RAMS WANT TO CLEAR UP LONE BLEMISH IN SECTIONAL

MALDEN -- Scott City has one blemish on its outstanding season this year a 30-0 loss to Malden.

Quite frankly, the Rams are sick of reading and hearing about it.

But one way or the other, Scott City will silence the questions and statements made about that game tonight (7 p.m. kickoff) when it takes on the Green Wave in a sectional contest at Malden. Either the Rams will avenge that loss and dismiss it as a fluke or their season will end.

Scott City's season opener was one of the most bizarre games of the season in all of Southeast Missouri not so much because the Rams lost, but because of how bad they lost.

Everything that has happened since Week 1 seems to indicate that the Rams, not the 10th-ranked Green Wave (8-2) are the better team.

Although the Rams were learning a new system under first-year coach Roy Williams, Williams still isn't sure why his team played the way it did back on Sept. 3."There is no way to figure it out," Williams said. "It's like falling up the stairs. How do you explain how you did that? It was just a bad scene all the way around for us."That whole trip started out wrong. We were 15 minutes late; it was so hot; some kids didn't have equipment ready. I think the bus driver was about the only one who didn't pass out on the way down there. The inside of the (lockerroom) building was about 95 and we were all groggy. We ran around like we were half asleep. We were tentative and we just didn't play well at all."So Week 1 was a debacle. But this week figures to be a different story."I'm sure they'll be up for this game," Williams said. "They realize what the next step is and they'll have a big crowd there. They'll be pumped up and prepared for us. They know we're a little bit better than we were when we played them the first time. I expect a good game."So does Malden coach Mike Ivie."This game can go anywhere from a 35-34 ballgame or a 7-0 game. That's how even both of us are. Both teams have really good running backs, good quarterbacks and receivers to complement them also, so no telling how this game will come out."Since Week 1, Scott City has fared better than Malden against common opponents. The Green Wave struggled to beat Chaffee (19-12), Charleston (41-32) and Caruthersville (19-13), while Scott City beat each of those teams by at least 28 points.

Malden, though, has played a much tougher schedule, which includes Class 3A schools New Madrid, Dexter and Kennett.

While Scott City has rolled over its last nine opponents to the tune of 361-25, it has been setting its sights on Malden to show the Green Wave what it is really made of."We've been waiting for this the whole season, just to get back to them," said Scott City running back David Enderle after the Rams' 38-6 win over Charleston last Friday night. "I think it will be a close game. Real close and real tough. That first game, we had a new coach and we had to get comfortable with the system. We've got it down now."While Scott City will be trying to redeem a regular-season loss, Malden has some revenge of its own to think about."They're mad at us after Week 1's game, but we're not happy about last year's playoff loss to them neither," Ivie said. "We would like to be the one's moving on this time."Malden's offense is spearheaded by quarterback Conrad Ivie. He has completed 41 of 110 passes for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Brian Benford is one of the best all-around running backs in the area with 1,523 yards rushing and 284 yards receiving. He has 20 touchdowns this season.

Lance Shearrer is Malden's top receiving threat. He has 19 catches this season for 446 yards (23.3 yards per catch).Shearrer didn't play in the season opener."He makes a difference," Williams said. "He's one of the better receivers in the bootheel. He's real aggressive and will fight for the ball. He's a class above most of the receivers out there."Scott City has a dual running threat of Matt Underwood and Enderle in the backfield.

Underwood has rushed for 1,192 yards and 19 touchdowns on 172 attempts this season. Enderle has run the ball 73 times for 526 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Perhaps the most underrated player for Scott City is quarterback Scott Johnston. Johnston has passed for 756 yards on 42-of-79 passing and is also a running threat. He has thrown for seven touchdowns and run for eight.