Scott City football team suffers fifth straight loss

Garett Schaefer didn't take on the entire Hayti football team by himself Friday night.

It only seemed that way.

Schaefer, Scott City's small but tough and fast senior tailback, rushed for 238 yards and scored two touchdowns.

The rest of the Rams managed just 17 yards of offense as Hayti handed host Scott City its fifth straight loss, 52-14.

Scott City fell to 1-6 overall and finished its SEMO South Conference schedule 0-5 as the Rams are assured last place.

Hayti improved to 5-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEMO South as the Indians clinched at least a tie for the conference title.

"Our kids came out focused," Hayti coach David Gilmore said. "We knew if we won, we'd have a piece of the conference wrapped up."

Schaefer said the Rams also came out focused despite the lopsided result.

"We came out and played really hard. The scoreboard doesn't show it, but we played our hearts out," Schaefer said.

Scott City coach Jim May was quick to point out that the 5-foot-7, 122-pound Schaefer always plays his heart out.

"He's a tough kid. He plays hard," May said.

Schaefer, who carried 33 times, scored on a 38-yard run in the first quarter and on a 10-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also kicked both extra points.

Schaefer, in going over 200 yards for the third time this year -- his high was 261 yards against St. Vincent in Week 2 -- eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. He has 1,038 yards.

"I'd rather have a winning record, but it's nice and it shows our line is blocking really well," Schaefer said.

While Schaefer was virtually all of Scott City's offense, the explosive Indians received contributions from a variety of sources.

Senior running back Demonta Abbott did a lot of the damage with 21 carries for 190 yards and four touchdowns. Abbott has nearly 800 yards this year.

"He's a really good player," Gilmore said.

The Indians piled up 277 yards on the ground while averaging 7.5 yards per rush.

"This is our best rushing performance of the year," Gilmore said.

Hayti also threw the ball well as junior quarterback Dardan Balazi completed 4 of 5 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown, all in the first half.

Balazi was involved in about the only negative moment of the game for the Indians when he suffered a knee injury midway through the second quarter. He spent the rest of the night on the sidelines with ice covering the knee.

Gilmore was hopeful that Balazi was not hurt seriously. More should be known in the next day or two.

"We don't know the situation yet. We hope we can get some good news," Gilmore said.

Hayti scored on its first four possessions and five of its six first-half possessions to build a 36-7 halftime lead.

The only time the Indians didn't score in the opening half was when Balazi was hurt during a drive deep into Scott City territory.

Hayti had 312 yards at halftime, led by Abbott's 151 yards. Schaefer had 173 yards at the intermission. The rest of the team lost 1 yard.

"We're banged up pretty good, but there are no excuses," said May, whose squad was missing several regulars due to injury. "We couldn't make any tackles. We moved the ball but we just couldn't sustain drives."

Hayti scored on its first possession of the third quarter to go up 44-7 as most of the second half was played with a running clock put in use when there is a lead of 35 or more points.

After Hayti grabbed an 8-0 lead on the game's opening possession -- the Indians went for 2-point conversions after every touchdown -- Scott City answered right away with a 65-yard drive capped by Schaefer's 38-yard run.

After that it was pretty much all Hayti. Scott City didn't score again until the Indians had built a 44-7 lead. Schaefer's 10-yard run early in the fourth quarter made it 44-14.

"They're a good ballclub," May said of the Indians.

Hayti finished with 390 yards compared to 255 for Scott City. The Rams did not complete a pass in the contest.

But despite their recent struggles, Schaefer said the Rams remain confident entering all-important Class 2 District 2 play that begins Friday at home against Crystal City.

"I still believe we have a talented team," May said. "We just haven't put it together."

Hayti 22 14 8 8 -- 52

Scott City 7 0 0 7 -- 14

First Quarter

H -- Kanard Humes 20 pass from Dardan Balazi (Byron Norris run), 9:57

SC -- Garett Schaefer 38 run (Schaefer kick), 7:55

H -- Demonta Abbott 8 run (A.D. Hamilton pass from Balazi), 6:44

H -- Norris 3 run (pass failed), 3:37

Second Quarter

H -- Abbott 15 run (run failed), 11:51

H -- Abbott 32 run (Jermel Covington run), 0:35

Third Quarter

H -- Humes 24 run (Covington run), 7:31

Fourth Quarter

SC -- Schaefer 10 run (Schaefer kick), 11:51

H -- Abbott 1 run (Norris run), 7:25

H SC

First downs 18 12

Rushes-yards 37-277 44-255

Passing yards 113 0

Passes 4-5-0 0-0-0

Punts 0 1-40

Fumbles-Lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-Yards 2-10 5-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Hayti, Abbott 21-190, Humes 9-47, Norris 6-31, Covington 1-9. Scott City, Schaefer 33-238, Alex Eichhorn 6-9, Jacob Underwood 2-13, Travis Phillips 2-1, Jamie Scholz 1-minus 6.

PASSING -- Hayti, Balazi 4-5-0-113. Scott City, Scholz 0-9-0, Jonathan McFall 0-2-0, Schaefer 0-1-0.

RECEIVING -- Hayti, Jerome Thomas 2-48, Hamilton 1-45, Humes 1-20.