Hayti hands Scott City 27-3 conference loss at home

Scott City football coach Terry Flannigan's three goals in his first year back as head coach were to finish with a winning record, win the conference and win the district.

While the Rams' 27-3 home loss to Hayti on Friday may have cost them the outright SEMO Conference Southern Division title -- Scott City is guaranteed a share of the conference and could still win it outright with a Hayti loss to Chaffee -- Flannigan will settle for two out of three.

"That's what we talked about," Flannigan said of his team's postgame huddle. "If we're going to stub our toe, we picked the right time to do it."

After six straight wins in which the Rams (6-1) dominated the line of scrimmage, Hayti did the banging up front on Friday. The Indians (3-3) used 6-foot, 220-pound fullback Dominque Robinson to open holes for tailback Tremayne Pickens, along with handing out some beatings of his own.

Robinson opened the scoring with a 45-yard touchdown run on an inside handoff and finished with 85 yards on nine carries. Pickens ultimately finished with 121 yards on 22 carries.

"When you control the line of scrimmage, good things happen on offense and defense. Tonight, we didn't control the line of scrimmage," Flannigan said.

Scott City's problems went beyond the line of scrimmage. The Rams committed four turnovers -- two fumbles and two interceptions. Mark Johnston's lone interception was returned 25 yards for a touchdown by Shadrecus Jones, and Matt Schaefer lost a fumble inside the Hayti 10-yard line with the Rams down 14-3.

Flannigan said the Rams can't afford to make mistakes like they did on Friday.

"We're the type of team we need to get a little help," he said.

Hayti continued its recent domination of the Rams. The Indians have not lost to Scott City since 1999. Josh White added a 1-yard touchdown for Hayti, and Pickens finished the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown run.

The Indians have now won two straight heading into district play next week. Hayti will host Valle (6-1) in its district opener.

"Hopefully we're putting things together at the right time," Hayti coach Kirk Welch said.

Despite three turnovers -- two fumbles and an interception on a halfback pass -- Schaefer managed to surpass the 100-yard mark for the seventh straight time this season. Schaefer finished with 106 yards on 22 carries. Schaefer also added a 43-yard field goal for Scott City's lone score.

"This kids have got to get up, brush themselves off and get ready for next week," Flannigan said.