Scott City runs over host St. Vincent 42-21 in football action

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Scott City running back Garett Schaefer admits that his school inflates his numbers.

Listed at 140 pounds in the program, the 5-foot-7 senior acknowledged with a sheepish smile after Friday night's 42-21 victory against St. Vincent that he weighs in at 122 pounds.

"I think it's to intimidate people," the diminutive Schaefer said jokingly as he stood with his pads off after the game. "I take the pads off and I shrink pretty much."

With his pads on, Schaefer did his best to advance the inflated-number and intimidation strategy Friday night against the Indians.

Scott City's No. 22 stood head and shoulders above all others, rushing for a career-high 261 yards and scoring three touchdowns as the Rams claimed their first win of 2010.

Schaefer scored the game's first points on a 25-yard burst in the first quarter that helped Scott City (1-1) to a 28-0 lead. He later added touchdown runs of 34 and 66 yards in the third quarter.

"He's a little beast is what he is," Scott City quarterback Jamie Scholz said. "That kid has more heart than anyone I know."

Schaefer's 23 rush attempts ranged from short plunges into the line to his highlight reel 66-yard touchdown in which he beat the defense to the right corner then cut back across the field and finished the jaunt down the left sideline.

"He puts on a show," St. Vincent coach Paul Sauer said. "That young man has got a lot of talent. He's very quick and agile. He made some of them look pretty foolish, grabbing for air."

Schaefer, who rushed for 1,052 yards last season, already has rushed for 466 yards in two games. He said he's faster and stronger than a year ago, as well as more experienced.

"I'm a lot more confident because last year was my first year of varsity experience," Schaefer said. "I had a lot of jitters in a lot of games, but this year I know what I'm looking forward to and what I'm getting myself into. I think I'm ready."

Schaefer, who rushed for a then-career high 205 yards in last week's overtime loss to Malden, rushed his non-program weight by halftime against St. Vincent (0-2), then ripped off 130 yards in the third quarter.

"He's a quick little fool," Scott City coach Jim May said. "He runs better in traffic than any back I've ever coached, maybe than I've ever seen at the high school level. When he gets in the middle of all those players, they're all big and he's so little I guess he's hard to find and he can just find a hole."

Schaefer's play has been part of an overall improvement for the Rams, who lost their first four games last season and finished 2-8.

"We're light years from where we were last year," Schaefer said. "We're a completely changed team."

The Rams were opportunistic and often struck without warning against St. Vincent.

Schaefer's first-quarter touchdown run came on the first play after St. Vincent's first possession of the game ended with a snap sailing over the head of St. Vincent punter Phillip Ernst. The Rams took over at the Indians' 25 and Schaefer covered the distance on a pitch to the right side.

St. Vincent fumbled a pitch on its next possession and Rams linebacker Alex Eichhorn scooped up the ball near midfield and scored for a 14-0 lead at 2:06 of the first quarter.

Scott City upped the lead to 21-0 in the second quarter when Scholz, on third-and-10, lofted a play-action pass down the center of the field to Brett Dirnberger, who got behind the secondary.

Scott City added a 29-yard touchdown run by Eichhorn with 4:22 left in the half for a 28-0 lead.

St. Vincent, which had struggled running the ball, then turned to the arm of junior quarterback Tim Schumer in its two-minute spread offense. Schumer, operating mostly out of the shotgun, passed 12 times on a 14-play drive that ended in a 10-yard scoring pass to Ryan Boxdorfer on fourth down. Schumer had eight straight completions at one point in the drive, and five of his nine completions on the drive went to Boxdorfer.

Boxdorfer, a senior who has not played football since his freshman year, finished the game with 10 catches for 149 yards.

"Ryan came up big tonight," Schumer said. "He surprised me actually. He did really good. ... He's a lot like Kyle [Rollet] last year. Nobody knows about him. He's a big target, he's pretty quick and he's got good hands."

St. Vincent threatened to draw closer at the start of the second half when Boxdorfer pulled in a 12-yard pass that gave the Indians a first down at the Scott City 29. But Scott City linebacker Hunter Griffith intercepted Schumer on the next play, and Schaefer ripped off a 34-yard touchdown run two plays later for a 35-6 lead.

Schaefer turned in his 68-yard run on the Rams' next possession for a 42-6 lead with 6:36 left in the third quarter.

St. Vincent closed the scoring with a 1-yard run by Schumer and a 4-yard run by Mitch Presnell.

Schumer finished the night with 270 yards, completing 21 of 32 passes. He was intercepted three times.

"I think we took some strides," Sauer said. "The second half I think we stepped up the intensity a little bit. We got something going offensively with the spread, and hopefully we can build upon that."

Scott City 14 14 14 0 -- 42

St. Vincent 0 6 8 7 -- 21

First Quarter

SC -- Garett Schaefer 25 run (Schaefer kick), 4:55

SC -- Alex Eichhorn 50 fumble return (Schaefer kick), 2:06

Second Quarter

SC -- Brett Dirnberger 27 pass from Jamie Scholz (Schaefer kick), 8:34

SC -- Eichhorn 29 run (Schaefer kick), 4:22

SV -- Ryan Boxdorfer 10 pass from Tim Schumer (kick fails), 1:01

Third Quarter

SC -- Schaefer 34 run (Schaefer kick), 10:42

SC -- Schaefer 66 run (Schaefer kick), 6:36

SV -- Schumer 1 run (Ryan Weissing run), 4:44

Fourth Quarter

SV -- Mitchell Presnell 4 run (Phillip Ernst kick), 7:01

SC SV

First downs 12 22

Rushes-yards 41-345 33-79

Passing yards 27 270

Passes 1-3-0 21-32-3

Punts 4-28.5 2-26

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 4-2

Penalties-Yards 11-101 4-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Scott City, Schaefer 23-261, Eichhorn 14-76, Travis Phillips 3-12, Logan Farmer 1-(-4); St. Vincent, Presnell 10-41, Schumer 17-39, Weissing 4-8, Derek Joggerst 1-3, Sean Martin 1-(-12),

PASSING -- Scott City, Scholz 1-3-27-0; St. Vincent, Schumer 21-32-270-3.

RECEIVING -- Scott City, Dirnberger 1-27; St. Vincent, Mark Kutz 1-7, Nathan Comte 4-37, Boxdorfer 10-149, Adam WInkler 3-33, Justin Breig 2-25, Joggerst 1-24