Rams benefit from late fumble, hold off Grandview

Scott City once again jumped on the back of its defense and slowly rammed their way to a 12-8 victory over Grandview on Friday night.

Of course, it helps when your opponents can't hold on to the ball.

Both teams struggled with fumbles, including one that clinched the game for the Rams (3-5) in the first week of Class 2, District 1 competition.

With just under five minutes and six yards from a go-ahead touchdown the Eagles (2-6) fumbled the snap and gave Scott City the ball.

"We had a lot of offensive opportunities but penalties and turnovers just killed our drives," Eagles coach Chris Woelich said.

But Scott City had its own problems early on.

The Rams fumbled on their first two possessions of the game. The first came on just the third play from scrimmage. Grandview took full advantage of the first turnover, marching down the field and scoring on their first possession.

"We lost momentum right off the bat. We had two good runs and then we went flat. But the kids hung in there," Scott City coach Jason Burkman said.

An interception from Chris Pequeno in the second quarter led to Scott City's first points of the game. Quarterback Luke McClellan scored on a one-yard sneak to pull the Rams within two.

"Our offense has gone in spurts all year. We haven't had those killing shots we need," Burkman said.

Scott City got one of those killing shots on their first possession of the second half. On third down with three yards to go McClellan threw a 44-yard pass to Chad Weatherspoon. The "killing shot" set up a 10-yard run by Jason Umfleet just plays later to put Scott City ahead for good.

"I couldn't have done it without my line. The hole was huge it was amazing," Umfleet said of his score.

It wasn't the Eagles flight that was the main concern of the Scott City defense but rather Grandview's running game, which rushed for 151 yards.

"Overall I was pleased with defensive effort and the way we contained the quarterback," Burkman said.

The Ram defense came up big with three sacks, a interception and a fumble.

"We're battling a lot of mental stuff right now, we have to get everybody on the same page," Woelich said. "But give credit to Scott City, they hung in there and got the job done."