SportsOctober 6, 2023
Caruthersville and Alexander ‘the Great’ conquer Charleston 54-6
CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. — Jermonte Alexander ‘the Great' doesn't merely play football; he commands the battlefield like a true conqueror. Employing a diverse array of tactics, the Caruthersville standout strategically stormed the end zone four times, employing four distinct maneuvers, and the Tigers’ (4-3) dominance was evident in the final score, with a resounding 54-6 victory over the Charleston Bluejays at Hopke Field on Thursday, October 5...
By Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat
CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. — Jermonte Alexander ‘the Great' doesn't merely play football; he commands the battlefield like a true conqueror. Employing a diverse array of tactics, the Caruthersville standout strategically stormed the end zone four times, employing four distinct maneuvers, and the Tigers’ (4-3) dominance was evident in the final score, with a resounding 54-6 victory over the Charleston Bluejays at Hopke Field on Thursday, October 5.
“[Alexander] is special,” said Caruthersville coach Dominick Guglielmo. “He’s a once-in-a-generation talent. That kid can do it all and that’s the kind of game that separates him from other people. I’m proud of his composure and the way he played. That kid didn’t come out of the game for a single break or nothing. He was in there working his tail off all night and showed everybody in the area why he deserved to be first-team all-state last year.”
Alexander made his presence known on Caruthersville’s first play from scrimmage, snatching a 44-yard pass out of the air from Ryan Guest to set up Sammy Bryant’s 11-yard rushing touchdown on the next play. The score gave the Tigers a 6-0 advantage just 21 seconds into the game.
On the next drive, Alexander picked off a pass on fourth down to give Caruthersville the ball back, and the Tigers extended their lead to 14-0 on a 57-yard touchdown pass from Guest to Abeyon Motton, who made a one-handed grab down the left sideline.
“Abeyon Motton has the best hands in the area,” Guglielmo said. “That kid can catch anything near him and he’s the king of the one-armed grab.”
Charleston’s offensive struggles continued, leading to a punt that was returned about 55 yards for a touchdown by Alexander with three minutes and 21 seconds left in the opening quarter. Motton caught the punt and handed the ball off to Alexander on a well-executed reverse to spark the scoring play.
“[This win] means a lot to everyone,” Guglielmo said. “We’ve had a tough four-game stretch. We were on the road for four straight weeks against some quality opponents. So it was great to see these players excited to come home to our stadium with a little rain and under our lights and bring it home.”
Following another Charleston punt, Guest found Motton again, this time for a
27-yard touchdown strike to increase the lead to 28-0 with 54.3 seconds in the first quarter.
Charleston Zachyran Thomas returned the kickoff for a big gain, setting up the Bluejays’ lone score, a CJ Kimble’s 4-yard touchdown, which narrowed the lead to 28-6 with 7:58 left in the second quarter.
Caruthersville quickly answered with a touchdown drive, capped by a 32-yard pass from Guest to Alexander to widen the lead to 34-6 with 5:30 left in the first half. Bryant made an incredible second effort to convert a fourth-and-1 on the drive, extending the Tigers’ possession and setting up the touchdown catch.
“[Bryant] is a sophomore but he’s built and composed like a senior,” Guglielmo said. “He fought, ran hard and kept his cool. I’m proud of the way he played too.”
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Despite a promising start to the second half, Charleston’s offense was unable to overcome penalties, punting after a long drive stalled out.
“We have a great defensive coordinator,” Guglielmo said. “He schemed them up perfectly and those kids matched his intensity, which if you know anything about [coach Brad Treece] that’s pretty hard. Those guys came in a played physical and they wanted to smack some people around inside the box, and they did.
“Early on, that was a backbreaker,” he continued. “When [Charleston] wasn’t able to get offensive production on the plays they ran well last week, that was what set us apart.”
Alexander continued his incredible performance by displaying his breakaway speed on a 90-yard touchdown run on the next drive, making it 41-6 with 1:50 left in the third quarter and inflicting the running clock mercy rule.
“My offensive line did a great job tonight,” Guglielmo said. “If we had time to pass or holes to run through, that’s the offensive line. Nearly every big play starts at the offensive line. In every program, those guys go under the radar.
“Our offensive line has faced some adversity this year going against the solid defensive lines,” he continued. “This week they rose to the challenge against a big strong defensive line from Charleston. They have produced well and I’m proud of them.”
Alexander had already scored three touchdowns in three different ways, but he wasn’t done yet. On the next drive, he picked off a pass and returned it 90 yards for his fourth touchdown, a fourth different way.
“The best part of coaching is when you win a game and you can look down your bench and see everyone smiling in unison,” Guglielmo said. “You can’t beat that. I’m proud of how everyone performed. They kept their cool and there were big plays everywhere. You can’t ask for a better night.”
Guest’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Bryant with 7:19 remaining in the game was the exclamation point on Caruthersville’s dominant victory, putting the finishing touches on a lopsided score of 54-6.
Guest finished the game completing 8-of-12 pass attempts for 219 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
“We saw an opportunity for us to throw the ball around and the big thing was that they were not expecting it,” Guglielmo said. “Most teams expect us to pound it between the tackles and we wanted to prove to the teams on the rest of our schedule that we can air it out.”
Caruthersville will host East Prairie (2-4) on Friday, October 13.
“I’m just proud of our kids for rising to the occasion,” Guglielmo concluded. “We’re undefeated at home but we have two tough opponents coming up. East Prairie is no slouch and Hayti is a rivalry game. We’re excited for next week.”
Charleston will host Scott City (4-2) on Thursday, October 12.
“I was proud of our young guys for stepping up due to our three starting defensive backs and receivers being out,” said Charleston coach Justin Hutchings. “We came out very flat in the first half and was not pleased. We have a lot of things to fix and we need to get focused on next week for a great Scott City team.”
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