Scott City's dynamic duo dominates East Prairie 56-8 to start playoffs

Scott City shook off the rust and left East Prairie in the dust in a 56-8 victory to begin the Class 2 playoffs.

Mark Panagos scored four rushing touchdowns and threw two scoring passes, one to AJ Hayden for 55 yards and another to Gavin Venable for 18.

"I felt good today," Panagos said. "The rhythm was good. Everybody was on the same page, made sure we had to keep everybody going fast and doing our thing."

Scott City's Gavin Venable celebrates scoring a touchdown with Jackson Gloth, right, during the Rams' 56-8 win over East Prairie on Friday, Oct. 27, in Scott City, Mo. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Senior running back Tyson Underwood rushed for 116 yards and scored his 20th touchdown on the season.

"We threw the ball and immediately scored," Underwood said. "We scrambled and scored. We ran power and scored. We ran option and scored. We ran just flat down the field and we scored. We were clicking on all cylinders."

East Prairie started the game with an 8-0 lead on a rushing touchdown by Tavion Ware, who finished the game with 88 yards. The Rams leaned on their dynamic duo of Panagos and Underwood to carry the Rams to another blowout victory, which is something that will be asked of them throughout the playoffs.

"We have to come out here and do this consistently now," Underwood said. "We have to be more efficient. I felt like there were some times tonight when we were a little shaky. We had a couple of drives where we had a penalty or one bad play, a busted play that pushed us back. We got to do it consistently next week."

Scott City running back Tyson Underwood runs through East Prairie defenders on Friday, Oct. 27, in Scott City, Mo.Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

While Panagos and Underwood are heavily leaned on to lead the Rams' charge, Panagos says he's not alone in the responsibility and success. The defense also had a field day, as Panagos, Underwood, Nathan Ham, and Lane Miller intercepted a pass. Miller was the only defender to take his interception to the end zone for a touchdown.

"Everybody has a great role on our offense and everybody does something that other people can't do when they step in and fill the role," Panagos said.

The Rams entered the game rested after their Week 9 matchup with Doniphan being ruled a forfeit early. Underwood said the rest helped but also head coach Jim May made sure the Rams' horns were still sharp for the postseason.

"Coach May did a great job of getting us into practice but also not overworking us," Underwood said. "We had 15 days off so we practiced for eight of those days. We actually had time to rest and get our bodies feeling great."

The Rams move on to the second round to take on New Madrid County Central on the road next Friday, Nov. 3.

East Prairie running back Tavion Ware runs past Scott City defenders on Friday, Oct. 27, in Scott City, Mo. Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

As for East Prairie, the Eagles' season ends with three wins, which is a slight improvement over last year's 2-8 campaign. The Eagles finished 1-9 in 2021, the year before David Stalker took over the program.

The Eagles have averaged 27.1 points per game, a 10-point improvement over last season (17.8).

"I think we're bringing East Prairie football back," Stalker said. "Our program has a lot of pride, traditionally, whether or not we win or lose. I feel like that's coming back, to say the least and kids are getting excited about football again. The brotherhood and the bond and all that stuff is coming back."