Statesmen Power Past University City

When half the stadium lights went out early in the second quarter of Friday night's game between and Webster, it gave the Lions a brief chance to escape the pain of a bruising Statesmen offensive attack.

Webster already was up, 16-0, in the Suburban South Conference matchup.

But the respite was short-lived, and the Statesmen continued to roll through the first half, racking up a big enough lead for Webster coach Cliff Ice to pull his starters for the second half.

"We dominated the line up front, on both sides of the ball. The line won the game for us," said Ice.

Senior Statesmen quarterback Rayshawn Simmons took full advantage of his offensive line's dominant performance, completing 13-of-16 passes for 219 yards as the home team cruised to a 44-8 victory.

Fellow senior, A.J. Farrar, had four catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Dante Flowers rushed for 30 yards on six carries to lead the Statesmen on the ground.

Early in the game, Jack Kemper punted a total of 100 yards on two kicks to pin the Lions down deep in their territory. That set the table for an effective air attack by Simmons.

The Lions, who had four coaches who played football in high school for Ice, used the offense they learned under their former coach to no avail. Senior quarterback DeAndre Williams mustered only one touchdown pass to senior receiver Alex Henry on a 26-yard effort.

University City coach Carl Reed said before the game that the challenge of facing Webster eclipsed any thoughts he and his coaching staff had of sending a message to their former coach.

"Coach Ice knows we understand the offense he runs, and he’s a mentor, but it’s not a rivalry because we have not won against Webster in a long time. We want to make it a rivalry," Reed said.

Reed played at Hazelwood Central under Ice in the 1990s. He then studied with coach Ice studying his offensive system before Reed coached at a high school in Tennessee. When Reed returned to St. Louis, he hired coaches who understood and could use the system that Ice taught to Reed.

Eventually, Reed taught it to Lions' offensive coordinator Reggie Crume, who is also offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Slam, a local women’s football team that has won two national championships.

The schedule doesn't get much easier for the Lions, as they face Parkway North at home next Friday. North is a top-ranked team but lost to Rockwood Summit Friday.