With their backs pressed firmly against the proverbial wall Friday night at Moss Field, and with his team in need of a big night in the final game of the regular season to assure itself a spot in Class 5 state football playoffs, the Webster Groves quarterback Rayshawn Simmons made a giant statement about who he is as a player.
Simmons was coming off a rare bad game, in which he threw four interceptions, in a last week.
But on Friday, the 6-foot-3-inch senior was just brilliant, passing for 417 yards and four touchdowns in a thrilling 38-24 win over rival that helped the Statesmen earn a trip to the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
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“The type of athlete he is, the type of kid he is, the type of competitor he is, I (expected) him to bounce back with a big football game for us,” said Cliff Ice, Webster's head coach.
“Just like the rest of our team, I never thought he would have that kind of game-against-man coverage, but played a great ballgame," he said. “I told our players, I expect him to bounce back, and I was looking forward to seeing how they respond to it. It would tell us a lot about our kids.”
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And what Ice learned, if he didn’t already know, is that his Statesmen don’t back down from challenges.
Not even when an opponent wallops them for an early blow like Parkway North did on Friday night.
The Vikings, who came into the night with the same hope of earning a trip to the state playoffs, forced a Webster fumble on the first play of the game, and turned that into a touchdown when senior Donavin Newsom rumbled his way into the endzone from 6 yards out to give North the early lead.
Webster answered back right away though, when Simmons hit senior wide receiver Demetrius Robinson for an 80-yard touchdown that made the score 7-6 after Webster missed the extra-point attempt.
“I thought our kids played very well,” said Bob Bunton, Parkway North's coach. “They are a big-play offense. It doesn't matter where you're at on the field. They are always a play away from scoring, and that's what they did tonight.”
Newsom scored again, on a 2-yard run, on the first play of the second quarter to raise North’s lead to 14-6, giving rise to the belief the Vikings might have an upset in mind for the No. 6 in the state-ranked Statesmen.
But a huge final 10 minutes of the second quarter, in which Webster scored 18 unanswered points, behind a field goal by Ben Kemper and Simmons touchdown passes to Mike Cole (50 yards) and Robinson (12 yards) gave the Statesmen a lead they would never relinquish.
In the second half, North junior Jovonte Suber capped off a drive with a 1-yard run to pull the Vikings to within 24-21, but that was as close as they would get, as Simmons capped his night with a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter, and a 25-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth, that put the finishing touches on an absolute must-win for the Statesmen.
“We didn’t expect to find ourselves in this position,” Ice said. “But we’re in a very tough district. It was us or Parkway North, winner-take-all, loser goes home. It’s a pretty good situation to be in, after the performance we had last week. You would think our guys wouldn’t have any problem stepping up and atoning for that.”
Webster will play another Suburban South Conference rival Rockwood Summit in the state sectionals, next Wednesday, Nov. 2, at Summit’s Falcon Stadium.
Kickoff is at 7 p.m., with the winner earning a trip to the super-sectional round on Nov. 7, where the opponent will be Suburban South champion Parkway Central, which earned a first-round bye after winning the district title last week with its win over Webster.
North finished its season with a 5-5 mark.
Scoring Summary
Score by Quarters
F
Parkway North
7
7
10
0
24
Webster Groves
6
18
7
7
38
First Quarter
PN: Donavin Newsom 6 yd run (Michael Bozarth kick), 8:55
WG: Demetrius Robinson 80 yd pass from Rayshawn Simmons (kick failed), 8:33
Second Quarter
PN: Donavin Newsom 2 yd run (Michael Bozarth kick), 11:56
WG: Ben Kemper 29 yd FG, 9:54
WG: Mike Cole 50 yd pass from Rayshawn Simmons (Dante Flowers run), 9:14
WG: Demetrius Robinson 12 pass from Rayshawn Simmons (Ben Kemper kick), 1:01
Third Quarter
PN: Jovonte Suber 1 yd run (Michael Bozarth kick), 6:41
WG: Rayshawn Simmons 1 yd run (Ben Kemper kick), 5:33
PN: Michael Bozarth 22 yd FG, 3:37
Fourth Quarter
WG: Mike Cole 25 yd pass from Rayshawn Simmons (Ben Kemper kick), 3:18