RAMS PUT ON COMPLETELY NEW GAME FACE IN 44-6 ROMP OVER PORTAGEVILLE (PREP NOTES)

Scott City showed its mean, ugly face -- not its red face -- Friday night.

One week after being embarrassed 30-0 by Malden in the season opener, the Rams showed no mercy on Portageville in a 44-6 romp.

"We got focused and eliminated some mistakes and did a good job in developing a game plan to prevent Portageville doing to us what Malden did," Scott City coach Roy Williams said. "We just did things right. Last week, we struggled and fumbled and did all kinds of goofy, crazy things. This week, everything clicked."

Scott City collected 270 yards on the ground and used eight running backs -- none with more than 75 yards -- to do it.

Three Scott City backs -- Scott Johnston, Matt Underwood and Marcus Klund -- had at least 48 yards on the ground.

Underwood led the team with 75 yards, but left the game after suffering a minor ankle injury once the game was already decided.

St. Vincent keeps rolling

Dating back to the beginning of last season, the St. Vincent Indians have won 15 of their last 16 games.

And St. Vincent shows no signs of slowing down.

The Class 1A Indians picked up another win over a larger school Friday night, shutting out Class 3A Fredericktown 17-0.

St. Vincent has, in its first two games this season, allowed only 14 points.

"I am pleased with the defense," said St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer. "They're doing a great job and they get fired up to play. That's what it takes: a total team effort."

If there is a negative in this year's Indian club so far, it is that in each of its first two games, St. Vincent has struggled in the first half.

St. Vincent trailed going into the fourth quarter in its season opener and was knotted 0-0 with Fredericktown at halftime this past Friday night.

"We had some problems in the first half with some penalties that stopped some drives," Sauer said. "We played fairly well the second half."

Jonathan Paulus was 8-for-15 for 121 yards and one touchdown. His main target was Ryan Prost, who caught four passes for 45 yards. But the biggest completion of the night was a 41-yard touchdown strike to Cory Strattman with about 5:40 left in the third quarter.

Sikeston second quarter secures win

Sikeston used a 26-point second quarter Friday night and held off Charleston 38-26 in one of the oldest rivalries west of the Mississippi.

Charleston got out on top first, but Bulldog running back Justin Robinson could not be contained.

Robinson ran for 210 yards on 20 carries and scored four touchdowns -- including three in the second quarter.

Robinson scored on a 4-yard run, a 79-yard punt return, a 27-yard pass and an 80-yard run.

In all, Sikeston -- which was shut out 35-0 against Jackson in its season opener -- rushed for 359 yards.

Charleston (0-2) was led by sophomore fullback Jordy Mixon, who ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries. Sophomore tailback Dontay Clark ran the ball nine times for 109 yards.

Charleston will host Caruthersville next Friday night, while Sikeston plays at Dexter.

Chaffee was just plain worn out

The Red Devils' 33-6 loss to Gosnell, Ark. Friday night was much closer than the score indicated.

Chaffee trailed just 6-0 at halftime and 19-6 midway through the third quarter.

According to Chaffee coach Allan Horrell, the Red Devils held up the dam as long as possible.

"They wore us down," Horrell said. "We were holding our own, especially in the first half. We had it in the red zone a couple of times, we just couldn't punch it in. Midway through the third quarter, we wore out. They didn't even have to throw the ball on us. They kept hammering and hammering.

"In the fourth quarter, they started breaking the long ones. Before that, we were making them earn it."

Chaffee running back Tommy Stidham had another excellent night. He carried the ball 16 times for 121 yards. The Red Devils had just 122 rushing yards total. Stidham rushed for 159 yards last week. And, like last week, Stidham had a huge chunk of yardage subtracted from his total after two nice runs were called back on a penalty.

Chaffee will host Piggott, Ark. next Friday night.

Perryville four plays away

Perryville's special teams weren't so special Friday night and it cost the Pirates a 25-22 loss to Ste. Genevieve.

The Pirates allowed a kickoff and punt return for touchdowns.

"We didn't come out in the first half and play," said Perryville coach Jerry Tucker. "We left our game in the locker room."

Perryville was down 19-0 after the first half, then proceeded to outscore the Dragons 22-6 in the second half, thanks largely to a huge night from running back Shawn Statler.

Statler ran for 217 yards on 17 carries and scored all three of Perryville's touchdowns.

It wasn't enough, though, as the special-teams breakdowns and two costly penalties late in the game were too much to overcome.

"We played a fairly solid game," Tucker said. "We had a couple of penalties come at crucial times. Four plays basically cost us the game. We had to fight our way out in the second half and we just ran out of time."