The Salem High football team gets the chance to start over this season…at home.
The Tigers are seeded fourth for the upcoming Class 3 District 5 Tournament and will host their first-round game Friday, Oct. 31 at Schuchardt Stadium.
In the District 5 first-round games this week: Third-seeded St. James (3-6) hosts sixth-seeded Strafford (2-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30. And at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, fourth-seeded Salem (3-6) hosts fifth-seeded Buffalo (2-7) while second-seeded Clever (7-2) hosts seventh-seeded Pleasant Hope (0-9).
In the District 5 semifinals Nov. 7 top-seeded Mountain Grove (8-1) will host the Salem/Buffalo winner while the St. James/Strafford winner meets the Clever/Pleasant Hope winner at the location of the highest seed.
The district championship is scheduled for Nov. 14 at the location of the highest seed.
Salem is entering district play on a high note after drubbing Cabool 33-6 in SCA action Friday, Oct. 24 at Cabool.
The Tigers end the regular season 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the SCA. The Cabool Bulldogs fell to 1-8 and 0-7.
Salem literally ran Cabool out of the game, with all 366 of its total offensive yards coming on the ground.
“We wanted to come out and establish the run,” Salem head coach Neal Myers said. “We wanted to come out and play our best game of the year. I thought we were a little sluggish in the first half then turned it around in the second half.”
The Bulldogs had no answer for junior running back Sylis DuBois.
DuBois erupted for 214 rushing yards on just 13 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“Sylis is a great athlete,” Myers said. “And you also have to give credit to the offensive linemen; those were huge holes he was running through. It was overall good play for those guys.”
The game was a tight one for a half.
DuBois struck first, pulling away for a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage at the 11:45 mark of the first period. Will Land added the PAT.
However, Cabool had a breakaway run of its own in the second period, scoring on a 63-yard romp, breaking several tackles along the way. The two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving it 7-6.
DuBois would score from 40 yards out later in the half. The PAT failed, and the Tigers went into halftime up 13-6.
The Tigers sealed the deal in the third quarter, erupting for three touchdowns.
DuBois scored the first TD of the second half, on a 27-yard run.
Junior running back Brody Ray ended the scoring later in the third period on TD runs of one and nine yards out. Land added the PATs after both Ray scores.
Sophomore running back Alton May finished with 56 rushing yards for the Tigers while Ray ran for 50 yards and senior quarterback Hayden Ragsdale 32.
Senior Gavin Sapaugh paced the Tiger defense with 13 tackles - including nine solo and two for loss - while junior Max Schloemer had seven tackles and an interception.
Now Salem prepares for the Buffalo Bison, who was shut out at Forsyth 43-0 last week.
“We are in the spot we wanted to be in,” Myers said of hosting the district first-round game. “We knew it was an opportunity two, three weeks ago. Buffalo is a spread type offense and runs out of a shotgun. Their quarterback is a dual threat. (Defensively) they like to blitz a lot. We think we’ll see a six-man front and see them bring quite a bit of pressure.”
Oct. 24 at Cabool
Salem 33, Cabool 6
The score by periods:
Salem 7 6 20 0-33
Cabool 0 6 0 0 - 6
The scoring plays:
Salem: DuBois 51-yard run, Land kick.
Cabool: 63-yard run, conversion fails.
Salem: DuBois 40-yard run, kick fails.
Salem: DuBois 27-yard run, kick fails.
Salem: Ray one-yard run, Land kick.
Salem: Ray nine-yard run, Land kick.
Salem Individual Statistics
Rushing: DuBois 13 for 24, May 11 for 56, Ray 11 for 50, Ragsdale 4 for 32, Halbrook 3 for 10, Renaud 2 for 12, Creek 2 for 4, Ferreira 2 for 2.
Passing: Ragsdale 0-3-0-1.
Receiving: None.
Tackle Leaders: Sapaugh 9 (solos)-4 (assists), D. Smith 5-3, Malone 3-6, White 5-2, Schloemer 4-3.
Interceptions: Schloemer 1.
Tackles For Loss: Sapaugh 2, D. Smith 1, White 1.
