Scott’s key catch sets up Anders’ game-winning touchdown run as Pirates rally at Porter Stadium

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The anticipatory smile on Aden Scott’s postgame face indicated he knew what question was coming.

Minutes earlier, the Hannibal tight end had reeled in a dramatic 48-yard reception from quarterback Waylon Anders. The catch had moved the ball to the Fort Zumwalt West 1-yard line, setting up what proved to be Anders’ game-winning touchdown run in the Pirates’ 20-17 Friday night victory before a regular-season ending crowd of about 1,700 at Porter Stadium.

Anders’ touchdown run, which saw him muscle his way around the right side of the line of scrimmage, came with 2 minutes, 25 seconds to play and was his third score of the game. The reception by Scott, which saw him take off down the middle and outrun the secondary, made that third Anders touchdown possible.

“That catch was the biggest play of my career,” said Scott, a two-way junior who plays “where they need me.”

The reception was just Scott’s fourth of the season, and his longest catch by far. It was easily the most satisfying, too. 

Both Scott and Anders were confident when the play was called by coach Jeff Gschwender, whose club is now 6-3. The Anders-to-Scott call came even though Fort Zumwalt West (4-5) had snuffed out several earlier attempts at the same potential course of action.

“I knew I was going to be able to get off the ball and get open,” Scott said. “I thought I had gotten into the end zone (on the reception) … I kind of got caught up in the moment.”

Anders mirrored Scott’s confidence.

“I knew he was going to get open,” said Anders, a three-year starter who scored all three of his touchdowns on 1-yard runs.

Anders said he felt his club never panicked, even after falling behind 17-13 midway through the fourth quarter.

And neither did Gschwender.

“Our kids showed a lot of character in this game,” Gschwender said. “This game was a real gut check.”

Right to the very end.

After Hannibal had gained its 20-17 advantage, Fort Zumwalt West moved the ball just across midfield with a little more than a minute to play. The Jaguars were eventually stopped on downs at the Hannibal 48-yard line with 1:03 remaining.

That final stand was a perfect punctuation for the Hannibal defense. Even though Fort Zumwalt West put together a 335-yard night in total offense, Hannibal’s defense was able to stop the Jaguars when it mattered most.

“Our defense is what won the game for us tonight,” Hannibal running back Mike Ferreira said. “Definitely, our defense.”

While Ferreira preferred to talk about the Pirates’ defense, his own performance was also worthy of headlines. Ferreira ran for 136 of Hannibal’s 304 offensive yards, boosting his season rushing total to 1,084 yards and giving Hannibal a 1,000-yard back for a seventh straight season and 23 of the last 25.

Ferreira has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in back-to-back years and now stands seventh on Hannibal’s all-time ground gaining list with 3,188 yards.

Hannibal will head into next weekend’s district play having cemented its 17th consecutive winning record with its 22nd win in its last 24 games at Porter Stadium.

Gschwender, now 39-9 in four years as Pirates coach, said the win over Fort Zumwalt West was doubly vital with the postseason that is right around the corner.

“Momentum is extremely important this time of the year,” he said. “Our kids all know what it’s like to play in the postseason.”

That might be an understatement.

Hannibal has played 40 postseason games since 2012 when the current style of tournament play was adopted by the Missouri State High School Activities Association. The Pirates are 28-12 in those games.

Fort Zumwalt’s Jy’Ren Green rushed for 136 yards and quarterback Clayton O’Bryan passed for 167 yards and a touchdown.

Friday night’s game was third in the series between Hannibal and Fort Zumwalt West. The Pirates have won all three meetings.