Semoball

Scott City rides turnovers to 54-21 win

Scott City quarterback Devin Keller (1) passes as Chevy McKinley (14) blocks against Malden on Friday in Malden.
DAR/Scott Borkgren

MALDEN - Scott City forced seven turnovers in the first half, including a pair of pick-six scores by Gage Underwood and Logan Speakman.

The short fields and quick scores helped put the Rams ahead by 39 points at halftime and they went on to beat Malden 54-21 on Friday night.

"We're starting to play a little better. We're starting to turn the corner and become a little more seasoned," Scott City coach Jim May said. "We basically made it difficult to run where we could still play good coverage, and that makes it difficult."

Scott City (3-2, 2-0 SEMO South) grabbed one more interception in the second half for five total picks. Trent Lathum had two that he returned for 92 total yards, but both times he was tackled short of the end zone.

The Rams weren't immune from turnovers, either. Devin Keller threw three interceptions and the Rams had to fall on a pair of bad-snap fumbles in the second half.

Scott City's Nick Hillman celebrates after a touchdown catch against Malden on Friday in Malden, Missouri.
Scott Borkgren ~ Daily American Republic

"We had a couple of bad snaps in the second half, I didn't like that. We have to be able to keep our focus, but overall I'm pretty happy," May said.

But where Scott City didn't lose any of its three fumbles, the Green Wave lost all three of theirs.

Both teams punted three times and Scott City gained 16 fewer yards of total offense than Malden, but Scott City also had four touchdown drives of less than 50 yards, plus two defensive scores.

"Scott City schemed us really well defensively," Malden coach Justin Peden said.

Malden (1-4, 1-2), meanwhile, started just one drive in Scott City territory, and on the first play of that drive, Underwood took an interception to the end zone.

Scott City got its first score midway through the first quarter and then scored another 13 points within five minutes.

Keller finished 11 for 17 passing for 207 yards and four touchdowns.

"Keller threw the ball pretty well. He made a couple of boneheaded decisions. He's just a sophomore, he's got to learn if they're not open, to eat it or run and not throw up an interception. If we can get rid of some of that, we played pretty well," May said.

Keller found Mark Panagos five times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Nick Hillman caught four passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Speakman caught two passes for 18 yards and two scores.

Chevy McKinley rushed for 37 yards on eight carries to lead the Scott City ground game as seven different Rams got a carry.

The Green Wave, trailing 27-0 early in the second quarter got on the scoreboard after quarterback Quamareous Farmer found Drew Blankenship for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Scott City, though, piled on another 20 points before Malden scored again, including interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive possessions.

"We have to get better in all three phases of the game," Peden said. "We're going to double down on the time we've been practicing and improve on this."

Malden backup quarterback Rylan Bell, with under 3 minutes left in the first half, found Coy Wade for a 13-yard completion, and Wade sprinted another 60 yards for a 70-yard touchdown pass.

The duo did it again midway through the fourth quarter when Wade, who finished with four catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns, turned a 10-yard out route into a 77-yard touchdown pass on Malden's first play of the drive.

Bell finished 6 of 11 for 210 yards while Farmer was 5 for 16 for 55 yards.

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