The St. Clair way: Bobcats’ ground-and-pound attack overwhelms Panthers as Hall of Fame coach earns 200th victory

BOWLING GREEN, Mo. — While Mark St. Clair’s 200th career head coaching victory will go on his personal resume, he was quick to pass the credit to others in his circle who have helped make that accomplishment possible.

“There have been a lot of people who have contributed to every one of my wins — a lot of assistant coaches, a lot of administrators, players through 22 years at Hannibal and a couple years here,” the Bowling Green football coach said. “Just a lot of people who helped me when I got started — Gregg Nesbitt, Frank Lemons from Hannibal were very influential with me, Paul Thomas and all the assistant coaches who have worked with me over the years. 

“This isn’t about me. This is about all of them and the things we’ve done, to be able to work together and hopefully make better men out of some kids.”

And in the midst of this milestone win, which came in a 58-12 victory over Palmyra on Friday night, it’s not lost on St. Clair what being a football coach means.

“Football is just an avenue for us to teach life lessons,” the Hall of Fame coach said.

This rang true on Friday, much like it has for St. Clair for three decades. As the Bowling Green skipper addressed his team after win No. 200, he gave his players the same reminder he does after every game.

“I tell them every Friday, ‘Don’t text and drive, buckle your seatbelt, make good decisions, and tell your parents you love them,’” St. Clair said. “They hear that from me constantly because that’s really what life is all about. Make good decisions. The more good decisions we make, the better life is.”

Bobcats senior running back Easton Orf, who scored three touchdowns against Palmyra, said St. Clair imparts those life lessons as only he can.

“He’s a hilarious dude,” Orf said. “He’s a great person to be around. Sometimes he tells us to push ourselves and gets on our butts to make us better, but he’s a really great person. He’s that man.”

That man soaked up the win, literally and figuratively. He got an ice water bath near midfield after the final whistle, but his focus remained squarely on what this victory means for the scope of Bowling Green’s season.

“It’s obviously something to be proud of, but more importantly for us, it’s the second win of the year for these kids who have sold out and done all the things I’ve asked them to do,” St. Clair said. “We’re 2-0 now and have played good football.”

The Bobcats wasted no time making sure they would be celebrating with their head coach. They ran 21 plays in the first half and scored eight rushing touchdowns, seven of which went for 20-plus yards and five of 40 or more yards. Four different players reached the end zone and three players — Orf, Dane Dunn and Jace Eskew — scored multiple touchdowns.

“We spread the ball around really well. We have both games,” said St. Clair, whose team trounced Clark County 56-0 in the season opener. “We have what we think are four or five running backs that can carry the ball, and we have a leader on our offense in Jace Eskew that can make things happen.  It’s hard to stop a team that has a lot of weapons.”

Eskew, who had touchdown runs of 24 and 73 yards to extend Bowling Green’s lead to 52-0 midway through the second quarter, said the Bobcats’ offensive line was carving holes in Palmyra’s defense all night.

“I just got a really good push from our o-line. They blocked very well every single play,” Eskew said. “That’s where everything starts. They did their job, and that allowed me to get free to score.”

Orf, whose touchdowns went for 47, 40 and 20 yards, had one word to describe the job the big guys leading the way for him did.

“Amazing,” Orf said. “I just have really good blockers. I can’t wait to see this season take off. I can see we’re going to do some amazing things. I’m excited to see where this season goes.”

Panthers senior running back Laden Simmons scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns of 44 and 25 yards, respectively, the second of which came on the final play of the game.

“That was nice to see,” Palmyra coach Dalton Hill said. “He has little running back experience, but getting in there was good for him, creating that running back depth.”

While the Panthers couldn’t carry over their momentum from a 42-40 double overtime victory over Hallsville in the season opener, Hill hopes this loss will light a fire under his squad.

“They didn’t do anything that we didn’t prepare for all week,” Hill said. “I truly believe that we prepared the team for every formation, every play they were going to run offensively and defensively. It’s just a matter of being out-physicaled and out-disciplined. That’s what it was.”