Injuries leave Scott City coaches adjusting on the fly

DEXTER – Scott City High School football coach Jim May has been in the business long enough to grasp that he has to be prepared for anything, and he exhibited that on Friday at Charles Bland Stadium in Dexter.

The Rams battled the host Bearcats until the final minutes, before falling 26-14, as May had to plug holes in his lineup throughout the evening due to injury after injury after injury.

“It is what it is,” May said of his night.

May watched as senior Tyler Braun got hurt, junior wide receiver Andrew Hayden landed awkwardly and injured his ankle, and others (from both teams) dealt with cramping throughout the night due to the excessive heat. However, no injury was as impactful as when Scott City senior quarterback Mark Panagos injured his left hamstring following a nice run into the red zone early in the game.

“It affects both sides of the ball and on special teams,” May said of Panagos’s injury.

Panagos, who initially missed a play due to the injury, is not only the starting quarterback, but he is also an impact player defensively, with punts, and kicks for the Rams. He is so good that Southeast Missouri State is monitoring his performance this fall.

“You never know when your name is going to be called,” May said. “You better be ready.”

Panagos tried to play through his injury throughout the first half and even had some moments that were admirable.

When healthy, he hit classmate Tyson Underwood for a 70-yard score to put Scott City up 7-0 just minutes into the game. But even after his injury, though he couldn’t run, Panagos still connected with Underwood for a 44-yard screen play from the Rams’ own one-yard line.

A few plays later, on a third-and-long, Panagos threw to Kobe Watson to move the chains for a first down, and later gained another first down on a nice toss (off one leg) to Hayden.

“It hurts when Mark isn’t there,” May explained, “because Mark runs the offense. We had trouble getting our running game going just because of how it was set up.

“It is what it is. You’ve got to be able to fight through adversity.”

Panagos didn’t dress in the second half and finished his frustrating night with just two carries for 14 yards two completions for 153 yards and one score.

Defensively, Panagos made three tackles, including one for a loss, though he only played for a very limited time.

Panagos hasn’t enjoyed a healthy off-season.

At a SEMO Prospect Camp, he wasn’t able to compete, aside from running one sprint, after injuring his hamstring at an earlier prospect camp at Pittsburgh State.

“I’m pretty proud of how we fought and how we played,” May said. “We had freshmen in spots at times that played admirably. We could have laid down and probably gotten beat by 30, but we were in the ball game and had a shot to win it in the end.

“We’ve got to get better. We’ve got to get our guys on the field.”

The Rams will host St. Vincent on Friday at 7 p.m.