Scott City suffers tough loss against Grandview in football districts

Scott City junior quarterback Jamie Scholz had the game of his life.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Grandview had the game of the lives of every player on its roster.

So the four-touchdown, 259-yard passing performance by Scholz was bittersweet as Grandview rallied to stun the host Rams 34-33 on Friday night.

"Tough loss," Scholz said.

Especially since it came in the Class 2 District 2 opener. Both teams are 2-6 overall.

Scott City's Garett Schaefer (22) intercepts a Grandview pass Friday in Scott City.

"It's a big win," Grandview coach Dave Stuckey said. "I'm really proud of the guys."

Stuckey should have been because none of the current Grandview squad members ever had experienced a district victory.

The Eagles entered the season with a 35-game losing streak, meaning the most recent year they could have posted a district victory was 2004.

"I'm not sure when they last won a district game," said Stuckey, in his second season directing the Eagles.

Grandview, which earlier this year snapped a 37-game losing streak, beat Scott City for the first time in 18 meetings. The Rams had outscored the Eagles 161-26 the past three seasons, including 50-14 a year ago.

Scott City freshman Travis Phillips looks for room to run on a kickoff return Friday in Scott City.

But Friday's offensive shootout -- Grandview had 469 yards of offense compared to 457 for Scott City -- was close throughout.

A first half that featured three lead changes and two ties ended with Scott City on top 21-20 as Scholz and senior Brandon Deprow hooked up for a 41-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining.

Two 85-yard touchdown passes by Scholz -- to Deprow in the closing seconds of the third quarter and to senior Zach Pobst early in the final period -- appeared to put the Rams in control at 33-20.

But Grandview had other ideas, first answering the Pobst touchdown with a 71-yard scoring drive that, along with a 2-point conversion, made it 33-28 with 7 minutes, 2 seconds left.

Scott City bled nearly four minutes off the clock before being forced to punt for the only time all night. It was blocked and went for minus 3 yards, so Grandview took over at the Rams' 41 with 3:08 remaining.

The Eagles needed just five plays to take the lead on a 15-yard screen pass from junior quarterback Steven Capranica to junior Robby Allen with 1:10 left.

A 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Rams one point behind at 34-33.

Scott City began its final shot at a comeback at Grandview's 46 after a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Eagles.

The Rams drove to a first down at the 25, but three plays later faced fourth-and-13 at the 28 with 13 seconds left.

It was a longshot, but Scott City coach Jim May elected to have junior Alex Eichhorn try a 45-yard field goal. It was well short.

"Nine times out of 10 I'll bet on our team," said Scholz when asked if he felt the Rams were going to score a go-ahead touchdown. "We believe in each other."

One kneel-down later and the Eagles were celebrating.

"When you have a lead, you have to be able to finish the game," May said. "We're a young team. ... It's a lesson we have to learn."

May lamented several mistakes Scott City made. In addition to the blocked punt, the Rams missed two extra points and were forced to run on one conversion after a mishandled snap. That 2-point attempt failed.

On the bright side, Scholz compiled monster numbers for a smash-mouth team not generally known for its passing.

Scholz completed 10 of 13 attempts as he put several long-range throws on the money, including a 33-yard touchdown toss to junior Corey Rogers in the opening period.

"It was by far the best passing game of my high school career," Scholz said. "I felt good in warmups. And I just felt our linemen did a good job and guys got open downfield."

Said May: "We have to be able to throw it when they put 11 [defenders] in the box. I think we showed we could. Jamie made some really good throws."

Scott City also ran well, getting 180 yards on 19 carries from junior Garett Schaefer after he saw his string of five straight 100-yard rushing games end during last week's loss at Hayti.

Schaefer displayed his speed during a 99-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter after Grandview's only punt pinned Scott City at its 1.

Unfortunately for the Rams, Grandview's offense also had numerous stars.

Capranica, directing the Eagles' spread attack, completed 19 of 36 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns to match Scholz in that department.

"They throw it a lot," May said. "We didn't do a good job of what we were told to do."

Allen, breaking tackles all night, rushed for 161 yards on 24 carries and caught five passes for 95 yards. He scored three touchdowns.

Still, all was not lost for the Rams in their final home game of the regular season.

With the top two teams from each district making the playoffs, Scott City still is alive for a berth entering next week's game at Crystal City.

"I told the kids we didn't eliminate ourselves, we just made our job tougher," May said.

Grandview 6 14 0 14 -- 34

Scott City 6 15 6 6 -- 33

First Quarter

G -- Macklin Parks 15 pass from Steven Capranica (pass failed), 6:53

S -- Corey Rogers 33 pass from Jamie Scholz (kick blocked), 4:05

Second Quarter

S -- Garett Schaefer 99 run (Brandon Deprow run), 8:53

G -- Robby Allen 21 pass from Capranica (Cody Schroeder pass from Capranica), 7:01

G -- Allen 4 run (run failed), 1:08

S -- Deprow 41 pass from Scholz (Alex Eichhorn kick), :25

Third Quarter

S -- Deprow 85 pass from Scholz (run failed), :22

Fourth Quarter

S -- Zach Pobst 85 pass from Scholz (kick failed), 10:09

G -- Danny Zawadniak 5 pass from Capranica (Nick Robinson pass from Capranica), 7:02

G -- Allen 15 pass from Capranica (pass failed), 1:10

G SC

First downs 25 16

Rushes-yards 28-165 40-198

Passing yards 304 259

Passes 19-37-2 10-13-0

Punts 1-34 1-minus 3

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 4-1

Penalties-Yards 3-35 4-40

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Grandview, Allen 24-161, Robinson 1-5, Capranica 2-4, team 1-minus 5. Scott City, Schaefer 19-180, Eichhorn 11-37, Deprow 5-2, Scholz 4-minus 14, team 1-minus 7.

PASSING -- Grandview, Capranica 19-36-1-304, Robinson 0-1-1-0. Scott City, Scholz 10-13-0-259.

RECEIVING -- Grandview, Parks 6-85, Allen 5-95, Robinson 4-78, Zawadniak 2-32, Schroeder 1-10, Cody Voyles 1-4. Scott City, Deprow 4-127, Eichhorn 3-14, Pobst 1-85, Rogers 1-33, Schaefer 1-0.