Briefly: Scott City football team beats St. Vincent for first win of season

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Scott City overcame five turnovers and a blocked punt in recording a sloppy 26-7 victory over St. Vincent in a game completed in a driving rain Friday night.

St. Vincent, which led 7-0 after the first quarter, helped level the playing field with four first-half interceptions and accumulated 11 penalties for 106 yards in the game.

The Rams, who evened their record at 1-1, used two touchdown passes from sophomore Ty Wilthong to fellow sophomore Braden Cox after interceptions in the second quarter to take a 14-7 lead into halftime. The latter score came on a 7-yard pass with 10 seconds before intermission, capping an 85-yard drive.

Scott City took control of the game in the third quarter with a 69-yard drive that ended in Caleb Sykes' 10-yard, tackle-breaking TD run down the left sideline with 3:20 left in the period. It came on the Rams' first offensive possession of the third quarter. Scott City had fumbled the punt return after stopping St. Vincent on its initial possession of the second half.

Penalties and the Rams's defense pushed St. Vincent backwards on its first two possessions in the second half, which started at the St. Vincent 45 and the Scott City 33.

The Rams lost Wilthong to an ankle injury on the final play of the third quarter, but Sykes, a senior, directed the Rams to a game-clinching 33-yard scoring drive with 6:09 left in the game. Jake Elders provided the game's final TD on a 4-yard run.

St. Vincent fell to 0-2 on the season.

Sykes finished the night with 136 yards rushing on 19 carries, while Wilthong had seven catches for 60 yards.