Ste. Genevieve improves district seed with road win

CARUTHERSVILLE, Mo. – Ste. Genevieve tightened its defense three times inside the red zone, and made another big stand within the final minute to win its regular-season football finale.

Austin Brewer rushed for 172 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries Friday night, and the Dragons edged Caruthersville 21-17 to clinch the No. 3 seed in their district.

A.J. Gonz made a key interception just before halftime, and Ste. Genevieve needed only two plays in the third quarter to increase a 14-6 lead on Brewer’s 43-yard scamper.

Caruthersville (5-4) answered in three plays, and pulled to within 21-14 when Daniel Fugate raced 30 yards and quarterback Peyton Faulkner added the 2-point conversion with a lunge.

Trevonne Leatherwood kicked three field goals of 35, 27 and 30 yards for the Tigers, the last of which capped the scoring with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

That drive reached the Ste. Genevieve 2 after Terrance Raspberry bolted 43 yards on a sweep, but a poor snap on second down forced the home team to settle for three points.

Ste. Genevieve was unable to cash in a late 13-play drive, and a final Caruthersville threat stalled when a run was stuffed at the Dragons’ 30.

Freshman Luke Brewster added 54 yards on the ground as the Dragons controlled the tempo offensively with just five passes attempted.

Wyatt Lalumondier picked up 35 yards on a keeper, and Brewer found the endzone from 5 yards out for a 7-3 lead as Ste. Genevieve (6-3) covered 81 yards on its opening drive.

A tackle by Gonz for negative yardage again limited the Tigers to a field goal, and Drew Schmelzle caught a scrambling 14-yard touchdown pass from Lalumondier with 1:39 to play in the second quarter.

Fugate highlighted the Caruthersville offense with a game-high 205 yards on 26 carries.

Logan Dowdy added a sack for the Dragons, who will host Kennett in a Class 3, District 1 first-round game on Friday.