Scott City closes season with 37-14 loss to Charleston

For the second time this season, Scott City's football team was victimized by a freshman running back.

First it was Paris Tipler of East Prairie in the third week of the season. Friday night at Scott City it was Charleston's Joseph Watts who got the best of the Rams.

Watts rushed for 252 yards on 27 carries to lead the Blue Jays to a 37-14 win in the season finale for both teams.

"We had a game plan. We were executing it. We just had some turnovers that hurt us and Charleston capitalized," Scott City coach Jackie Johnson said.

Scott City (3-7) could not convert on a fourth down in its own territory on its first drive and gave the Blue Jays (5-5) good field position. Watts covered the 36 yards on six carries to give Charleston a 7-0 lead.

The Rams knotted the score at 7-7 with a 72-yard run by senior Joe Brunner on an inside hand-off on Scott City's next possession. That was about all the offense Scott City could manage in the first half, as the Rams failed to get another first down.

"We just made some blocking mistakes," Johnson said. "We made some adjustments in the second half."

Charleston closed the half with two touchdowns and a field goal for a 24-7 halftime lead.

Scott City's 1,000-yard rusher Matt Schaefer finally got something going in the second half after only rushing for seven yards in the first half. With a couple of good runs Schaefer pushed the Rams down the field and quarterback Luke McClellan hit Jason Schenimann on a 31-yard pass play for Scott City's final score.

Johnson said he appreciated all the hard work the seniors put in learning their new system and is looking forward to providing stability to the program in the future.

"We've got a good group coming back next year," he said. "We're going to work hard this offseason and I've made a commitment that I'm going to be here for these kids. I don't want them to go through four coaches in four years, too."