Senior's big night leads Scott City football team past rival Chaffee

SCOTT CITY, Mo. -- Scott City is no longer the smash-mouth offensive football team that most people have come to expect over the years.

The Rams do a good portion of their damage through the air these days, but they can still pound it on the ground when necessary.

That was their ticket to a hard-fought 27-12 homecoming win over visiting Chaffee on Friday night.

The Rams had two 100-yard rushers and piled up 330 yards on the ground while attempting just 10 passes as they improved to 4-1.

"We're actually pretty balanced, but tonight the running game was working," senior tailback Travis Phillips said. "It's always fun when you run games effectively and run the clock."

And, Phillips added, it's always fun for the Rams to beat their archrival in front of a big crowd.

"I wish we could have crowds like this every game," he said.

Phillips rushed for 183 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns as he continued his impressive comeback from a torn ACL that forced him to miss the second half of last season.

Phillips has topped 100 yards rushing in all five games this year and has more than 700 yards.

"I feel great," said Phillips, who still finished his junior year with over 800 yards despite playing a little more than half the season. "I feel as strong as ever."

Senior quarterback Jonathan McFall, who last season passed for a school-record 1,506 yards and has been putting up solid numbers through the air this year, did most of his damage on the ground Friday.

McFall gained 100 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown.

"I'm pretty pumped with how we played," McFall said. "We played hard the whole time."

McFall, like his teammates, relished beating Chaffee for the second consecutive year after the Red Devils had won three of the previous four meetings following a 21-year Scott City winning streak in the rivalry.

"We don't like each other that much," said a smiling McFall, who emphasized that the feelings are restricted to the gridiron since he's friendly off the field with many of Chaffee's players.

McFall, after attempting six passes in the first quarter, threw only four passes the rest of the game. The Rams had 64 rushing attempts.

"I told them at halftime, if we can get four yards a crack, we'll take it," Scott City coach Jim May said.

Phillips, McFall and May all lauded the Rams' offensive line that returned just one starter from 2011.

"My line did great. A lot of guys have really stepped up," said Phillips, who also had a sack on defense from his linebacker position, as did junior linebacker Gordon Bradley.

Scott City's offensive front consists of junior center Tyler Pate, sophomore guards Brandon Griffin and Dalton Goforth, senior tackles Caleb Miles and Gavin Bewley, and senior tight end Ryan Fortner.

"Running people over, doing our job," said Miles, the lone returning offensive line starter. "Senior year, beating Chaffee on homecoming, it's good to go out with a bang."

Chaffee, which fell to 1-4 with its fourth straight loss, did much of its damage through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Peyton Montgomery connected with his brother, junior Charlie Montgomery, for touchdown passes of 48 and 39 yards. Peyton Montgomery completed 10 of 23 for 171 yards.

"Peyton is getting better and better," Chaffee coach Charlie Vickery said. "We're playing hard every game. It was a good, hard contested game by both teams."

The Red Devils grabbed an early 6-0 lead when Peyton Montgomery hit his brother with a short pass. Charlie picked up several nice blocks and used his speed to score from 48 yards out just 1 minute, 51 seconds into the game. The PAT failed.

The Red Devils had chances to increase their advantage later in the first quarter but couldn't capitalize. Chaffee had a drive stall after reaching Scott City's 25-yard line and then could not muster any offense after junior Devon Yahn intercepted a pass at the Rams' 47-yard line.

"We had opportunities to get another score in the first quarter," Vickery said.

Scott City, scoreless in the opening period, began to assert its ground dominance after a 55-yard punt by senior Cody Johnson pinned the Rams at their 5-yard line.

The Rams put together a 95-yard, 11-play drive -- all rushing attempts. Phillips carried seven times for 72 yards during the march and scored from 24 yards out with 7:34 left before halftime.

McFall's PAT, the first of his three extra points, gave the Rams a 7-6 lead that they carried into the break. McFall was also a key weapon as a punter, averaging 43.8 yards on four attempts.

"That 95-yard drive was big for them," said Vickery, whose squad had a 37-yard touchdown pass to senior Layton Tenkhoff with 58 seconds left in the half wiped out by a penalty.

Scott City struck early in the third quarter after senior linebacker Zach Haynes intercepted a pass at Chaffee's 28-yard line.

Phillips scored from 7 yards out on fourth-and-goal for a 14-6 lead with 7:50 left in the period.

Chaffee came right back. Peyton Montgomery hit his brother with a perfectly placed 39-yard bomb. A pass for two points failed, leaving the Red Devils behind 14-12 with 6:15 remaining in the third.

The Rams answered with a 62-yard drive, capped by McFall's 30-yard touchdown jaunt during which he broke several tackles. His PAT was wide, so Scott City led 20-12 with 2:06 left in the third.

"Jon doesn't look fast, but he's a competitor," May said.

Both sides exchanged punts before the Rams finally opened up some breathing room after an interception by junior cornerback Craig Rhyne set up Scott City at the Chaffee 18-yard line.

"He just started playing corner a couple of weeks ago," May said about Rhyne. "He's come on. He's got an interception in three straight games."

Phillips' 2-yard touchdown with 6:44 remaining made it 27-12 and sealed the outcome.

"Chaffee is getting healthy. They have a solid club. They play hard and I have a lot of respect for their program," May said. "We knew it would be a challenge. I'm pretty happy with the result, and I'm thrilled to be 4-1."

Chaffee 6 0 6 0 -- 12

Scott City 0 7 13 7 -- 27

First Quarter

C -- Charlie Montgomery 48 pass from Peyton Montgomery (kick failed), 10:09

Second Quarter

SC -- Travis Phillips 24 run (Jonathan McFall kick), 7:34

Third Quarter

SC -- Phillips 7 run (McFall kick), 7:50

C -- Charlie Montgomery 39 pass from from Peyton Montgomery (pass failed), 6:15

SC -- McFall 30 run (kick failed), 2:06

Fourth Quarter

SC -- Phillips 2 run (McFall kick), 6:44

C SC

First downs 13 21

Rushes-yards 28-90 64-330

Passing yards 171 32

Passes 10-23-2 2-10-1

Punts 6-40 4-43.8

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 8-105 13-125

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Chaffee, Devon Yahn 11-56, Peyton Montgomery 12-21, Charlie Montgomery 3-10, Jimmy Golden 2-3. Scott City, Phillips 36-183, McFall 13-100, Zach Haynes 9-45, Zach Carlyle 4-4, team 2-minus 2.

PASSING -- Chaffee, Peyton Montgomery 10-23-2-171. Scott City, McFall 2-10-1-32.

RECEIVING -- Chaffee, Charlie Montgomery 3-92, Layton Tenkhoff 4-45, Golden 3-34. Scott City, Brett Dirnberger 1-19, Ryan Fortner 1-13.