, Anthony Hawkins 1-(-1), Azeon Nelson 3-17, Jaylean Kinnon 1-35; East Prairie, Brett Ellis 9-(-25), Deverence Jones 8-47, Adrian Soto 7-30, Blayn Goodding 1-(-3).

Passing -- Kennett, Edward Wilson 6-11-0 141; East Prairie, Brett Ellis 9-16-0 136.

Receiving -- Kennett, Fred Gooden 3-94, Anthony Hawkins 2-46, Michael Richmond 1-1; East Prairie, Jon Ross Slayden 1-7, Mack Marcum 5-124, Deverence Jones 3-15.