On Friday 10/30, the Dexter Bearcats were ready to rumble and showed their teeth early on in the first quarter of the Missouri State Class Three District One Quarterfinals. The Dragons, however, would get the last laugh as they rallied late to earn the victory 46-28, and move on in the play-offs. The win moves Ste. Genevieve one win closer to a state championship. Head Coach Ken Weik anticipated the hot start from Dexter, and said, “We actually started slow and had to catch up to Dexter’s pace, but it was the pace we expected from them. Once we got up to speed, we were very pleased with the way our kids played.”
Ste. Genevieve had been inactive since October 9th, which resulted in a cold start by the Dragons. The Bearcats, however, came out hungry, scoring on their first two possessions. Finally, after being down 14-0, Quarterback Aiden Boyer ran the ball 50 yards to get the Dragons on the board. Kicker Bryant Schwent added the point after to cut the lead in half, 14-7.
Dexter wasn’t done, and answered back with a touchdown, extending the lead right back to 14 points, making it 21-7. Luckily for the Dragons, Zach Boyer ended their possession with a 15-yard touchdown run. The kick missed, but the score was now 21-13. Z. Boyer said, “We were able to put together drives and make something out of them. Switching up the formations on offense worked out great for us.”
Into the second quarter, the Dragons came to life after an interception by Payton Matthews. This led to a huge touchdown run by Kaden Flye, taking the ball 68 yards to the end zone. The two-point conversion missed, but the score was now 21-19. Dexter had a big play in return with a 60-yard rushing touchdown and successful kick, making the score 28-19.
Flye commented on how his team got started and what to do moving forward, saying, “I feel like we had a little rough start to the game because we have all been quarantined and haven’t got to have a game in a little while. After that, we got back into the groove of the game and started playing like normal. No one gave up on each other and everyone tried their best. I will try to prepare for Kennett by putting a lot more on the field then I ever have before.”
Ste. Gen added another score right after that coming from A. Boyer, who connected with Z. Boyer on a 31-yard pass. B. Schwent kicked the extra point successfully and the Dragons went into halftime behind by only two points, 28-26.
The second half was all Ste. Genevieve, both offensively and defensively as Dexter didn’t score again. Meanwhile in the third quarter, Z. Boyer took a 19-yard handoff into the end zone. The two-point conversion again failed, but the Dragons were now in the lead 32-28.
The fourth quarter provided two more touchdowns for Ste. Gen, and it was an all-Boyer affair. The first was a one-yard Z. Boyer touchdown run, and the second was as two-yard A. Boyer touchdown run. B. Schwent was good on both kicks, making the final score 46-28.
Offensively, A. Boyer did it all, connecting on 10 of 14 passes for 111 yards. He also ran the ball 10 times for 72 yards and a touchdown. Z. Boyer was tremendous as well racking up six carries for 83 yards and three scores, as well as four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Austin McBride also had 16 carries for 73 yards.
Defensively, Dale Propst and Thomas O’Brien had eight and seven tackles, respectively, while Brett Bieser had six.
Ste. Genevieve will now play the Kennett Indians in the Class Three District One Semi-finals next Friday, 11/6. Weik noted, “Preparing for Kennett will require a lot of discipline on our part. They are very quick and run a multiple look offense, so we are going to need to be ready for some adversity.”
