Young Tiger 'steals the show' in Caruthersville FB rout of Kelly

CARUTHERSVILLE – Every coach, regardless of the team sport, always reiterates the mantra of “Next man up.”

In the case of Caruthersville High School sophomore running back Sammy Bryant, he magnificently held to that philosophy in Friday’s victory over Kelly High School.

After Tiger star Jermonte Alexander suffered a right knee injury on the opening offensive play of the game and had to sit out the remainder of the night, Bryant took over. He ran for 344 yards and scored six times in the 49-7 Caruthersville win in the opening round of the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 playoffs at Hopke Field in Caruthersville.

“Sammy stole the show,” second-year Tiger coach Dom Guglielmio said afterward.

There were early indications that this is how Bryant would perform.

Just 67 seconds into the game, he blazed off a 70-yard scoring streak to put the Tigers up 6-0.

“He is hard to tackle,” veteran Hawks coach Lance Powers said of Bryant.

That was absolutely the case.

Most of Bryant’s yards came AFTER he was hit by several Kelly defenders, as he powered his way through the grasps of opposing players all night long.

“That kid has tree-trunk legs,” Guglielmio said of Bryant.

The Hawks (6-4), who have now strung together six consecutive .500 or better seasons, responded to Bryant’s initial score with a very strong drive of their own.

Kelly got early nice runs from senior runner Reece Eftink, who was difficult to bring down in his own right.

“(Eftink) is a hoss,” Guglielmio said.

Kelly junior quarterback Skyler Still hit junior running back Ryder Krauss for a long gain to the Tiger four-yard line, which set up a four-yard scoring burst from Eftink, as Kelly took a 7-6 lead early in the game. However, Bryant closed the opening quarter with a 64-yard score and a 12-7 Caruthersville advantage, and the Tiger defense took over from there.

Bryant added scoring runs of 16 yards, 15 yards, three yards (which followed a 47-yard run to the three-yard line), and 62 yards.

“Sammy is elusive,” Guglielmio said, “and he wiggles, and he fights and fights and fights.”

Guglielmio credited Sammy’s mom (Latrice Bryant) with giving the young athlete “his toughness.”

“He’s got great parents,” Guglielmio said. “It’s a hard-working family. You can tell that on the football field.”

Tiger senior Abeyon Motton had a highlight on both sides of the ball, as he closed the Caruthersville offensive production with a seven-yard scoring reception. However, his defensive highlight was one for the ages.

In the second quarter, he was covering Kelly wide receiver Grant Burleson on a deep route, and he rose to break up the connection from Still.

Motton initially caught the ball, but Burleson batted it out of Motton’s grasp, only to have some degree of possession of it for a moment. However, the ball squirted away from Burleson in mid-air, and Motton regathered it, landed on the ground, and took off running.

“We came out (defensively),” Guglielmio said, “and were really physical and tackled (well).

“We got the job done.”

Motton led the Tigers with six receptions for 48 yards and that score.

Defensively, sophomore Jackson Napier paced the Tigers with nine tackles while Bryant and junior Oscar Dominguez each added seven stops each.

Sophomore defensive lineman Jermaine Caruthers had five tackles and two sacks in the win.

The seventh win by Caruthersville was the most for the program since 2019.

The Tigers will travel to Valle Catholic on Friday at 7 p.m.