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East Prairie football earns share of SEMO East title with 36-0 win over Charleston
EAST PRAIRIE, Mo – It’s been quite the turnaround for the East Prairie Eagles.
After an 0-4 start to the year, the Eagles have surged of late with four-straight wins, the last three coming convincingly.
Against Charleston on Friday East Prairie rode four takeaways by the defense and a four-score- 208-yard performance from sophomore Hayden Ellis to a dominant 36-0 win.
A Bluejay win would have given them the SEMO East Conference outright, but the Eagles victory leaves East Prairie, Charleston, and Kelly with a three-way tie for the conference crown.
“There were a lot of expectations coming into the game,” Eagles’ head coach Chad Jamerson said. “We tried to quell those expectations and keep them as quiet as possible. We didn’t say anything about conference championships.
“We just talked about three things; being more physical, protecting the football, and getting takeaways. I knew if we could do things, everything would fall in to place.”
Offensively the Eagles’ fortunes were tied to Ellis’.
The sophomore had the team’s only touchdown in the first half and got held to 49 yards on 11 carries.
In the second half, he found his footing, rushing 19 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns to help the Eagles pull away.
Ellis finished the night carrying 30 times for 208 yards and four of his team’s five scores.
“We just had to find a rhythm,” Jamerson said. “Charleston was doing a great job in the first half of taking things away. They took some of our big plays away, our bread and butter plays. We had to make some adjustments at halftime.
“It still took time into the third quarter to get into a groove and find what would work. Fortunately, it worked for us.”
East Prairie’s 7-0 halftime lead was thanks to a defensive stand, which pinned Charleston at their four-yard line on fourth down.
A fumble, while trying to get off the ensuing punt, left the Eagles (4-4) starting their drive on the one, and Ellis took the ball in on the first play of the drive with 7:04 left in the half.
A nine-play, 62-yard drive to start the second half made it a two-score game.
Ellis finished off the series with a three-yard run and took in the ensuing two-point conversion to make it 15-0 with 8:22 left in the third quarter.
All three of the Eagles’ final scores, two by Ellis and one by John Graham, came in the fourth to ice the game.
“We had a pretty solid game plan going in,” Charleston (4-4) head coach Justin Hutching said. “We knew they were going to be very physical. East Prairie is always tough. I respect Chad and what he does with them because he gets them firing off the ball.
“They’re tough upfront. They did a great job.”
The Bluejays’ offense struggled to find momentum all night long, rushing 23 times for 44 yards and going 10 of 23 through the air for 87 yards.
Two of their drives ended when turning the ball over on downs and another four on interceptions.
Luke Triplett, Jack Scruggs, Raleigh Archie, and Trea Cade all had a pick for the Eagles.
It was East Prairie’s first shut-out of the season with the Eagles holding their last three opponents to a combined eight points.
“For 15 of our last 16 quarters our defense has been playing well,” Jamerson said of his team’s winning streak. “Our staff has done an excellent job of preparing our kids, and our kids have bought into our system. It’s a testament to the resiliency and hard work these kids have put in.”
Attempting only two passes on the game, East Prairie rushed 61 times for 335 yards to out-gain the Bluejays 337-131 in total yards.
Archie carried 14 times for 66 yards and Graham nine times for 36 yards and a touchdown.
“Our kids knew if they came out and played physical, did what they were coached to do that we had the opportunity to win a big game,” Jamerson said. “They came out and did their job, played physical, and took care of the ball. We had some big takeaways, and that gave us an opportunity to be successful.”
| Charleston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 |
| East Prairie | 0 | 7 | 8 | 21 | – | 36 |
Second Quarter
E – Hayden Ellis 1 run (Trea Cade kick), 7:04
Third Quarter
E – Hayden Ellis 3 run ((Hayden Ellis run), 8:22
Fourth Quarter
E – John Graham 3 run (Trea Cade kick), 11:14
E – Hayden Ellis 3 run (Trea Cade kick), 6:32
E – Hayden Ellis 19 run (Trea Cade kick), 2:09
TEAM STATISTICS
| C | E | |
| Total yards | 131 | 337 |
| Rushes-yards | 23-44 | 61-335 |
| Passing yards | 87 | 2 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Charleston, Suave Fitzpatrick 11-38, Amoses Wells 2-2, Shi’more Douglas 2-0, Blessin Kimble 1-(-6), James Durden 1-(-3), Teijay Williams 1-2, Rico Coleman 5-11. East Prairie, Raleigh Archie 14-66, Hayden Ellis 30-208, Camerson Gifford 7-35, John Graham 9-36, Trea Cade 1-(-10).
PASSING – Charleston, Suave Fitzpatrick 10-23-4 87. East Prairie, Trea Cade 1-2-0 2.
RECEIVING – Charleston, Blessin Kimble 6-66, Antonio Chappell 1-4, Teijay Williams 1-1, Brian Visor 1-2, Thomas Murray 1-14. East Prairie, Jack Scruggs 1-2.