SCOTT CITY AVENGES EARLY SEASON LOSS IN 2A SECTIONALS 42-12

MALDEN -- Scott City High's Rams have insisted all along that they are a much different football team than the one that lost to Malden 30-0 in the season opener.

Wednesday night, the Rams went ahead and proved it -- emphatically.

The Rams avenged that earlier setback with a dominating 42-12 victory over the host Green Wave in a Class 2A sectional playoff game.

For the Rams, it was their 10th straight triumph since the opening-game setback. During the winning streak, Scott City has outscored the opposition 358 to 37."I think we made a statement tonight," said Scott City coach Roy Williams, whose squad will host Lutheran North Monday night in the 2A quarterfinals. That game will be a rematch from last year, when the Crusaders beat the Rams in the quarterfinals.

Continued Williams, remembering that the Rams handed the Green Wave six turnovers during the earlier meeting, "We wanted to come back here and show people that we don't play as poorly as what we did the first time. I was so sick of listening to everybody talk about what they did to us the first time."Said Scott City running back David Enderle, "I think we proved to everybody that the first game was a fluke."Regardless of what happened in Malden way back on Sept. 3, most people were expecting a close game in the rematch. But it never materialized as the Rams led 28-6 at halftime and breezed past the Green Wave (8-3)."We jumped all over them and played a great game," said Scott City quarterback Scott Johnston. "The offensive line did a great job. Wade Powers did a great job of getting the line focused. They just dominated."Williams couldn't have agreed more, saying, "Our line really took control, on both sides of the ball. They did a fantastic job."With the line paving the way, Johnston, Enderle and running back Matt Underwood all had big nights, as has been the case most of the season.

Underwood rushed for 147 yards on 17 carries and scored three touchdowns, on runs of 6, 1 and 77 yards."The line played super," said Underwood, who also recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. "Everybody did. We wanted to come down here and show what kind of team we had."Enderle rushed for 103 yards on 12 carries, intercepted a pass and had a big 56-yard punt return.

Johnston gained 51 yards on eight attempts, scoring two touchdowns on a pair of 4-yard runs and hitting Rafe Camp with a 4-yard TD pass.

Lucas Ward kicked the extra point after all six touchdowns.

All told, the Rams rushed for 370 yards and had 402 yards of total offense. Malden's explosive backfield was limited to 91 yards on the ground, led by the speedy Brian Benford with 84 yards. The Green Wave finished with 220 total yards.

Things were so lopsided in the second half that Williams actually got to rest many of his key starters for virtually the entire fourth quarter, which was definitely not expected. Backup tailback Marcus Klund, a sophomore who is a key defensive player, was able to rush for 50 yards in the late going.

Perhaps the game's key sequence came in the latter stages of the first half, when the outcome was still in doubt.

Malden, trailing 14-6, was driving toward a potential touchdown when Underwood recovered a fumble at the Scott City 7-yard line.

The Rams proceeded to march 93 yards -- Enderle had an unbelievable 43-yard run on the drive -- and Johnston scored from four yards out to make it 21-6 with 2:47 left before halftime.

Malden was forced to punt from deep in its own territory on its next possession and Enderle had a 56-yard return to the Green Wave 9-yard line. Two plays later, Underwood scored from one yard out with 47 seconds left, making it 28-6."That was a huge turn of events," Williams said. "That long drive had to demoralize them, and then we get another touchdown before the half."Malden pulled to within 28-12 early in the second half, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed a few moments later when Underwood broke off his 77-yard TD gallop down the left sideline. That basically ended things.