Off to the races

A 23-point second quarter propelled the Smith-Cotton Tiger football team to a 37-19 win over the St. Pius X Warriors on Friday night.

Smith-Cotton, ranked No. 8 in Class 4, (1-0) used its explosive running game, keyed by Solomon Watkins, to blow open a close game with several big plays.

“We came out and did the job like we wanted to for a while,” said Watkins. “We haven’t beat them in three years. Our goal was to beat them this year.”

Watkins, who finished with 273 yards on 15 carries, used his quickness to put the Tigers on the scoreboard on their first possession.

The Warriors’ first drive ended with a punt, but the kick pinned Smith-Cotton back on its own 4-yard line to begin its first drive.

After a penalty and three short gains, Watkins burst through a hole in the middle and raced 81 yards for a touchdown. Jessica Greer kicked the extra point and the Tigers had a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Warriors’ second drive  stalled after nine plays, and they turned the ball over to the Tigers at the S-C 21.

St. Pius X, ranked No. 3 in Class 3, got its first break of the game when Jonathan Hoban picked off a pass by Smith-Cotton quarterback Bryce Johnson, giving the Warriors good field position at the Tigers’ 27.

Hoban cashed in the turnover with a 15-yard scoring run, but a bad snap on the conversion kept Smith-Cotton in front 7-6 as the first quarter ended.

Less than a minute into the second quarter, Watkins took a pitch, broke through the left side of the line and scored on a 54-yard run. Greer’s extra point extended the Smith-Cotton lead to 14-6.

Once again, St. Pius X answered a Tigers score with one of its own.

Anthony Zicarelli capped a nine-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run that cut the Smith-Cotton lead to 14-13.

That’s when Smith-Cotton took over.

Sharaden Staten began the offensive run with an 82-yard kickoff return up the right sideline to push the Tigers lead to 20-13.

The Tigers defense forced another St. Pius X punt, and the offense responded with a quick score.

Watkins got his third touchdown on a 41-yard burst up the right side to push the Smith-Cotton lead to 27-13.

Watkins was quick to credit the blockers who created the holes for him to run through all night.

“Everybody was happy with the line. You know, we blocked good. The receivers blocked good,” Watkins said.

St. Pius punted again, giving the ball back to the Tigers with 1:47 remaining before halftime, giving Smith-Cotton one more opportunity to score. An efficient drive moved the ball to the 4, and Greer booted a 21-yard field goal to put Smith-Cotton in front 30-13 at the break.

Neither team did much offensively, as the defenses dominated play in the third quarter.

Smith-Cotton coach Mark Johnson was pleased with how his defense played all night, especially when the offense was sputtering.

“We came out in the second half and we knew we had to move the ball,” he said. “We stumbled two series in a row, but our defense sucked it up. I thought our defense played well the second half until we got our offense back in gear a little bit.”

The Tigers offense ground out a 13-play drive at the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter, ending with a 9-yard scoring run by Watkins, his fourth of the game, to push the lead to 37-13.

St. Pius X answered with a 14-yard scoring pass from John Danaher to Ben Wilson, but Smith-Cotton worked the clock and secured the win.

Johnson saw his team becoming fatigued near the end of the game, but knew that could be a factor since the season begins a week earlier than usual.

“I wasn’t impressed with our offense the second half. As far as our offensive line, I think, are a lot better than that,” he said. “We’re going to have to win with some people cramping up. We’ve got to get in better shape.”

Missouri schools had only two weeks of practice compared to the normal three weeks prior to their first games.

The victory, especially over a quality, state-ranked team, gives the Tigers a positive start to the season, but Johnson knows that his team has a lot of football yet to be played.

“They’re a good football team. They’re big and physical, which they always are,” he said of St. Pius X. “Getting a win at home is nice. Beats the heck out of being 0-2. (S-C started the past two seasons 0-2)”

Next week Smith-Cotton travels to Clinton for another West Central Conference battle with a team that has  knocked off the Tigers the last two years.