Caruthersville's Jermonte Alexander shines with dual-threat performance in shutout win over Scott City

Caruthersville's Jermonte Alexander scores a touchdown against Scott City on Friday, Oct. 4, in Scott City.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

Caruthersville senior Jermonte Alexander entered Friday's road matchup at Scott City leading the SEMO conference in receiving yards.

And he was highly motivated to leave Scott City as the conference's leading receiver.

"I'm just trying to stay on my grind," Alexander said.

However, Alexander proved to be a multifaceted offensive force as he led the Tigers with 112 rushing yards, 116 receiving yards, and three total touchdowns in Caruthersville's 28-0 shutout victory over the Rams on Oct. 4, in Scott City.

Alexander was only targeted three times but it was all he needed. His first pass was short and quick, but he turned on the burners and went 65 yards for the Tigers' first score of the game. His second touchdown pass went 33 yards and before the home crowd knew it, the Tigers were up 14-0 at halftime.

Alexander averaged 38.7 yards per catch, to the amazement of senior quarterback Ryan Guest, who completed 7-of-10 passes for 128 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

"It's insane what he can do on offense," Guest said on Alexander. "When he's out there, I know I have a chance. No matter where I put the ball, he's gonna go catch it. If I give him a jet sweep, or whatever, he's gonna make something out of it, even if there's nothing to make out of."

Alexander capped off his rushing performance with a three-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put Caruthersville up 21-0, but he wasn't the only Tiger to run past the Rams defense. Junior runningback Sammy Bryant rushed for 165 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring his season total to 948 yards and 15 touchdowns.

For Guest, having those elite athletes beside him has allowed him to command an offense that is averaging 35 points per game for the second consecutive season.

"It gives me a lot of confidence that I know that guys can go out there and catch my passes or help me out on blocking," Guest said.

The defense has been a huge improvement for the Tigers this season. With the shutout, the Tigers have allowed an average of 14.5 points per game two-thirds into the season.

Senior linebacker Oscar Dominguez led the Tigers with nine tackles and an interception. He now leads Southeast Missouri with 79 tackles, while Alexander remains the area's leader in interceptions with six.

Scott City junior running back Rustyn Underwood, who entered the game as the area's leading rusher, was held to 41 yards, putting him short of the 1,000-yard mark with 995 yards on the season.

Defensively. Underwood led with 10 tackles and a sack while Jackson Gloth collected his third interception of the season.

At 5-1, Caruthersville remains second in the Class 2 District 1 standings behind Valle Catholic. After finishing last season with a winning record for the first time since 2019, the Tigers came into 2024 with lofty expectations.

So far, they are living up to them.

"Before the season started, we thought we're going to be dominating everything just because of having everything looked in practice," Guest said. "And so far, it exceeded that."

At 4-2, Scott City dropped to fifth in the C2D1 district standings with only .02 points separating them and the No. 4 seed, East Prairie, whom the Rams have dealt a similar defeat in the season opener.

With the Rams behind in the SEMO Conference South race, they now turn towards the Scott-Miss Conference chase with home games against Charleston (Oct. 11) and Chaffee (Oct. 18) coming up.

Caruthersville will travel to Hayti next on Oct. 11.