Portageville ends 32-game losing streak vs. Scott City

SCOTT CITY -- Scott City High School football coach Jim May hopes his rebuilding process doesn't take too long.

For Portageville coach Lee Wallace, a long and often painful rebuilding process appears to be paying off.

Portageville broke a 32-game losing streak Friday night in resounding fashion, routing the host Rams 35-0.

The Bulldogs, who last won in 2005, improved to 1-1.

"We're very proud," Wallace said. "It's amazing what a sniff of playing good ball can do for team morale.

"To finally get that first win, it finally shows the boys all that work and effort will pay dividends."

May, in his first season at his alma mater, hopes the same holds true for Scott City, which is young and inexperienced at most positions.

"I know everybody expects a lot of things, but it's going to take a while," said May, whose squad lost its opener 50-14 at Malden. "We're young and we're learning.

"We'll get there. It'll just take time."

May was encouraged that the Rams performed much better in the second half.

But there was little Scott City could do after falling behind 28-0 by the intermission.

"We got better in the second half," May said. "We're just trying to improve every game."

The Bulldogs also are young, with only three seniors listed on their roster.

Many of Portageville's players were thrown into the varsity fire as freshmen. They took their lumps but that experience now seems to be paying off.

"We're getting a little older, more experienced," said junior quarterback Caden Robbins, among those on varsity since he was a freshman. "We're looking to turn it around."

Robbins was as responsible as anybody for helping the Bulldogs break the losing streak.

Robbins, who is listed as 6 foot 5 and 205 pounds, burned Scott City with his arm and legs.

Robbins passed for 237 yards -- 219 in the first half -- and two touchdowns. He also ran for two scores while rushing for 84 yards on 10 carries.

"We were looking forward to it [Friday[']s game]," said Robbins, who also shined on defense and special teams. "We knew we had a chance. It feels good."

Scott City dug itself an early hole when, after being backed up on the game's opening possession, Robbins blocked a punt. It rolled out of the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 Portageville lead less than two minutes into the contest.

"We made some mistakes early and got behind the 8-ball," May said. "We knew Portageville was a lot better this year. They have some athletes. We knew it would be a challenge."

Robbins threw two touchdown passes later in the opening period -- including a 78-yarder to Tevin Walker -- as Portageville built a 14-0 lead.

A 1-yard Robbins run midway through the second quarter made it 21-0. Then came a sequence that all but put the victory on ice.

Scott City drove to near Portageville's 30-yard line late in the half when the Bulldogs recovered a fumble at the 40 with 1:33 remaining.

Portageville was able to navigate the 60 yards and Robbins scored from 7 yards out on the final play of the half.

That 28-0 lead was more than enough for the Bulldogs, who tacked on a fourth-quarter touchdown to complete the rout.

"To get a win and a shutout is extra special," Wallace said.

The Rams' highlight was 105 yards rushing on 22 carries by junior tailback Garett Schaefer, who had runs of 40 and 35 yards.

"We have some decent skill positions, but up front we're still trying to find our way," May said.

Scott City finished with only 116 yards of offense compared to 386 for Portageville, but the Bulldogs had just 70 second-half yards.

Portageville 14 14 0 7 -- 35

Scott City 0 0 0 0 -- 0

First Quarter

P -- Safety, Scott City punt blocked out of end zone, 10:19

P -- Tevin Walker 78 pass from Caden Robbins (pass failed), 4:49

P -- Lee Wallace 10 pass from Robbins (kick failed), 2:35

Second Quarter

P -- Robbins 1 run (Oshea Minnis kick), 6:52

P -- Robbins 7 run (Minnis kick), 0:00

Fourth Quarter

P -- Dominique Walker 5 run (Minnis kick), 5:28

P SC

First downs 12 7

Rushes-yards 29-149 39-105

Passing yards 237 11

Passes 13-24-0 2-12-0

Punts 5-29 9-25

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-1

Penalties-Yards 7-70 10-75

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Portageville, Robbins 10-84, D. Walker 14-65, T. Walker 3-4, Denzell Simmons 1-3, team 1-minus 7. Scott City, Garett Schaefer 22-105, Alex Eichhorn 6-33, Brandon Deprow 4-11, Ben De Los Santos 4-minus 34, team 3-minus 10.

PASSING -- Portageville, Robbins 13-24-237-0. Scott City, De Los Santos 2-12-11-0.

RECEIVING -- Portageville, T. Walker 5-114, Wallace 5-53, Isaac Ray 3-70. Scott City, Eichhorn 1-8, Schaefer 1-3.